Category: Round Up

Prahlad Singh Patel, India’s Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, will inaugurate the two-day ‘FICCI Tourism Conclave’ on July 29. The conclave is being organised with a vision to bring together global thought leaders and key policy makers from the travel & tourism industry under one virtual platform to ideate, interact and share knowledge. The virtual conclave will create an opportunity for the participants to plan, promote, market, strategise and implement the best practices to revive the business in the sector, post COVID-19, the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) stated. The FICCI Tourism Committee said it ... Read more

In an effort to save jobs of around 50 lakh people and encourage domestic travel, the Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) has written to Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray to reopen malls which have remained shut since March due to the pandemic. Covid-19 has affected 3.47 lakh people and claimed 12,854 lives in the state till now – the highest in the country. “About 5 million jobs (50 lakh) are at stake if malls are not opened at the earliest,” the letter warned adding that retrenchment could be seen as early as August. So far, big malls in Mumbai ... Read more

SpiceJet has been designated as “India’s scheduled carrier” to operate flight services to the UK from India, the Gurugram-based no-frills airline said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The announcement came just one day after it was picked to fly on India-US routes by the governments of the two countries under the bilateral air services pact, news agency PTI has reported. “We would like to inform you that in terms of the Air Services Agreement between the Government of India and the United Kingdom, SpiceJet has been designated as Indian scheduled carrier to operate on agreed services between India and the ... Read more

A senior Republican senator has said that the backlog for an Indian to get a permanent residency in the US is more than 195 years, and urged the US Senate to address this issue with a legislative resolution. A Green Card, or a Permanent Resident Card, is a document that is issued to immigrants into the US which acts as proof that the bearer of such a card has been granted the privilege to reside permanently in the country. Senator Mike Lee said that the current Green Card policy offered nothing to the offspring of an immigrant whose deceased parent’s ... Read more

By George Scaria (Travelife Certified Sustainability Manager) Sustainability in tourism has been a major talking point at several industry platforms for the last few years. When it comes to the post Covid-19 new normal, sustainability will have a major role to play. The concept is based on the three Ps – People, Planet & Profit. But unfortunately, many misunderstand or misinterpret the above to suit their own convenience. In this article, I am trying to bring a few points which may be closer to the real definitions. In my personal experience, I have found that many of our industry stakeholders have ... Read more

The archaeological ruins of Liangzhu City, a World Cultural Heritage Site with a history of 5,000 years, has achieved full 5G coverage. The application of 5G would provide a better tourism experience at the site. The archaeological ruins of Liangzhu City (about 3300-2300 BC) is located in Hangzhou, capital of East China’s Zhejiang province, with an urban area of 3 square kilometres and a heritage area of 14.34 sq.km. With the addition of the buffer zone, it extends to 114 sq.km. According to the World Heritage Committee, the ruins of the ancient city is an outstanding example of early urban civilization, showing an early regional state with ... Read more

Noesis Capital Advisors and Ngage Hospitality have designed a masterclass on digital strategies for hotels and resorts, dedicated to providing insights on how marketers can stay relevant in today’s intensely competitive and evolving environment. The session will be held on July 24. The masterclass titled ‘Digital Marketing Strategies for Hotels & Resorts to thrive in the New Normal’ will aid all hospitality-related businesses that want to redevelop or re-skill their marketing strategies with the present day tools. It is designed to have an interactive and ‘open discussion’ format. Industry leaders have been curated strategically for discussions to inspire and prepare you to ... Read more

By Anish Kumar – CEO, Travel Planners Countries like Chile, Germany, Italy, Britain and the US are looking at providing immunity passports to people who have recovered from the coronavirus, so that they feel encouraged to travel. Immunity passport is a form of documentation given to those who have recovered from Covid-19. Those who have recovered from the impact of the coronavirus have developed herd immunity, and hence such measures are being considered to revive the travel sector. It is estimated that around 8.33 million people have recovered from Covid-19 worldwide. They have developed antibodies against the disease and are ... Read more

Casino Hotel and Brunton Boatyard have become the first hotels in south India to get the Workplace Assessment for Safety and Hygiene (WASH) certification from the Quality Council of India (QCI), CGH Earth has announced. QCI is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that governs ISO and NABH certifications. “CGH Earth has always consciously tried to create a safe and hygienic environment. We are happy to announce that Brunton Boatyard and Casino Hotel have been certified by WASH. The rest of our hotels and resorts will follow soon,” said Michael Dominic, CEO, CGH Earth. “The well ... Read more

Sajan Joseph, co-founder and CEO of Breakout Hotels, feels trade bodies must be in continuous touch with the government to make a difference in policy making. The associations tend to be in contact with political authorities only during conclaves and when a crisis erupts. He says trade bodies should include people with a wider exposure, not just tourism, to have more impact. Excerpts from an interview: Q: As a hotelier you must be wondering what wrong has the hospitality industry done to deserve the ignominy of getting ignored repeatedly by the State and Central governments. Your thoughts please. Well, the ... Read more

The Chilika Development Authority (CDA) has constructed a museum near Barkul, on the banks of the Chilika lake, to showcase the marine diversity of Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon. The project has been executed under the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) at an investment of around Rs 50 lakh. Chief Executive of CDA Susanta Nanda said around 80 commercially important varieties of prawns, crabs and fish will be on display in the fish-shaped museum. “A total of 330 species of fish and 12 species of prawns of  Chilika sustain the ... Read more

One of India’s pioneering tour guides, V Balaram, passed away today morning due to cardiac arrest. He was 52-years-old. Balaram was a key driving force in popularising the Kerala Tourism brand in its initial days when very few guides could present a holistic view of Kerala and its culture. Balaram was a well-known German speaking guide, whose professionalism was instrumental in promoting Kerala as a destination of choice in source markets such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Armed with immense knowledge of various international cultures besides supreme command of Kerala’s tourism delights, he was associated with Tour India, one of ... Read more

Radisson Hotel Group South Asia has announced its partnership with table reservation and food discovery platform EazyDiner to strengthen its food and beverage capabilities in the region. The collaboration will serve all 94 operating hotels of the group’s portfolio in India and will include table booking and home delivery services, Radisson Hotel Group South Asia said in a statement. “We are excited to roll out our association with EazyDiner to usher in a new era of restaurant dining and safe food deliveries with participation across our network,” Radisson Hotel Group, South Asia, MD and VP Operations Zubin Saxena said. “This partnership ... Read more

Icelandair has announced that it would be laying off all its flight attendants, ending a labour dispute with the crew members’ union that began last month. In an unprecedented move, the airline said it planned to have its pilots temporarily assume flight attendants’ roles overseeing the safety of those onboard, starting today. “Icelandair will permanently terminate the employment of its employment of its current cabin crew members and permanently discontinue the employment relationship between the parties,” Icelandair said in a statement. With this decision, Icelandair ended its ongoing contract negotiations with the Icelandic Cabin Crew Association (FFÍ) and will seek a contract with ... Read more

From today, Air India will open all its offices with full staff strength and normal shift hours. No special COVID-19 roster has been prepared. An order issued by the airline stated that all its offices will function in full strength from July 20 and no separate roster will be made for functioning under Covid-19 situation. Those not attending office will either have to apply for leave or will be marked absent, the notice said. The ‘work from home’ option will be granted only to pregnant women and with other medical conditions. Staff staying in containment zones can also apply for ... Read more