Author: Tourism News live

International flights will remain banned till April 14, the government announced on Thursday amid a complete national lock-down to fight corona virus. A week long ban imposed last week has been extended, the civil aviation ministry said. The ban will not apply to cargo flights or those specially permitted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviaion. Domestic flights have been banned till March 31. Trains, metros, inter-state buses and all public transport has been banned to check the spread of the disease.

Seamus Mullen is an award-winning New York chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. In 2007, he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a debilitating autoimmune disease, which forced him to rethink his relationship with food. “Ultimately, through food, exercise and lifestyle changes, I was able to successfully turn my health around,” shares Mullen, who says that Cheribundi has been but one of the keys to improving his RA. “Whether I’m spending the day in the kitchen or on my bike, I drink Cheribundi along with other ‘Hero Foods’ to reduce soreness, boost my immune system and amplify my overall health.” Cheribundi ... Read more

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and ESJ Resort LLC has announced the signing of an agreement for the former to assume the management of El San Juan Hotel, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The property will join the globally renowned Fairmont portfolio of luxury hotels, as Fairmont El San Juan Hotel. “El San Juan Hotel is proud to welcome the global hospitality group Accor and its luxury Fairmont brand to Puerto Rico. Both El San Juan and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts share a distinguished international reputation and unparalleled history of service excellence. In joining together these iconic brands, we look forward ... Read more

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, a global provider of expedition cruises and adventure travel experiences, has announced that it has appointed Thomas S. (Tad) Smith Jr. and Sarah Farrell to serve as independent directors of the Company. Tad Smith has a long history of successful leadership positions, including his most recent position as President and CEO of Sotheby’s (NYSE), where he developed and implemented a successful growth strategy resulting in its sale for $3.7 billion in October 2019. Prior to his tenure at Sotheby’s, Tad served as President and CEO of Madison Square Garden (MSG), the iconic entertainment conglomerate, following a stint ... Read more

Marriott International has announced an agreement to debut The Ritz-Carlton brand in the Maldives, with a 100-villa resort amid white sandy beaches. The property, to be called The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, is slated to open late 2020. The company signed the agreement with CPRC (Maldives) Private Limited, a member of Singapore-based Pontiac Land Group (“Pontiac Land”), which is developing the resort. “We are pleased to collaborate with Pontiac Land in bringing the Ritz-Carlton brand to one of the world’s most famous travel destinations,” said Paul Foskey, Chief Development Officer, Asia Pacific, Marriott International. “The development of The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, ... Read more

Delhi is all set to get a tourism boost. The Delhi government wants to build the city as a tourist destination and launch new festivals to add to the wave of interest shown by tourists. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has proposed to launch a ‘Branding Delhi’ scheme for transforming the national capital into India’s tourism capital and bring more visitors to the city. Presenting Delhi budget for 2020-21, Sisodia, also the finance minister, has granted Rs 100 crore to achieve this goal. In his budget speech, Sisodia said though the possibilities and resources are available within Delhi to become ... Read more

All public travel in the UAE, including the Dubai Metro, will be suspended from 8 pm on March 26 until 6 am on March 29. The stoppage is part of a National Sterilisation Programme, which will include all utilities, public transportation and metro services, according to a statement. During this period, traffic will be restricted countrywide and public transportation and metro services will be suspended. The Ministries of Health and the Interior called upon the public to stay at home throughout the sterilisation period, and not to go out except to buy food and medicines or to work in vital ... Read more

Air Canada has said that it has begun using its cargo division aircraft to operate cargo-only flights to Europe, with other flights planned for Latin America and South America. The aircraft on these flights carry no passengers but move time-sensitive shipments, including medical supplies to combat COVID-19, and goods to support the global economy. “Air Canada Cargo has long served as a vital link in global supply chains and with the disruption arising from the COVID-19 pandemic our capabilities are more important than ever. Although we have announced very significant temporary capacity reductions and our passenger flights are largely dedicated ... Read more

Alaska Airlines has announced plans to reduce its flight schedule for April and May by approximately 70% following historic and unprecedented falloff in demand related to the COVID-19 outbreak across the U.S. and beyond. Flight schedules for June and beyond will be based on demand, but it is our expectation that reductions will be substantial for at least the next several months. As a result of the outbreak, government leaders across the country have appropriately encouraged social distancing and discouraged or restricted travel. As a result, Alaska – like other airlines – is seeing demand reductions of more than 80%. ... Read more

The German Consulate has informed the Kerala government that it is planning to evacuate German tourists on March 28. The plan is to bring all of them to Thiruvananthapuram on March 27, and they have drawn up a list of 151 tourists for this purpose. Kerala Tourism secretary Rani George said, “I would request the help desks in association with the volunteer groups to contact them and find out where they have been in past 14 days in Kerala, whether they have any symptoms or tested negative.” ” If not please coordinate to provide assistance to do the tests. This ... Read more

Hyatt Hotels has announced furloughs and pay cuts as the hotel industry reels from the corona virus pandemic. Hyatt on Wednesday said the pay cuts would affect all of its employees from April 1 through May 31. The company did not provide details on the amount of the pay cuts. The company will also impose temporary furloughs or significantly cut the schedules of two-thirds of its U.S. corporate employees. The chain had about 55,000 employees at the end of 2019, according to its annual report. Given the financial impact on our business, we have had to make difficult decisions that ... Read more

Indian-American hoteliers have come to the rescue of Indian students in the US. Many Indian students are left stranded following lockdown measures in the country, following the coronavirus pandemic. The hoteliers are providing a great help to these students by offering them free accommodation and meals. Many of the students have been asked to vacate their hostels and with India banning international flights for a week from March 22, more than 6,000 rooms in nearly 700 hotels were offered to them by Wednesday following a call from the Indian Embassy. The Indian Embassy have been running a round-the-clock helpline since ... Read more

Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Ayog – “Sectors like aviation, travel and tourism have got badly impacted by the corona virus outbreak. These sectors have a multiplier effect on jobs. We can expect a package for these job creating sectors”.

Furloughed Hilton employees in the US will be given direct access to an online resource centre and expedited hiring processes at other companies. The global hotel chain has been forced to suspend services across US due to the corona virus pandemic. The company has approximately 60,000 direct employees in its corporate offices and hotels in US and 200,000 more through franchise hotels. While in furlough, employees continue to receive health benefits from Hilton and also get to apply for unemployment benefits. With the joint initiative to find temporary workers for its furloughed employees, the company hopes that its workers will ... Read more

The Rajasthan government has decided to reimburse the state tax, due and deposited, by hotels and tour operators registered under the Rajasthan Goods and Services Act. The order for reimbursement of state tax (SGST) will come into effect from April 1 and will be in force till June 30. The order will be applicable for taxable entities registered under the category of hotels, resorts and tour operators. However, it will not cover standalone restaurants and clubs. The corona virus outbreak has broken the backbone of the travel and tourism industry and all stakeholders have been requesting the central and state ... Read more