Category: Round Up

The Fern Hotels & Resorts, one of India’s leading hotel chains, is looking to partner with standalone hotels and enter into management contracts, Param Kannampilly, the Chairman & Managing Director of the company has said. Explaining the benefits of associating with the company he said, “We have a robust sales and marketing network with a pan-India presence, so the association will help individual hotels grow their corporate, MICE and leisure business in these uncertain times”. “We can look into the possibility of tie-ups under our Fern, Zinc and Beacon brands depending upon the property,” he added. Providing details of the newly announced ... Read more

The Maharashtra state government has now restricted extensive movement within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which has seen an unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases in the past month. In Mumbai, city police have stopped allowing people to move beyond a 2-km periphery from their homes. On Monday, while extending lockdown restrictions till July 31 under ‘Mission Begins Again’ initiative, the government has asked people in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and other cities to use only neighbourhood markets and barred them from travelling long distance for shopping non-essential items. Violations will invite police action. Chief secretary Ajoy Mehta issued an order on ... Read more

The European Union is edging toward finalising a list of countries whose citizens will be allowed to enter Europe again in coming days, with Americans almost certain to be excluded in the short term due to the number of U.S. coronavirus cases. Spain’s foreign minister said that the list could contain 15 countries that are not EU members and whose citizens would be allowed to visit from July 1. EU diplomats confirmed that the list would be made public on Tuesday. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity to the news agency Associated Press (AP) because the procedure is ongoing ... Read more

As part of the Dekho Apna Desh webinar series, the Ministry of Tourism introduced a session on  “Unlocking Travel & Tourism Safely & Responsibly during Covid”. The webinar was moderated by  Rupinder Brar, ADG, Ministry Of Tourism and was presented by  Dr Sandeep Bhalla, Director of Public Health Foundation of India, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Singh, Chief Medical Superintendent of Amrita Institute of Medical & Sciences Research Centre at Kochi, Dr Paridhi Mody, Programme Officer of Public Health Foundation of India. As countries around the globe including India are now gradually opening up trade and industries including travel & tourism, bringing ... Read more

Exactly a month ago, the Indian government had shelved the Sree Narayana Guru Spiritual Circuit project, in a major reversal for Kerala. No reason was provided for such a step at that time. Kerala could not accept this move and decided to pursue the matter with the Central government. Finally, on Monday, the Centre decided to retain the spiritual circuit, drawing curtains on a controversy which had the potential to snowball into a larger political crisis. But there is still a hitch. While the Centre has informed that the Rs 69.47-crore Sree Narayana Guru spiritual circuit project would be retained ... Read more

Pride Group of Hotels has announced its first-ever ‘Holiday Bond’ to welcome patrons back, in the new normal. The campaign offers an exclusive voucher for the forthcoming travel of its guests. The holiday bond – which includes an exclusive voucher for the imminent travel of the guests – can be bought for one of their seven participating properties at Rs 10,000 (plus taxes) and can be redeemed for services worth Rs 13,000. The bond is valid until November 14, 2020.  Satyen Jain, CEO, Pride Group of Hotels says, “We believe that when people travel, they shouldn’t have to compromise on ... Read more

Thomas Cook (India), an integrated travel services company, has introduced Staycations — an array of mini-vacations for Indians increasingly seeking quick, stress-free getaways close to home. With stays at handpicked hotels, either within one’s city of residence or at a short driveable distance, Staycations come attractively priced. According to Thomas Cook India’s “Holiday Readiness Report – Future of Travel post Covid-19”, 64% respondents were keen on a domestic holiday. However, most ranked health & safety as a primary concern. To ensure a perfect blend, Thomas Cook’s Staycations are designed to allow Indians to unwind at hotels in their home city or ... Read more

Air India will fly 114 flights while IndiGo and GoAir will operate 457 and 41 flights respectively between July 3 and July 15 under the fourth phase of the Vande Bharat Mission, news agency PTI has reported. The government started the mega mission to evacuate stranded Indians from abroad on May 6. Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under the fourth phase of the mission, Air India will operate 114 flights to India from 17 countries. Canada, the US, the UK, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, ... Read more

Various stakeholders representing Pahalgam tourism on Sunday requested the administration to allow tourists from other districts to visit Pahalgam so that local businesses can survive the COVID-19 aftermath. The point was raised at a meeting organised by the Pahalgam hoteliers, tourist taxi operators, adventure operators, pony wallas and other tourism allied service providers. The meeting was presided by Faheem Behaqi, sub-divisional magistrate of Pahalgam. The tourism trade representatives requested that since there are no tourists coming from outside, it would be good if administration would allow locals to visit Pahalgam. The representatives were informed that the Jammu & Kashmir tourism ... Read more

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) has urged the Indian government for long term measures to save the hotel industry from sinking further, due to the pandemic. In a letter to Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel, HRAO chairman JK Mohanty said although hotels have been allowed to run with 30% capacity, there is no occupancy as people are scared to travel by trains and flights. The hoteliers said they have not yet received any relief either from the Centre or the State Government despite the repeated appeals explaining the miserable condition.      Meanwhile, the Odisha Cultural Circle ... Read more

Kerala Tourism, which is banking on domestic tourism in the wake of the ban on international air travel, has a hurdle to cross. The district of Thiruvananthapuram, which is home to quite a few travel destinations including the likes of Kovalam, Shangumugham and the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, has become a Covid-19 hotspot.   Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran has expressed anxiety over the transmission of coronavirus in Thiruvananthapuram, especially within the city. He stated that the current situation does not demand closing down the city but the residents must adhere to the guidelines issued by the government. With the coronavirus community transmission ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism as part of its Dekho Apna Desh webinar series featured ‘Vedic Food and Spices of India’, in an attempt to showcase ancient culinary wisdom. Two renowned chefs, Rajeev Goyal and chef Gautam, held centre stage. While Rajeev Goyal is a culinary tourism expert and the president of India Food Tourism Org, the first of its kind food tour company in India, chef Gautam has been closely associated with some of the leading premium brands such as Radisson, Oberoi before heading to the Beverly Hills in the US. From adding a sprig of tulsi in the water ... Read more

The Uttarakhand government is trying to generate more employment opportunities for the youth of the state, by starting an online registration facility under the Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Tourism Self-Employment Scheme. Under the scheme, the beneficiary can purchase buses/electric buses to operate on state routes and avail 50% subsidy or up to Rs 15 lakhs for the purchase of the bus. This self-employment scheme has been provided to the people of Uttarakhand state and the buses will be operated only on the designated routes of the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation. Along with this, it will also be mandatory that all such ... Read more

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the UNWTO are joining forces to boost the recovery of the tourism sector across the 38 economies where the Bank invests. According to UNWTO, all worldwide destinations introduced restrictions on travel in response to Covid-19. While some destinations are starting to ease restrictions, the crisis is far from over and this lockdown has led to a massive fall in international tourist arrivals. In light of such unprecedented events, the EBRD and UNWTO have agreed to take immediate action to facilitate the recovery of tourism. The immediate response was designed along the three ... Read more

Air India has announced eight evacuation flights between India and Australia under the Vande Bharat Mission. The flights will be operated from July 1 to July 14. Bookings will begin on June 28 from 12 PM — only on the Air India website. The national carrier will operate four flights each to Melbourne and Sydney. Since May, Air India has carried out repatriation flights under the Vande Bharat Mission. Recently,  the US, France and the UAE governments raised objections to these flights saying that India was not allowing these countries to carry out their own repatriation flights. While India was ... Read more