Author: Tourism News live

Royal Carribean Cruises has decided to suspend the voyages of its fleet globally, following the corona virus outbreak. The cruise operator has said that it will return to service on April 11. Princess Cruises has also suspended the voyages of all its 18 ships for two months. US President Donald Trump had said that major cruise lines would suspend cruises for 30 days at his request after it was brought to light that the virus transmission had picked up among passengers at sea.

Hong Kong’s tourism sector has been hit hard by the rapid spread of the corona virus. In February, arrivals fell to 199,000 which was the daily average during the first half of last year, South China Morning Post reported on Monday. The tourism board’s figures showed a 96% drop year on year for the period, after the government rolled out measures from February 8, to control the spread of the virus by closing all but three border checkpoints with mainland China. For the rest of the month, the average number of tourists coming to the city stood at just 3,300 ... Read more

IndiGo Airlines has announced the cancellation of some flights to Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi from March 17, in view of travel restrictions arising out of the corona virus scare. “Owing to the suspension of visas for all foreigners with exception of diplomatic passport holders, Indigo will be cancelling some of its flights (as mentioned above) until the travel restrictions are lifted. The airline said it would be refunding the entire amount to the impacted passengers,” the airline said in a statement.

The ITB India, billed as the gateway to the Indian travel market, will now be held in April next year. The two-day event will take place at the Bombay Exhibition Centre from April 7-9. The ITB India organisers will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide further updates based on official assessment of the overall situation. It was supposed to be held this year from April 15-17. The organisers said the event has been postponed to ensure the safety of ITB India’s exhibitors, buyers and visitors, following the spread of COVID-19.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has unequivocally stated that no tourist coming into Kerala should feel harassed, due to the stringent virus testing measures initiated by the government, in the wake of the corona outbreak. “No one should be forced to leave,” he said while addressing a review meeting on the situation on Saturday. The chief minister has said that all stakeholders should ensure that the inbound tourists don’t face any difficulty. However, as part of the precautionary measures they have to be in isolation at their place of stay. A health department advisory has categorised the tourists as high ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism has directed the tour operators to avoid movement of tourist groups within the country, in a bid to control the spread of the corona virus. “Your support will go a long way in strengthening the hands of the government of India in its efforts to overcome the situation,” said Rupinder Brar, the additional director general of the Ministry of Tourism. As a precautionary measure, all visas issued to nationals of all countries have been suspended till April 15 and Indian nationals have been strongly advised to avoid all non-essential travel. Health experts across the world have ... Read more

The South Kerala Hoteliers Forum (SKHF) has decided to postpone the South India Travel Expo 2020 (SITE), due to public health concerns arising out of the corona virus outbreak. “While it is indeed a big disappointment for all of us at SITE and the rest of the tourism industry in India, we have chosen to take this decision duly considering the safety of our exhibitors, buyers, visitors and other stakeholders,” SITE said in a press release. The new dates will be announced later. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the state government had strongly recommended that mass gathering ... Read more

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) has urged the central government to take steps that will help the tourism industry to tide over its cash crunch, in the light of the coronavirus outbreak. In a meeting with the tourism ministry, a 10 member multi-association team discussed a series of steps that could revive the sector. The ADTOI team requested the ministry to provide a complete GST tax holiday for the travel and hospitality industry for the next 12 months. It has called for a 6-9 months’ moratorium on all principal and interest payments on loans and overdrafts. ... Read more

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has stepped up calls for government support, warning that the travel meltdown could lead to many of the airlines facing steep losses within the next two months. IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac said the risk of further bankruptcies will depend on the intensity and the duration of the coronavirus crisis. Talking to news agency Reuters, he said if the drop is as significant as seen now, the industry will see difficulties. Airlines are demanding relief from charges related to aircraft parking and overflight fees, which is essentially a fee for airspace usage. Many carriers ... Read more

Private airport operators have requested that a moratorium be placed on revenue sharing for at least three months. The private airports are required to share their revenues with the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI), as per the prevailing norms. The operators have also suggested that they be allowed to levy a fee on air tickets to cover the costs incurred towards deploying additional resources for screening travellers. The Association of Private Airports Operators (APAO) has told the Civil Aviation Ministry that the corona virus scare has adversely impacted the non-aero revenues due to reduced sales at F&B and retail ... Read more

Disney has closed the Walt Disney World, its flagship theme park resort in Orlando, Florida, because of the corona virus pandemic. The company also announced the closure of Disneyland Paris and the suspension of all new departures with the Disney Cruise Line. The company also said it was closing the Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The virus, which has spread worldwide, has now shuttered the gates of all eleven Disney theme parks across North America, Europe and Asia. “In an abundance of caution and in the best interest of our guests and employees, we are proceeding with the closure of our ... Read more

The Director General of Civil Aviation has stated that it would be appropriate if airlines support their passengers in this tough time by waiving off cancellation/rescheduling charges. In light of the hardship faced by passengers, airlines may like to consider and take an appropriate call, DGCA said. The aviation industry has been facing serious challenges, in view of the unfolding impact of COVID-19. Flights are being curtailed, cancelled and disrupted almost on a daily basis. Consequently, the travel plans of the passengers have got hit badly.

Travelers who were all set to reach Bengaluru to attend some key music events may be disappointed. The corona virus outbreak has pushed American pop artist Khalid’s Asia tour to a later date. The event was supposed to take place this month. The Bangalore Open Air, a rock and heavy metal music festival, that was to be held on March 21 has been shelved. Other city-based bands have also cancelled gigs. An Austrian pop singers’ concert to be held on the weekend at Windmills Craftworks will not take place. And then, the government has asked for weddings and sports events ... Read more

Russia’s Sheremetyevo wins best large airport of the year award The Russian airport of Sheremetyevo has been picked as the best large airport in Europe in 2019, according to a survey by the Airport Council International’s (ACI) airport service quality programme. This is the second consecutive year that Sheremetyevo has led the survey in the category of airports serving more than 40 million passengers per year. The award will be presented at the ASQ Awards ceremony in September as part of the third Global Summit of the Airport Council International (ACI) in Kraków, Poland. Sheremetyevo Airport has consistently led the ... Read more

Corona virus: Rashtrapati Bhavan closes for all tourists from today The Rashtrapati Bhavan has closed all public tour visits from Friday as a precaution against the outbreak of the coronavirus. An official spokesperson has said the Rashtrapati Bhavan will remain closed till further orders. The Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum Complex and the Change of Guard ceremony will not be open to public till further notice. On Wednesday the World Health Organisation had declared the coronavirus as a pandemi