Category: Round Up

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

Telangana is planning to construct a memorial tourism site at former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s village exhibiting his life and struggles. Rao’s native village is Vangara in Warangal.  State tourism minister V Srinivas Goud visited Vangara and revealed the plan for the development of the village as a tourism spot. He said, “The village would be recognised globally to mark the centenary celebrations of late Narasimha Rao.” To continue educating and inspiring the country and its younger generations of  Rao’s personality, the building where he lived will be developed into a museum which will have a photo gallery exhibiting ... Read more

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has reviewed the various activities for promoting adventure tourism in India, in the wake of the Covid situation. The Indian government is keen on promoting adventure tourism in the country. Representatives of the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, National Institute of Water Sports, Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering, Indian Mountaineering Foundation and Adventure Tour Operators Association of India participated in the meeting.  During the meeting, Patel was briefed that during 2019-20, the National Institute of Water Sports ( NIWS) held 192 water sports training courses for around four thousand trainees. Patel said ... Read more

The tourism industry in Goa is banking on drive-in visitors after the mandatory COVID-19 test for domestic travellers at state borders, railway stations and the airport here was lifted as part of easing of lockdown restrictions. Goa Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Nikhil Desai said, initially, the sector will have to depend on drive-in tourists as there is very little response to flights and trains, PTI has reported. ‘Since borders are now open and tourists are allowed to enter Goa without COVID-19 testing, those from neighbouring states are expected to drive into the state in their own vehicles,’ he said. ... Read more

Companies in about half-a-dozen sectors, including hospitality, aviation, travel and tourism, are likely to seek the benefit of one-time loan restructuring which will kick in from September, bankers have said. There may not be a rush for restructuring from corporates as only those sectors which are having cash flow problems are likely to go in for loan recast to avoid the tag of ‘restructured account’, a PTI report said quoting bankers. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) are already covered under the ongoing restructuring scheme which was tweaked earlier this month to cover those impacted by COVID-19 crisis, PTI said. ... Read more

The direct air connectivity between Kochi and Europe, a long-cherished demand of the NRIs and business community, came true on Friday with Air India commencing services in the London-Kochi sector. The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) welcomed the AI 1186 aircraft with a water salute as a mark of gratitude, according to a PTI report. In a statement, CIAL said as part of promoting direct connectivity to Europe, it has decided to waive the entire landing fee of airlines operating direct European services to Kochi. The decision will give instant advantage to the national carrier as it schedules direct London-Kochi flight ... Read more

India has revised the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for domestic and international travel, allowing airlines to serve pre-packed meals and beverages on board domestic flights. On international flights, carriers can now serve hot meals and alcohol. The crew, however, will have to wear a fresh set of gloves after serving each meal and beverage to the passengers, a note from Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said. Airlines on domestic routes were not allowed to provide any refreshments, ever since the pandemic started. For international services, carriers were only permitted ‘minimum catering,’ with pre-packaged food placed on seats before boarding. Government ... Read more

The Maharashtra Tourism Development Company (MTDC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tata Group-backed Indian Hotels Company to hand over 54.4 hectare of land in Konkan’s Sindhudurg district on a 90-year lease for setting up of a five-star tourist centre. The company is expected to invest Rs 100 crore in the first phase to build the tourist centre in the Shiroda Velagar village. The centre, which is likely to be completed in three years, would attract domestic and international tourists and generate employment and boost the economy of Sindhudurg. The signing of the MoU comes a month ... Read more

Britain’s economy will lose about £22 billion ($29 billion) this year on the coronavirus-induced collapse of global travel, which could imperil three million jobs, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) predicted in a report on Wednesday. “Travellers and tourists are staying away from the UK in droves because of continuing uncertainty around travel restrictions designed to curb the spread of COVID-19,” the WTTC stated. It continued: “The severe impact on UK travel and tourism is laid bare by WTTC as the economic fallout from coronavirus continues to burn its way through the sector. Nearly three million jobs in the ... Read more

Reopening of restaurants and hotels in the national capital would be a welcome step towards reviving tourism and hospitality activities, Union Minister of State for Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel has said. While taking stock of the preparedness of the Hotel Ashok run by India Tourism Development Corporation under the Ministry of Tourism, he said the decision to reopen hotels was a highly welcome step. The re-opening by ITDC comes after an order issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) permitting hotels to operate in Delhi from August 24. “Opening of the two biggest segments of the tourism industry — ... Read more

As global tourist destinations open slowly amid the domestic recovery in the gradual unlock phase, things may get better during the upcoming festive season and the tourism sector can return to some normalcy by the end of the year, online travel major MakeMyTrip said on Tuesday. The Indian tourism industry has been severely hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Vipul Prakash, Chief Operating Officer, MakeMyTrip, the industry is expecting to gain its momentum during the upcoming festive season, IANS says in a report. “We have seen improvements with the opening of major markets like Europe, Dubai and Maldives, ... Read more

Association of Tourism Trade Organizations, India (ATTOI) has received ‘Safe Travels Stamp” from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) to follow international norms for ‘safe, secure and seamless’ journeys and stays in the post-COVID world. ATTOI will follow the norms under a ‘Safe Travels Stamp’ curated by London-headquartered WTTC, the global body for the sector, said Mr C S Vinod, President of the ATTOI which promotes tourism in various sectors and strengthens business relationships. The stamp, designed to usher in the new normal and build trust in travellers to travel again, will permit travellers to recognise those governments and ... Read more

The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH) has requested India’s Tourism Minister and the Ministry of External Affairs to seek an immediate revision of the negative travel advisory issued by the United States. The USA has issued a travel advisory, rated Level 4 for India. On a scale of 1-4 this is the highest level of risk rating, carrying with it the advice of ‘do not travel’. The level four advisory advises the US citizens not to travel to India due to COVID-19. The previously highlighted concerns that are mentioned include terrorism and crimes against women. FAITH ... Read more

The executive chairman of Trip.com Group, Asia’s biggest online travel agency, says he wants to see Japan and China reopen their borders to each other for leisure travel “later this year,” projecting a strong recovery in tourism demand despite the coronavirus pandemic. A recovery in domestic travel would come first once infections start to ease, and the “next question” would be when Japan and China can reach an agreement about reciprocal travel, Co-founder and Executive Chairman James Liang in a recent video interview. “I hope this kind of agreement can be reached later this year,” Liang said from the Chinese ... Read more

The tourism industry of Kerala is largely supportive yet not even 50% of the industry partners are associating with the Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission activities, says Rupesh Kumar, the State’s Responsible Tourism Mission Coordinator. We hope by implementing the RT Classification system, industry partners will automatically cooperate with the Mission since RT Classification is a promotional tool in the international tourism market. Our activities have created a new face for Kerala Tourism in the national and international tourism market and RT has become a kind of tagline for Kerala Tourism, he says. Excerpts from an interview: Q: In what way has ... Read more