Category: Round Up

KT Corp., South Korea’s largest telecommunications company, will develop virtual reality (VR) entertainment service for air passengers jointly with Jin Air and Hanjin Information Systems & Telecommunications (HIST). KT signed an agreement with Jin Air, the only widebody low-cost carrier operation in South Korea, and HIST for the new VR service optimized for air safety, security and other special in-flight needs. The nation’s top telecom company will provide its VR service platform, Super VR, for Jin Air passengers to access to its massive immersive media content. “We can enjoy a new experience of entertainment based on VR contents not just at home or places ... Read more

The Wadia Group-owned GoAir has been put on cash-and-carry (pay as you fly) mode by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) over the pending dues. GoAir is the third such airline to go on this mode, after Air India and SpiceJet. GoAir has said there will be no impact on its flight operations. The Airports Authority of India’s letter dated August 10 stated the authority has put “GoAir on cash-and- carry mode for all AAI airports across the country from Tuesday (00:01hrs of August 11)”. GoAir is engaged in constructive discussions with AAI and would like to assure our customers ... Read more

As many as 25 hotels managed by The Fern Hotels & Resorts, India’s leading environmentally sensitive hotel chain, have received the TripAdvisor Travelers Choice 2020 Badge. Noshir A Marfatia, Senior Vice President – Sales and Marketing, of The Fern Hotels & Resorts said that Amanora The Fern, Pune has received the TripAdvisor Travelers Choice 2020 Best of the Best Award, placing it in the top 1% of the world’s best hotels.  “The greatest part of this achievement is that it is the recognition of our guests on our products, services and standards that have won us this accolade,” he said. “And our hotels across the country ... Read more

Abdenabi Nouidi sold his favourite horse for USD 150 to help feed the others on the team that pulls tourists in carriages through the buzzing streets of Marrakech. Still, he’s worried about the future of the rest of the horses. The prospect of starvation looms for carriage horses and other animals normally used in Morocco’s tourist mecca, since visitors have vanished during the coronavirus pandemic, says a report by the Associated Press. The Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad, or SPANA, says hundreds of Morocco’s carriage horses and donkeys are threatened amid the collapsing tourism industry. They are among ... Read more

Indians are the most confident in the world about resuming international travel once they are allowed to do so, according a travel survey. They also top the list of people most eager to travel internationally in the next 12 months with 77% saying they are keen to travel, followed by Thais at 70% and Indonesians at 60%, said news agency ANI, quoting the new survey. Singapore is the most favoured destination for people living in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines when it comes to post-lockdown travel, said the newly released study conducted jointly by social research agency ... Read more

Equitable Tourism Options (EQUATIONS), a research and advocacy NGO working on environmental impact of tourism on local communities in India, has urged the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, to withdraw the draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2020. Instead, it should conduct a detailed and broad public consultation involving all stakeholders and the public in order to draft a strong and robust Act. “The proposed draft EIA Notification falls short in many ways, particularly with respect to tourism. It fails to take into account that tourism requires a robust environmental scrutiny,” the NGO has said. “The COVID-19 crisis ... Read more

Alliance Air employees union president Binoy Viswam has questioned the Government’s decision to privatise Air India and introduction of the leave without pay policy for its employees. He stressed that over the past two years, the entire Air India organization has been severely affected by the Government’s decision to privatise the airline.  ”The uncertainty over the future as well as the Government’s decision to cut wages and introduced a leave without pay policy has caused great mental stress to all employees. In such circumstances, it is possible that the maintenance and safety of aircraft is also jeopardised and it is ... Read more

By Swaroop Kallada, Secretary – Tourism Professionals Club It’s a bad time for the entire world. When the virus was detected in Wuhan, we were a little bothered about its consequences but never knew our lives would come to a standstill.  It’s a reality now that our passion alone cannot drive us to the end of the tunnel where things start to look   normal. We had dreams and our lives were colourful. But all of that has been shattered. India was known for its traditional hospitality, as far as tourism is concerned. And the secret was the passionate people ... Read more

