Category: Round Up

All public travel in the UAE, including the Dubai Metro, will be suspended from 8 pm on March 26 until 6 am on March 29. The stoppage is part of a National Sterilisation Programme, which will include all utilities, public transportation and metro services, according to a statement. During this period, traffic will be restricted countrywide and public transportation and metro services will be suspended. The Ministries of Health and the Interior called upon the public to stay at home throughout the sterilisation period, and not to go out except to buy food and medicines or to work in vital ... Read more

India should introduce hygiene protocol to tackle epidemics The impact created by the corona virus may last up to a year and the tourism sector may face the biggest financial crisis in its history as a result. In an elaborate interview, ATTOI President Vinod CS says this is the time to take initiative and control the situation to reduce the damage, even as he looks for support from the state and central governments. Excerpts: Q: Corona virus has impacted Kerala’s tourism fortunes to a very large extent. Can we attach a value to the loss incurred to Kerala tourism due ... Read more

The Police Commissionerate in Kochi has launched the ‘Foreigners Outreach Cell’ for providing assistance to foreign nationals who may be facing difficulties due to the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. Foreign nationals can get help in procuring health clearance certificate, medical assistance, accommodation, transport, ticketing and visa by sending a text, audio or video message or a Whatsapp message to 8590202060. As soon as the message reaches COVID-19 police control room at the Police Commissionerate at Kochi, a police officer will contact the foreign national in distress and gets his difficulty resolved. The Police Commissionerate is continuously in touch with district health ... Read more

by Benny Thomas, Director, Holiday Shop The Union government’s new proposal to collect Tax Collected at Source (TCS) from customers, will affect the travel and tourism industry very adversely. There is already a 5% GST on the holiday packages and an additional 5% of TCS will be a heavy burden for the prospective clients. So how deeply will this affect us all? As far as Indian culture is concerned, going on a holiday is not a necessary item like in the European community. If the cost of the tour increases heavily, naturally the prospective clients will postpone or cancel their ... Read more

In a joint letter to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), CII Tourism National Committee and ASSOCHAM Tourism sub-committee has urged the government to help the sector to come out of the present crisis created by the corona virus pandemic. “We are identifying points of urgent concern for this industry and request you for your kind support. Indian tourism industry is looking at pan India bankruptcies, closure of businesses and mass unemployment as a result of this pandemic. It is estimated that around 70% out of a total estimated workforce of 5.5 ... Read more

The corona virus outbreak has hit the tourism sector hard, in an unprecedented manner. In an interview, S Swaminathan , Managing Director of Dravidian Trails Holidays Pvt Ltd., Cochin, Kerala tells us why we can’t have a fixed time-frame for revival of the sector. He feels all stakeholders should spread the positive news about all the precautionary measures taken by the authorities. The authorities should now give the sector the required benefits that will help the tourism entrepreneurs rebuild the business. Excerpts: Q: Corona virus has impacted Kerala’s tourism fortunes to a very large extent. Can we attach a value ... Read more

CKTI President urges govt to take series of steps to revive sector The Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI) has said the state’s tourism sector will witness a loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore this year, due to the severe impact of the corona virus. This calculation was done based on the fact that Kerala generated a sum of Rs 45,000 crore from the tourism sector last year. Hence, the confederation has requested the government to consider offering the state’s tour operators a cumulative sum of Rs 5 crore as Marketing Development Assistance (MDA). CKTI President ... Read more

US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have agreed to close the US-Canada border to all non-essential travel in an attempt to curb the spread of corona virus. There is significant border crossing between the two neighbouring countries on the daily basis, with great tourist attractions on either side. “We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our northern border with Canada,” Trump tweeted. He said trade would not be affected. Both countries had already issued sweeping travel bans but had maintained exemptions for each other. Canada relies on the US for approximately 75% of its exports. ... Read more

The World Travel & Tourism Council India Initiative (WTTCII) has urged the Union government take a series of steps to help the tourism sector tide over the massive crisis brought about by the spread of the corona virus. The COVID-19, which is now a global pandemic, has already hit the hospitality and airline industry hard, with thousands of tourists cancelling their bookings. To start with, the council has requested the government to provide a GST (Good & Services Tax) holiday for all travel and tourism services for a period of two years. A moratorium on all interest and principal amounts ... Read more

All international airports in Sri Lanka will be closed for operation of inward international commercial passenger flights with effect from Thursday until March 25. The country’s civil aviation authority has said the decision was taken as per the instructions from Sri Lanka’s health authorities. The onslaught of the corona virus has hit Sri Lanka’s aviation industry hard, just like all countries globally. The statement will be reviewed by the Sri Lankan authorities at a later date.

ATTOI executive committee member & CEO of Tourdesigners, VG Jayachandran has urged the government to waive off road tax of tourist vehicles for a period of one year, besides providing interest free or low interest loans to tourism entrepreneurs to rebuild the business. The tourism sector has been hit badly by cancellation of bookings by tourists due to the onslaught of the corona virus pandemic. Several airlines have also cancelled flights to many countries. Jayachandran said a moratorium alone wasn’t sufficient. “It doesn’t mean even a waiver of interest during the period. In this situation, any financial institution will agree ... Read more

The Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI) has written to all the 12 Members of Parliament (MPs) from Kerala, requesting them to take up the woes of the tourism sector in Parliament or related committees. CKTI President EM Najeeb in his letter to the MPs said the tourism industry which has already been facing various challenges, has been hit especially hard by the Covid-19 epidemic. In this context CKTI has requested the Union finance minister and the tourism minister to advise banks to extend moratorium on the repayment of loans and interests from entrepreneurs in the tourism sector for at ... Read more

Star Air, a regional commuter airline, has started a direct flight services between Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Kishangarh (Ajmer – Rajasthan). Rajasthan is the seventh Indian state where Star Air is providing its flight services under the RCS-UDAN scheme. Interestingly, Indore and Kishangarh, which are almost 550 kilometres apart, had not been blessed with direct flight connectivity prior to Star Air’s launch. People had to spend more than 10 hours to cover this distance that too with much hassle and discomfort. But now they can cover this distance in just one hour. Kishangarh is famous for its world-class marbles. “Star ... Read more

Norwegian Air will suspend almost all ts flights and temporarily lay off majority of its staff, as a the corona virus scare has choked the demand for air travel. The carrier has said that it will cancel 85% of its flight and lay off 90% of its staff that translates into 7,300 employees. “What our industry is now facing is unprecedented and critical as we are approaching a scenario where most of our airplanes will be temporarily grounded,” Norwegian Air said in a statement. The company will primarily fly a reduced schedule domestically in Norway and between the Nordic capitals. ... Read more

India has prohibited all airlines from carrying passengers from the European Union and the European Free Trade Association member states. The blanket ban will come into effect from March 18 from 5.30 pm onwards. “Travel advisories have been tightened as a preventive measure,” said health ministry joint secretary Lav Aggarwal. An order by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, “No airline shall board a passenger from these nations from March 18. The airline shall enforce this at the port of initial departure.” The European Free Trade Association states include Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. United Kingdom and Turkey ... Read more