Category: Round Up

Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, has announced nine new flights connecting various south Indian cities from July 9-14. The move follows the UAE government’s objection to Vande Bharat Mission flights operated by Air India. Air India Express will operate these flights as part of the repatriation mission from Sharjah, according to the Indian Consulate in Dubai.  The flights will connect Madurai, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli, Kochi and Hyderabad. Indian nationals registered with the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi or the Consulate-General of India in Dubai and fulfilling the required entry conditions can book through the Air India Express ... Read more

UAE-based Indian welfare groups are anxious about the fate of future repatriation flights from the country after two chartered flights to India could not take off on Saturday in the absence of approvals from authorities in India, according to a Khaleej Times report. The Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), a welfare organisation, said the Etihad Airways EY254 flight that it had chartered from Abu Dhabi to Kozhikode on Saturday had to be cancelled ‘at the last moment’ because the Directorate of General Civil Aviation (DGCA) did not send the permissions necessary for it to land in India. As per the ... Read more

Five of Delhi’s tourist destinations opened to the public on Saturday, after being closed for months. Dilli Haat, Nature Bazaar, Garden of Five Senses, Azad Hind Gram and GTB Memorial are the destinations that opened in India’s capital, with precautions in place. The Delhi tourism department in a statement said that for the first 15 days of their opening, entry to these spots will be free in order to encourage high footfall. However, all visitors will have to wear masks and maintain social distancing, and will be screened on entry. Provisions for frequent hand wash will be made available, and ... Read more

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has appointed two new special ambassadors as it leads the restart of the sector across Europe. UNWTO has named renowned fashion designer Giorgio Armani and celebrated chef Gino Sorbillo as its latest special ambassadors for tourism. In their new roles, both the special ambassadors will draw on their status and influence to promote the work of the United Nations specialized agency for responsible and sustainable tourism. As leaders in gastronomy and fashion, they represent two of Italy’s biggest economic sectors and two of the industries that contribute to making the country a global tourism leader. ... Read more

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said that the resumption of domestic tourism, which was suspended due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, will kickstart the coastal state’s economy. There was a lot of pressure from tourism stakeholders to restart the tourism industry and the government acceded to their demands as it is an economic activity, the chief minister said. “At present, Goans require employment and there was immense pressure from tourism stakeholders to restart the sector. After considering all the aspects and putting standard operating procedures in place, we decided to reopen the sector,” Sawant said. Tourism activities resumed in Goa on Thursday, with ... Read more

To allow tourist passenger vehicles move seamlessly across the country, a new scheme is being formulated by the Indian government under which any tourist vehicle operator may apply online for an all-India authorisation permit. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification for an amendment to the National Permit regime under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 for promoting tourism across the country. “The Ministry is in the pursuit of providing seamless movement to the tourist passenger vehicles after the success of goods carriage vehicles under the National Permit Regime,” the Ministry said in a statement. This ... Read more

All monuments that were closed amid the Covid-19 pandemic can be opened from July 4, the India government has said. “It has been decided that all the monuments can be opened with full security,” Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said in a tweet on Thursday. Under ‘unlock-2’ which got underway on July 1, the government is trying to open up more activities outside containment zones. But the surge in the Covid-19 pandemic in many parts of the country has meant that people have largely kept away from destinations including monument sites. The Taj Mahal, for example, has been closed ... Read more

The Himachal Pradesh government is considering reopening the tourism industry within a week, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Thursday. He was interacting with media persons on the side-lines of a review meeting of various developmental projects being undertaken in Mandi district. Thakur said that there was a demand to open the tourism industry in the state but the government was not in a hurry as the Covid-19 cases were rapidly increasing. “However, I have asked the tourism department to formulate standard operating procedures (SOPs) for tourist activities. Maybe within a week, the tourism activities will be resumed,” he ... Read more

Kerala on Thursday demanded more flights to be operated from Saudi Arabia as part of the Vande Bharat Mission. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that of the 270 flights operated as part of the mission, only 20 were from Saudi. On Thursday, leaders of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre met the chief minister, demanding operation of more flights from Saudi Arabia. Of the 87,391 Keralites who registered to return to Kerala from Saudi, only 13,535 could return so far. Pinarayi pointed out that a majority of those who wish to return from ... Read more

Japan’s latest bullet train is not just faster and smoother. It is also loaded with safety features that can withstand most emergency situations. The N700S — the ‘S’ stands for ‘Supreme’ — entered into service on July 1 and serves the Tokaido Shinkansen line, which links Tokyo Station and Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka. It can run up to 360 kilometres per hour, a new record set during a test run in 2019, making it one of the fastest trains in the world. The operating speed, however, will be capped at 285 kilometres per hour, CNN reports. It’s the first new bullet train ... Read more

A small Italian town in Molise found itself overwhelmed by interest after offering free accommodation in a bid to attract tourists this summer. San Giovanni in Galdo – with a population of around 550 – received more than 2,000 applications from all over the world for a week’s stay in one of its traditional central Italian hill-top houses, Local Italy reports.  The village association announced it would offer up to 40 free holidays in one of the local homes left empty by depopulation and within days saw “hundreds and hundreds” of applications pour in, organisers said. In total over 2,000 ... Read more

In wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Himachal hoteliers have urged the state government to not start tourist activities in the state till October despite the state government issuing standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding the same. In a letter to chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and the tourism secretary, Himachal’s hoteliers have said that tourist activities should not be permitted for the next few months as Covid-19 cases are increasing at an alarming rate in India and the world at large. All Himachal Association of Hospitality and Tourism, spokesperson, Ashwani Bamba said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the tourism and hospitality ... Read more

The Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) hosted a webinar on “Preparedness of Hospitality, Travel & Tourism industry during COVID-19” recently, attended by senior officials representing various segments of the hospitality and travel industry.  Agreeing that domestic tourism is likely to be the first sector to be revived, almost all the panellists were of the view that the industry can bounce back to health if all the stakeholders come together to support each other. To promote India as a destination among the foreigners, it is important to properly communicate and convince the world and prospective travellers that they are safe while ... Read more

Mexico’s oldest legacy airline, Aeromexico, has said that it has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization, a form of bankruptcy in which the carrier can keep operating while its debts and obligations are sorted out. The airline said “this legal process will not interrupt the airline’s operations” and that all tickets, reservations and bonus points would continue to be honoured, news agency AP has reported. Like many airlines throughout the world, Aeromexico has been squeezed by a decline in travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Aeromexico General Director Andrés Conesa said “the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the ... Read more

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways will add 15 more destinations shortly, which will include some major cities across the Indian subcontinent. “Throughout July, we’re planning to operate flights to more than 40 worldwide destinations. We continue to work closely with the UAE government and global aviation authorities to increase our network in the future,” the UAE carrier said on its website. Athens, Greece, was the latest destination it added, taking the total number of international flights being flown by Etihad through June to 25 destinations. Khaleej Times reported that from July 16, the carrier will be adding the Indian cities of ... Read more