Author: Tourism News live

Hiring declined by 61% in May due to the nationwide lockdown to contain COVID-19 pandemic, a study has said. This is the second consecutive month in which more than 60% decline in hiring has occurred. Recruitment fell to 910 job postings in May compared to 2,346 in the same month last year, according to the study by NaukriJobSpeak Index, which is a monthly index that calculates and records hiring activities based on the job listings on Naukri.com. The report further revealed that the decline in hiring is led by industries like hospitality, travel, and aviation (91%), retail (87%), auto ancillary ... Read more

Given the current COVID-19 outbreak, it is important that all hotels, restaurants and other hospitality units take suitable measures to restrict any further transmission of the virus while providing accommodation and other tourist services post lockdown, the Ministry of Tourism has said. The guidelines aim to minimise all possible physical contacts between a staff and guests and maintain social distancing and other preventive and safety measures against COVID-19. It also tries to make the traceability of the guests easier, in case a situation in future warrants so. These guidelines will apply to Bed and Breakfast (B&B), Homestay and Farmstay units. ... Read more

Vietnam’s biggest island, Phu Quoc, will be reopening soon as it undergoes a trial run as part of the country’s initiative to restart tourism. Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy has confirmed that the ministry has been working on a plan to bring back foreign tourists into selected islands, including Phu Quoc. Vietnam has been praised worldwide for its management of COVID-19 as the country only has 26 reported cases and zero death. Moreover, there has been no community transmission in the last 49 days. However, the ministry is not complacent and has developed a set ... Read more

Sri Lanka Tourism has prepared guidelines and taken precautionary measures to start welcoming overseas guests from August 1. The country’s major airports, Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo Ratmalana Airport and Mattala Rajapaksa Hambantota Airport, will be in operation to receive the tourists. All travellers will require a valid visa that will be issued for 30 days and can be extended for up to six months after arrival. Further relaxation for long stay guests is currently under consideration, which will enable tourists to have five-year multiple-entry visas with a maximum of six months stay. Visa fee is USD 100. In order to ... Read more

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has announced steps to ease border restrictions, allowing its citizens to travel, amid the sustained rise in coronavirus cases. During a televised meeting, Mishustin said that an order has been signed to allow Russian nationals to leave the country for work, study or take care of sick relatives. The main agenda of the meeting was to discuss the measures to develop tourism, the opening of the holiday season, and the finalisation of the national plan for economic recovery. Highlighting the impact of coronavirus on the tourism industry, the Russian Prime Minister said that the industry ... Read more

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has slammed the decision of the UK government to make travellers arriving in the UK, undergo a 14-day quarantine. This will cost millions of tourism jobs, he warned. He said his airline is experiencing a “collapse of inward bookings” for flights this summer, because people are being told to self-isolate for 14 days under government measures that came into effect on Monday. The British government is looking to guard against a second wave of coronavirus. All passengers, bar a handful of exemptions, now have to fill out an online locator form giving their contact and travel ... Read more

Hotels in Uttarakhand will not be allowed to take bookings from customers arriving from “high-load” Covid-19 cities, the state government has announced. While issuing guidelines to reopen restaurants, shopping malls and religious places of worship, chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh said guests from cities with less number of cases will have to stay for a minimum of seven days. Officials said that if a person is carrying some infection, there are chances of manifestation within seven days. If people keep coming and going, it will become difficult to track the cases, they added. “Initially when we are starting, we want to ... Read more

Karnataka has come out with a set of protocols to ensure safety for tourists. Self-declaration by guests and tour operators about their preparedness for various tourist destinations, safety and hygiene status, social distancing requirements and awareness of the pandemic are all part of the new guidelines. “The Covid-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges for the tourism sector across the world. In this aftermath, health and safety of people is of utmost importance for the government. With the tourism industry expected to resume operations over the coming months, it is necessary to have protocols in place that can ensure hygiene and ... Read more

Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express have so far ferried 66,831 Indians from overseas on 365 flights, as part of its repatriation drive. Another 17,180 passengers have travelled on 369 outbound flights by the national carrier to various foreign countries, civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday. Air India opened bookings on Friday, for around 300 flights to various countries like the USA and the UK, under the third phase of its Vande Bharat Mission. The airline faced an overwhelming demand for tickets, which were sold out in no time, forcing it to increase the number ... Read more

Abad Hotels & Resorts will restart its properties across Kerala from today, after the government decided to lift lockdown restrictions to revive the economy. Abad, one of the best-known hospitality groups in Kerala, has properties in Kochi, Munnar, Marari Beach, Wayanad, Kumarakom, Thekkady, Kovalam and Alleppey. “Keeping pace with the present times, we have revised and enhanced our standard operating procedure to provide greater care to guests,” Abad Hotels & Resorts stated in its note, while announcing the reopening of its units. ·     Temperature check on arrival for all residential and non- residential guests. ·     Safe status on Arogya setu app as ... Read more

Sinclairs Hotels on Monday reopened its Siliguri property, a few days after restarting operations at Sinclairs Burdwan. The hotel has been opened in line with protocols laid down by the authorities, the hospitality group stated in a press release. Located at the Pradhannagar area, Sinclairs Siliguri is an expansive property spread over a campus of around 3 acres with a large lawn, a huge terrace and ample open spaces. It has taken extensive steps in sanitizing the entire property and setting up safety protocols to ensure that all norms with regard to touch-free check in and check out as well ... Read more

The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has recommended that hotels should appoint a special officer nominated among managers, who will be responsible for Covid-19 response planning and implementation. In its reopening manual, addressed to all registered hotels and resorts in the country, FHRAI said the special officer will be the contact point for Covid-19 emergencies, having decision making powers as required. The officer has to be supported by the operations head, quality control, HR and a medical officer connected with the property. All hotels and resorts have to replace finger touch biometrics with alternatives, sanitise luggage ... Read more

Maldives is looking to open itself to tourists from July 1, with strict safety regulations, as the island country looks to revive its economy. Maldives’ minister of tourism, Ali Waheed, said the country cannot remain closed for long, adding that the industry representatives are working on guidelines to reopen the sector. However, not all countries are welcome. Tourists from Asian countries, including India, China, South Korea and Sri Lanka, and in the Middle East can travel, but guests from 12 other countries including Spain, Italy, the UK and the US will not be allowed in. Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways ... Read more

Singapore Airlines has initiated changes to its on-board meal services, in line with the new pandemic situation. The effort will be to reduce risk of contact for both customers and the crew, to ensure a safe journey. The following are the expected changes: Meal services have been suspended for flights within Southeast Asia and services to mainland China, due to regulatory reasons; snack bags are provided to customers instead In first and business class on long haul flights, a single tray service will be introduced in place of a table layout service In economy class on long haul flights, the ... Read more

Tahiti and its fellow tropical islands will be open to international travel from next month, even as French Polynesia tries to salvage its vital tourism industry. The French overseas territory in the South Pacific had halted all international flights in March in a bid to contain the coronavirus. It has reported just 60 cases of the disease and no deaths among its population of about 280,000. But with no tourists for three months, the economy has been ravaged, and all of its hotels have been shuttered, triggering calls in the industry for an easing of the virus restrictions. “We are ... Read more