Author: Tourism News live

Sad news for the art lovers, the fifth edition of the KMB ( Kochi Muziris Biennale) scheduled for DEC this year has been postponed to November 2021 in view of the ongoing pandemic situation and since Kerala has noticed a second spike in COVID 19 cases. KMB has been India’s most talked-about art exhibitions and also the people’s favorite since its launch in 2012. Earlier when it was announced that the exhibition will be held from DEC 20 there was a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm from the Art lovers which has now given way to disappointment. A statement ... Read more

With the opening of the tourism industry in Kerala, medical and wellness tourism has gained tremendous momentum. Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy are the key contributors injecting a new life to the hospitality industry which has itself been on life support system for a long time now. Yoga as well as Ayurveda has been seen as natural ways of boosting immunity, improving quality of life and wellbeing of both mind and body. The fact that both don’t pose any harmful effects adds to the advantage. Both are believed to have great significance in building immunity for the body, and also help ... Read more

Apart from the health hazards and causalities, one of the worst effects of the pandemic is that it has isolated many people and forced them to confine to their homes for safety reasons. Family functions, get together with friends and team outings have always helped people connect with family, peers, and colleagues. This has taken a serious blow and a feeling of isolation has overshadowed lives. Christmas and New Year are round the corner and it is time to work on your holiday plans, modify them to make sure you and your loved ones stay safe. The safety of your ... Read more

SKAL in association with other travel and tourism organizations is organizing a bike ride with southern brothers proud owners of Harley Davidson bike promoting Kerala tourism, the ride starts with a flag off from the Kowdiar palace on 14th November at 7 am covering major tourist spots and prime locations in Trivandrum, Kovalam and Poovar backwater, the slogan of this ride is “IT’S NOT THE DESTINATION, ITS THE JOURNEY “ the main aim of this program is to promote Kerala tourism is back to action and the destinations are open for the tourist to explore their holidays and welcoming a ... Read more

Leading tourism associations have come forward to congratulate the Kerala state government’s decision to open the Tourism sector for the tourists. Association of Tourism Trade Organizations India (ATTOI) President Vinod CS and Secretary Manu PV said they would like to congratulate the State Government, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Secretary Rani George and all the officials of the tourism department for taking this great initiative. Confederation of Accredited Tour Operators (CATO) President Mr Sanjeev Kumar said he would like to congratulate the state government for taking such a step when the tourism sector most needed it. As per the announcement ... Read more

The Uttarakhand tourism department will provide discount coupons to tourists who check in to hotels and homestays across the state. This pilot project, aimed at improving tourism in the picturesque Himalayan state, comes with a ‘Tourist Incentive Coupon’ worth Rs 1,000, Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj has said. The offer, which will come into effect in the next few days, will be applicable to tourists who make e-bookings for a three-day stay in hotels or homestays in the state, Conde Nast Traveller reports. “The tourists will be given the discount coupon while registering themselves on the government portal under tourist category. ... Read more

photo credit : Wisanu Boonrawd & missmeghanyoung The Utah Office of Tourism has appointed IndiJo Consulting as its official representative in India. IndiJo Consulting will carry out sales, marketing and PR activities on behalf of the tourism board. These include webinars, trade training, co-op promotions, social media initiatives, support product development, trade & media relations. Utah is a state in the western USA that is blessed with the most breath-taking landscapes. The 5 national parks, 7 national forests, 44 state parks, and vibrant cities make Utah one of the most popular tourism destinations in the world. Speaking on the occasion ... Read more

Starting October 15, the Bahamas will enter Phase 3 of the Tourism Readiness & Recovery Plan ahead of the busy holiday season, which will include the reopening of beaches and major hotels.   Since 1950, tourism has played an integral role in the Bahamas’ economy, accounting for more than 50% of the country’s GDP and 60% of national employment. The COVID-19 Pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on global tourism and The Bahamas’ economy has felt the impact, particularly following 2019’s record-breaking tourism numbers, where the country welcomed 7.2 million visitors. As part of Phase 3, beaches and major hotels will reopen on all islands. Minister of ... Read more

Tourism industry body IATO has urged the government to provide immediate relief to the tourism sector, which has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the tour operators have been forced to lay off their staff, many have sent staff on furlough and those who are remaining are getting less than 30%, the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) said in a statement. In light of this, IATO has sought various relief measures from the government. This includes one-time financial grant of the gross salaries amount paid to the staff of tour operators on the basis of the ... Read more

Hilton is closing its Times Square hotel from October 1, according to a document it filed with state regulators this week. Two hundred employees will lose their jobs, the filing says, due to “unforeseeable business circumstances prompted by COVID-19.” The 44-story hotel at 234 West 42nd Street, in New York, was opened in 2000. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, an industry group, hotel occupancy in urban markets was 38% in August, well below the 50% it takes for most properties to break even, according to a report by USA Today. August hotel occupancy in New York was ... Read more

NotOnMap, a social initiative for the marginalized across rural India and StayFlexi, the world’s first flexible and autonomous hospitality company based out of California have come together for their social initiative NotOnMart for rural India. NotOnMart in essence is a small scale community-led initiative that aims to scale up the coordination of micro-sized businesses. The project can turn out to be a major promoting factor for rural tourism, as it supports rural craftsmen. With this initiative, NotOnMap plans to support the livelihood of farmers and craftsmen of rural pockets by connecting them directly to the end-consumer through a tech-enabled platform ... Read more

Hotel aggregator Oyo has decided to extend the furlough period of its Indian employees, by six more months. The furlough period was initially expected to conclude by the end of August. The Gurugram-headquartered company has also introduced a voluntary separation option for those employees who want to move on. Under its voluntary separation plan, Oyo India has also granted restricted stock units to all its employees. Staff who opt for the voluntary separation program are being given a choice to cancel a small portion – around 25% – of their unvested restricted stock units or RSUs and get additional cash ... Read more

Air India has been allowed to conduct ground handling operations at US airports. The airline has called the move as an opportunity for the future. The development has overturned a US Department of Transportation`s July 2019 order whereby Air India`s right to self-handle at US airports was suspended.   An Air India spokesperson said the airline was not affected due to this restriction by the US Department of Transportation to self handle at the US airports as it did not conduct any self-handling of its flights in the US. “However, the relaxation will give us an opportunity to self handle at ... Read more

The Karnataka Tourism Society is inviting membership from travel, tourism and hospitality stakeholders, to revive the industry and create value. The Society is aimed at promoting tourism in the state of Karnataka and to drive the interests of all persons engaged in activities connected with tourism. Tourism contributes 14.8% towards the State’s GDP and supports over 16 million jobs. Karnataka has immense potential to become a world-class destination and the state is trying to support the efforts of the tourism department to globally market it. The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators ... Read more

Greece’s Tourism Minister Haris Theocharis has said the country is trying to do everything possible to ensure that the country remains an attractive tourist destination with a low rate of coronavirus infections. Talking to BBC Radio he said that the country’s measures to control the pandemic has proved to be successful. “We’re taking specific targeted measures where we see specific concentrations of cases,” Theocharis told Radio 4’s “Today” program. He went on to note that coronavirus cases in Greece remain far below the European Union average in proportional terms and the UK threshold of 20 cases per 100,000 residents per week, ... Read more