Visitors entering India with an e-Tourist visa (to apply, indiavisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html) are eligible for a free cell phone SIM card that also includes phone call credits and 50 megabytes of data for free. A user will be charged for any calls made or data used only after the credits run out. The card will give the visitor an Indian phone number during his visit, which will allow him to contact local and national services.
As of Jan. 1, 2017, all hotel, campsite and hostel guests in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, will receive a free “Ticino Ticket,” allowing them free unlimited transport on public buses and trains within the canton. The ticket also gets holders discounts on attractions, cable cars and funiculars.
Visitors can each pick up their Ticino Ticket upon checking in at their lodgings. Bern (May ’15, pg. 4) and Lucerne (Dec. ’16, pg. 11) offer similar passes.
Zimbabawe and Zambia have reintroduced the KAZA (Kavango-Zambezi) univisa — launched in 2014 and suspended in 2015 — which allows travelers to visit both countries for up to 30 days. Priced at $50, the visa also covers day-trippers entering Botswana at the Kazungula border (no overnight stays).
It is available on arrival at the international airports in Harare, Victoria Falls, Lusaka and Livingstone as well as at the land border crossings at Victoria Falls and Kazungula.
China will begin fingerprinting all foreign visitors between ages 14 and 70 at all entry points by the end of 2017. The only entry point where fingerprinting was being done as of press time was Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport. China officials have said that the system they are using is efficient and will not cause entry delays.
People from most other countries traveling to the US have had their fingerprints collected upon entry since 2004.
City officials in Delhi, India, banned vehicles from the middle and inner circular roads of Connaught Place for three months, starting in February, in response to extreme traffic congestion.
At press time, park-and-ride services to the popular shopping and commercial area were being provided from parking areas at Shivaji Stadium, Palika Bazaar and Baba Kharak Singh Marg. People were riding in by metro, battery-operated vehicles and bicycles.
In early February, the Paris municipality approved a plan to build a bullet-proof glass wall around the Eiffel Tower to help prevent any terrorist attacks, including vehicle attacks, at the world-famous monument. The nearly 30-foot-tall, clear-glass wall is expected to be completed in the fall of 2017.
At press time, the tower was still surrounded by an approximately 8-foot-tall metal barrier that was erected prior to the Euro soccer tournament held in France in 2016.
Created by lighting artists from around the world, interactive art installations using lights can be viewed evenings at popular locations and landmarks in Prague, Czechia (aka Czech Republic), during the fifth annual Signal Festival (www.signalfestival.com), Oct. 12-15, 2017. Some locations may charge entry fees.
Museums at Night, produced by the British arts-charity organization Culture24 and being held this year May 17-20, will feature after-hours events — such as music, lectures and tours — at museums and historical properties across the UK.
Among the venues are London’s Charles Dickens Museum, the Roman Baths in Bath, Wakefield’s Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the Tudor House Museum in Worcester. For events and ticket info, visit museumsatnight.org.uk.
Celebrating its 70th year, Aug. 4-28, 2017, the 3-week Edinburgh International Festival draws, from around the world, top-class performers and ensembles to perform in the fields of dance, opera, music (especially classical music) and theater. Six major theaters and concert halls plus a few smaller venues and more will be used.
Located just south of Zürich, the spa town of Baden, Switzerland, hosts the folk festival known as Badenfahrt (www.badenfahrt.ch [in German only]) every 10 years. The festival, with theater performances and open-air concerts plus parades, special events at area restaurants and bars and fireworks over the Stein Castle ruins, is scheduled for Aug. 18-27, 2017. A million-plus visitors are expected.