Author: Tourism News live

The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts has been voted the World’s Best Hotel Brand by Travel + Leisure, USA World’s Best Awards Survey, 2020. Owned by Brookfield Asset Management, The Leela hospitality brand is best known for its cuisine and artisanal craft and is rooted in its offering of India’s rich heritage to the world. This accolade is a recognition of the brand’s consistency in pursuing excellence and an affirmation of its commitment towards curating authentic luxury experiences with the graciousness of Indian hospitality, the hotel said. In the same survey, The Leela Palace Udaipur gained top honours as the #1 Resort ... Read more

Saint Lucia has introduced several new and updated protocols for arrivals from July 9, following a reassessment of market conditions. Travellers will be required to obtain a negative PCR (polymerised chain reaction) test within seven days of travel unless they are arriving from countries in the travel bubble designated by the government of Saint Lucia. Visitors travelling only from destinations that have zero or a low instance of Covid-19 cases will be exempt from the seven-day pre-testing requirement, Breaking Travel News has reported. These destinations currently include Antigua, Barbuda, Aruba, Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, ... Read more

Solomon Islands is pushing for an intra-regional travel bubble. To date no cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu, Solomon Times has reported. Josefa Tuamoto, chief executive of Tourism Solomons says while Australia and New Zealand continue to explore options for a Trans-Tasman bubble, “we believe there is merit in forming a travel bubble of intra-regional Pacific nation groupings.” In total the countries have a population of about 1.5 million, but the bubble would cover a vast area of the Pacific. ... Read more

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes on Thursday said the low-cost airline can bounce back to profitability next year, but that it will look to raise 2 billion ringgit ($469 million) in the next six months to be in a “very comfortable” position. In an interview with Nikkei Asian Review, Fernandes expressed confidence that AirAsia can overcome heavy losses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Malaysia-based company said earlier on Thursday that it was working to raise more than 1 billion ringgit ($234 million). Air Asia gave details of its plans after its shares fell sharply on Wednesday following a ... Read more

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged the International Energy Agency (IEA) to prioritise investments in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to help power aviation’s contribution to the post-COVID-19 recovery. The call comes on the eve of the IEA Clean Energy Transitions Summit, which will meet virtually to debate moves towards a low-carbon future. In a statement on Thursday, IATA also emphasised the aviation industry’s commitment to its emissions reduction goals. “The world must ‘build back better’ from the COVID-19 crisis with attention focused on investment in carbon reduction technologies and in SAF, which will create jobs at this critical ... Read more

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), a public sector undertaking, under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, to implement preventive measures against Covid-19 infections. ITDC wants to provide a safe, hygienic and healthy environment to guests and staff across its hotels and offices and is looking to lay down a relevant protocol in association with AIIMS. To take the initiative forward an advisory board will be formed consisting of representatives from AIIMS, ITDC or representatives from any other organisation to provide inputs on designing and developing the ... Read more

The Maldives President has sacked the country’s Tourism Minister Ali Waheed, after female employees in his office accused him of sexual offences, news agency Associated Press reported on Thursday. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had called for the resignation of Ali Waheed and then sacked him after he failed to step down on his own, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Hood said. Police confirmed receiving complaints of sexual misconduct by Waheed. An archipelago state in the Indian Ocean, Maldives is known for its luxury tourist resort islands.  The development has come at a time, when Maldives is preparing to reopen to international visitors ... Read more

Air India and Air India Express have confirmed that it will operate repatriation flights to the UAE to fetch stranded citizens from the country. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said that the repatriation flights will commence from July 12 and will go on till July 26. An agreement for the same has been signed between the civil aviation authorities of the two countries, putting an end to the long traumatic wait for hundreds of Indians, Khaleej Times has reported. Many are currently stranded in India since March when both the UAE and India closed their airspaces to curb the ... Read more

Uttarakhand has decided to allow tourists from other states provided they bring along a Covid-19 negative medical report taken not more than 72 hours before their arrival. The tourists will not be quarantined on their arrival in the state. However, till further orders, the Char Dham Yatra will remain closed for them as only residents of Uttarakhand are allowed to undertake this pilgrimage in a regulated manner. The State’s Tourism and Culture minister Satpal Maharaj said, “We welcome tourists from other states to the Devbhoomi. We hope each tourist will bring the Covid-19 negative test report and enjoy the beautiful ... Read more

After lifting all travel restrictions, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB) has introduced a new campaign Intezaar Aapka to attract tourists who would like to visit the state. The campaign is running currently on all social handles of the state tourism board. The campaign includes a series of communications about the destinations that are awaiting tourists.  Being under lockdown for more than 100 days now, travellers are eager and willing to come out of their houses with families, not far but for a short weekend getaway. Keeping such points in mind, the MPTB is promoting places of tourist interest such as Ujjain, Panchmari, Amarkantak, Bandhavgarh, ... Read more

The UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced steep cuts to value added tax (VAT) worth over £4 billion in an attempt to revive the struggling British tourism and hospitality sector. In his statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday, the Chancellor said VAT will be slashed from 20% to 5% for a period of six months until January, giving every chance for the sector to bounce back. Sunak said he wanted to see pubs, restaurants, cafes and B&Bs “bustling again”, adding that the measures were “a plan to turn our national recovery into millions of stories of personal renewal.” ... Read more

Etihad Airways has partnered with Sitata, a Canadian travel risk management company, to launch an interactive travel map on etihad.com, the airline’s official website. Etihad Airways’ guests now have easy access to a comprehensive overview of the situation relating to COVID-19 at each destination in the airline’s network. The travel map uses advanced computer algorithms to detect new travel information globally, which is swiftly updated on its portal. The system also relies on announcements and updates published on official government websites and reputable media channels. The information is vetted by Sitata’s team of editors and continuously updated as and when new ... Read more

Niraamaya Wellness Retreats, known for its bespoke wellness offerings, has devised a set of ayurvedic treatments that are being offered to boost immunity. The Niraamaya Immunity Booster Package, the hospitality firm says, is designed to help strengthen you against the various afflictions in the world today. In Ayurveda, the objective of immunity-boosting is achieved through rasayana, vajikarana and ojovardhaka therapies. Rasayana and vajikarana medications enhance the immune system by using immuno-modulatory agents of herbal origin. The Ayurvedic concepts of Vyadhi Kshematwa, Ojas and Bala are the primary focus areas, Niraamaya stated in a press release. The therapeutic strategy of this ... Read more

Spain’s tourism industry has been in a difficult situation ever since the coronavirus crisis began, which led to a near global lockdown and travel restrictions. While travel is now permitted within the European Union and Schengen Area, it remains heavily restricted for citizens of countries outside the EU. The so-called “Golden Mile” between Puerto Banús and Marbella, on Spain’s Costa del Sol, has been left without its typical visitors this summer: tourists from the Middle East and Russia. The image of the Spanish port filled with yachts and glamorous foreigners is distinctly missing, El Pais has reported. Tourists from these countries ... Read more

The Tata group is the only bidder in the fray for national carrier Air India with just a month left for the final bidding date. The Tata group, which already has a footprint in the airlines business, has shown interest in acquiring Air India, which at one point of time was under the Tata umbrella, news agency IANS has reported. The other bidders will be known in due course as globally airlines are under severe stress due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant disruptions on air travel and tourism. The Tata group is likely to go ahead with the ... Read more