The Union health ministry has issued a set of revised guidelines for international arrivals, that kicked in from yesterday. As per the new guidelines, five categories of passengers are exempted from the mandatory seven-day institutional quarantine such as pregnant women, children below 10 years of age and passengers who are suffering from serious illnesses. Last month, India formed air travel bubbles with countries like the US, the UAE, France and Germany under which airlines of both the countries are allowed to operate special international flights with certain restrictions. Following are the key guidelines to be followed: 1) All travellers should submit ... Read more

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has proposed creating an Ayurveda Tourism Task Force, with an objective of bringing all the key stakeholders on a common platform. The task force will plan and strategize on a road map to develop Ayurveda Tourism by working closely with the government and co-create solutions with the help of the stakeholders. Manish Ahuja, Head -Tourism & Director of FICCI, has invited Sajeev Kurup, managing director of Ayurvedamana Hospitals, to become the chairperson of the task force and lead Ayurveda Tourism to the next level. In the wake of the pandemic, ... Read more

Abdulla Mausoom has been appointed as Maldives’ new minister of tourism. Maldives President Ibrahim Solih, in a ceremony held at the President’s Office in capital Male, officially presented Mausoom as minister of tourism. Mausoom was serving as the resident ambassador of the Maldives to Singapore, and non-resident ambassador of the Maldives to New Zealand, prior to his appointment to cabinet. Mausoom is a long-time parliamentarian who has previously served in Cabinet as minister of tourism and aviation, and minister of environment, energy and water. He was a board member of Maldives Association of Tourism Industry. Mausoom’s appointment comes following the ... Read more

Sayaji Hotels has reopened its Indore, Pune, Vadodara, Kolhapur and Raipur properties. The Hotel Group has also put in place a ‘Care beyond compare’ initiative, designed to meet the health and safety challenges presented by COVID-19. Through this programme, the patrons will be informed and updated about the change in services, designs & standards of operations that will be congruent to the norms of social distancing, safety & hygiene of the staff and cleanliness of the hotel. The properties have been opened after a two-day cleanliness inspection conducted by Rakshit Sharma, Head-HR and Dinesh Dahiya, VP Sales, Sayaji Hotels Ltd. Said ... Read more

Leading international online travel services provider Trip.com has announced a strategic partnership with AirAsia.com, counted as ASEAN region’s fastest growing travel and lifestyle e-commerce platform.  The strategic partnership will see Trip.com Group and AirAsia.com collaborate on a range of popular products and services available on both digital platforms, including cooperation in the areas of transit information for connecting flights, membership benefits and product marketing, to deliver an enhanced and streamlined experience for travellers. The cooperation is expected to generate synergies for both digital platforms, and is a joint initiative to spur greater demand for international travel by providing travellers with an ... Read more

SpiceJet has secured slots at Heathrow Airport in London to operate flights effective September 1. This is presently under the air bubble arrangement between India and UK and effective up to the end of summer schedule i.e. October 23. A slot allows an airline to land and depart at a particular airport, at a designated time. SpiceJet is the first low-cost airline from India to get this facility in Heathrow, one of the busiest airports in the world. This follows the low-cost airline getting the rights to operate flights to the UK. In a statement in July, SpiceJet had said, ... Read more

OYO, the Indian hotel-booking startup backed by Masayoshi Son’s Softbank, is merging its operations in Japan and appointing a new chief executive officer to oversee the combined entity. The reorganisation involves Oyo’s hotel-booking and apartment-rental units coming together into a single company called Oyo Japan, to be led by Ryoma Yamamoto as CEO with Ryota Tanozaki as his deputy. Both of them have been promoted from senior roles in the existing Oyo operations, said a Bloomberg report. Japan has been a focal point for Oyo’s international expansion due to Son’s endorsement and association with the Softbank brand name. The company operated Oyo Hotels and Oyo Life ... Read more