Author: Tourism News live

Hilton’s new Singapore property is all set to become the hospitality major’s Asia-Pacific flagship. The new hotel is expected to be ready by early 2022, and will have over 1,000 rooms, five restaurants and bars and suites. Located in the middle of the Orchard Road shopping strip, the Hilton Singapore Orchard is in fact a $90 million make-over of the Mandarin Orchard Singapore. An extensive refurbishment will precede the rebranding, which will be underpinned by new meeting facilities to meet growing demand for regional and global conferences, including three ballrooms. Work is scheduled to begin by mid-year, as the current ... Read more

Foreign tourists are increasingly singing praises of the manner in which Kerala tourism authorities and the police are handling their affairs. Rebecca Dale, a US citizen, is the latest to appreciate the efforts of the authorities in helping her find some relief and comfort during the corona outbreak. Before leaving for the US, after spending two days in quarantine in a Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) facility in Alappuzha, Dale released a video message sharing her experience. The Kerala Tourism Department has been very prompt and effective in managing the situation, she says in the video message. “I had to ... Read more

World renowned fashion brand Ralph Lauren is to start making medical masks and gowns – the latest designer brand to lend its support to the coronavirus fight. The fashioner designer announced the shift in production through its charitable arm on Thursday. The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation will start making 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation gowns in the US. Other fashion brands have also pledged to help make urgently needed medical wear. The foundation is also donating $10m (£8.2m) towards the global response to the coronavirus pandemic. In the US the death toll has now risen above 1,000. “At the heart ... Read more

Taking into account the unparalleled introduction of travel restrictions across the world, the United Nations specialized agency for tourism, UNWTO, expects that international tourist arrivals will be down by 20-30% in 2020 when compared with last year. However, UNWTO stresses that these numbers are based on the latest developments as the global community faces up to an unprecedented social and economic challenge and should be interpreted with caution in view of the extreme uncertain nature of the current crisis. An expected fall of between 20-30% could translate into a decline in international tourism receipts (exports) of between US$300-450 billion, almost ... Read more

The tourism sector is about to undergo a transformation. There is bound to be significant restructuring especially in the hospitality sector and wage correction is expected at the top managerial levels. In an exclusive interview, Sajan Joseph, CEO and Co – Founder at BreakOut Hotels tells us the importance of keeping cash reserves. Liquidity is so important to tide over such a crisis, he feels. Excerpts: Q: The hospitality industry is going through probably its worst ever phase in history. Did you think that the crisis would end up having such a devastating effect on the industry? A: Who would ... Read more

Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI), MD & CEO, Anirban Chakraborty – “We welcome RBI’s stance to support the economy amidst these trying and uncertain times of the deadly Covid 19 pandemic. The announcement brings much needed immediate relief to the borrowers across sectors. We further expect additional special relief packages to be provided to the sectors worst affected such as aviation, tourism to name a few. With the government’s decision of a 21-day lock-down combined with timely measures undertaken by the Finance Ministry, we expect to tide over the current situation.”

Kerala Tourism has suggested, on its Instagram handle, five books to read about the state during the lock-down. ‘The God of Small Things’ (Arundhati Roy), ‘Small Town Sea’ (Anees Salim), ‘Where the Rain is Born’ (ed. Anita Nair), ‘Ivory Throne: Chronicles of The House of Travancore’ (Manu Pillai) and the ‘Litanies of Dutch Battery’ (NS Madhavan) are the books listed. All the five books explore the soul of Kerala. For all of you locked down at home, these wonderfully written books will take you right where you want to be – in the midst of nature.

Ford Motor Company is joining forces with 3M and GE Healthcare to lend its manufacturing and engineering expertise to quickly expand production of urgently needed medical equipment and supplies for healthcare workers, first responders and patients fighting coronavirus. In addition, Ford plans to assemble more than 100,000 face shields per week and leverage its in-house 3D printing capability to produce components for use in personal protective equipment. “This is such a critical time for America and the world. It is a time for action and cooperation. By coming together across multiple industries, we can make a real difference for people ... Read more

The initial signs of recovery are here. Right in China, the epicentre of the corona outbreak, many of the tourist sites are opening up. There is not too much of a rush anywhere, but airline ticket sales are open again. According to Yevgeny Glotov, the head of marketing at China Travel, carriers are already making plans for the coming months. “Yesterday there was news that all the hospitals, opened specially for the coronavirus, were closed in Wuhan. All patients have been discharged. Our partners also informed us that Hainan Airlines intends to resume flights on the Moscow-Beijing route at the ... Read more

Now you can scroll Instagram together with friends, helping you to share the experience your near and dear ones. Instagram has started Co-Watching, which lets friends on a video chat or group video chat browse through feed posts that a user has liked or saved, or one that Instagram recommends. Co-Watching could let people joke and talk about Instagram’s content instead of just consuming it solo and maybe posting it to a chat thread so friends can do the same. That could lead to long usage sessions, incentivize users to collect a great depository of saved posts to share and ... Read more

With the hospitality sector facing a complete shutdown due to the corona virus pandemic, the Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) is placing a special emphasis on online refresher courses to keep tourism and hospitality employees productive and engaged. ATTOI is looking at the possibility of every job in the industry having a set protocol to follow and a handbook that will list down the processes that need to be adhered to. ATTOI President Vinod CS says such an initiative will help the employees update themselves during this period of inactivity. “Today everyone has access to smart phones and ... Read more

The hospitality sector has been ravaged by the corona virus pandemic, with booking cancellations at a record high. In an interview while detailing the impact that the outbreak is having on the sector, UDS Hotels CEO Dr.Raja Gopaal Iyer says it’s important for hotels to control the costs going forward. Iyer says the strategy should be to depend more on technology and reduce manpower costs. Excerpts: Q: The hospitality industry is going through probably its worst ever phase in history. Did you think that the crisis would end up having such a devastating effect on the industry? A: I am ... Read more

Le Bijou, a luxury hotel chain in Switzerland, is offering a quarantine package to its guests that includes in-room corona virus testing, doctor visits and 24-hour nursing care. Le Bijou is a part hotel, part serviced apartments company, and operates its luxury accommodation across Switzerland in cities including Zurich, Geneva and Basel. Switzerland, which shares a border with Northern Italy, was impacted early. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, Le Bijou already catered for a very exclusive clientele, playing host to the likes of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Jordan Belfort and even the Saudi Royal Family, charging ... Read more

The Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan will provide free rooms to doctors, nurses and other medical personnel. The luxury hotel, where rooms typically top $1,000 a night, has closed itself to other guests and is not taking new bookings through April 15, according to its website. “Many of those working in New York City have to travel long distances to and from their homes after putting in 18-hour days,” said Ty Warner, the founder and chairman of Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts, which owns the property. “They need a place close to work where they can rest and regenerate.” Governor ... Read more

With the corona virus onslaught getting severe by the day, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has called on innovators and entrepreneurs to put forward new solutions to help the tourism sector recover from COVID-19. The “Healing Solutions” challenge has been launched to further advance the united response of the wider United Nations system to COVID-19. This global call for entrepreneurs and innovators wants them to submit ideas that can help the tourism sector mitigate the impact of the pandemic and kickstart recovery efforts. In particular, the challenge is aimed at finding ... Read more