Category: Top Stories

France has announced its plan to reopen its borders to passengers from England, ending a blockade intended to stop the spread of a new coronavirus variant, but which has held up thousands of trucks before Christmas. Most of the countries have shut their borders to Britain after a significantly more dangerous mutated coronavirus variant was discovered spreading across southern England at a rapid pace. With long queues of trucks in England and some supermarket shelves getting stripped, only a few days ahead of Christmas, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson managed to get French President Emmanuel Macron to lift a ban ... Read more

BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation, Dhaka) was initiated as a platform to bring together the countries in the Bay of Bengal to discuss and work in collaboration to develop all aspects of 14 main sectors in a country including tourism within the region. The Member States are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. With its Headquarters based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the first Meeting of Network of Tour Operators was held in New Delhi, India in 2017. During this first meeting, it has been decided to hold the second meeting in Sri Lanka. ... Read more

Leading Tourism Trade association, ATTOI has requested the Hon’ble Minister of State for Tourism, Government of Kerala, to make necessary amendments to the proposed Tourism Regulatory Act Kerala (TRAK), before implementation. Vinod C.S President of ATTOI felt that TRAK proposed to be introduced and implemented by the Kerala Tourism Department, would only serve to set back rather than promote the tourism industry in Kerala. However, the Act seeks to amend the Kerala Tourism Registration and Regulation Act to address the grievances of the Kerala Tourism and to re-empower the industry in case of any misconduct and to amend the Act ... Read more

In Assisi, they are using medical syringes these days but it has got nothing to do with the ongoing pandemic situation. Restorers are using them to save priceless 700-year-old frescoes by Giotto. They are almost finished with a year-long project to clean and consolidate the frescoes in the Chapel of the Magdalene in the lower basilica of St. Francis that houses the tomb of the 13th-century saint. Many years ago, during a periodic check of the frescoes, chief restorer Sergio Fusetti heard hollow sounds when he knocked on them, which indicated that the plaster holding them was gradually detaching from ... Read more

Overnight stay at an airport isn’t unheard of, especially if you miss a flight. But choosing to spend your holidays inside the airport terminal in a tent is something entirely different. With the pandemic severely limiting prospects of overseas holidays, many in Singapore are going “glamping”, or glamourous camping, this holiday season, where they will be staying overnight in luxury tents at the retail and leisure wing of the Changi Airport. Fadlina Musa, a glamper was all excited to say “Usually we go out of the country every holiday but since we can’t travel much and it’s a school holiday, ... Read more

Moviegoers in the Philippine capital, tired of ongoing COVID Pandemic restrictions, will soon be enjoying the taste of Venice, bobbing in front of a big screen in gondolas, maintaining social distancing. Gondoliers dressed in striped uniforms, maneuvers and position each boat in an outdoor canal to watch full-length movies, presenting a rare chance to visit the cinema after almost nine months of lockdown. Patron Violet Gatchalian at the Venice Grand Canal-themed shopping mall in Manila said that “Riding a boat made it a unique experience,”. “It’s also one of the first cinemas to reopen so we wanted to try it.” ... Read more

Tourism Malaysia, earlier last week announced the launch of Malaysia Truly Asia ASEAN Virtual Hunt 2020, its first-ever treasure hunt, run as a virtual event to creatively promote Malaysia’s iconic places, local towns and cities. This new concept is conforming to the new normal for the tourism industry as COVID-19 pandemic has put a halt for international travel. The event is set to virtually connect 30 teams of media representatives from nine countries in Southeast Asia, who participate to feel on the digital experience around Malaysia and grab a total cash prize up to USD 1,000. The event takes place ... Read more

Passengers bound for Nepal’s Janakpur were in for a surprise after they ended up in Pokhara, 255 kilometres away from the actual destination, after a rare flight mix-up by a leading private carrier, according to media reports. The incident happened on Friday to 69 passengers travelling on Buddha Air, The Kathmandu Post reported. The weather was not quite favourable for the flights on Friday so carriers were making use of every available weather window to take the passengers on board as quickly as possible and take off, the report said. Buddha Air’s flight U4505 was cleared to take off for ... Read more

The Central Government Counsel has sought more time to file a statement on the petition filed by Kerala Travel Mart Society and Kerala tour operators against the inaction of the Central government in announcing a financial stimulus package to the travel and tourism sector. The Kerala High Court after the first hearing of the petition on 21 DEC has observed the current plight of the stakeholders of the tourism industry and remarked that the sector requires urgent attention of the central government. The Counsel for the Central Government has said that since the matter involved policy decisions, more time is ... Read more

Emirates has announced that it will be operating its flagship Airbus A380 aircraft on the Dubai – Sao Paulo route between 9 and 30 January 2021. The Emirates A380 will be deployed four times weekly to Sao Paulo in response to the summer season increase in demand for travel to and from Brazil. This will be the first time that the iconic aircraft returns to South America since the suspension of passenger flights due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Emirates resumed passenger flights to Sao Paulo in August 2020 on its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Customers travelling to and ... Read more

The UK capital’s creative industries are getting back into business — and are desperately making all efforts to make up for lost time and money in this crucial Christmas and New year period. Despite the hope of a return to normality brought by the vaccine rollout shortly, many arts organisations are still facing closure or extreme financial pressure due to several months long lockdown measures. How to support the arts in London under Tier 2 regulations?? Here are the answers THEATRES Among the worst hit art places are London’s famed  theatres with their traditional bumper Christmas season badly affected by ... Read more

The UK government and the EU must agree on a deal over Brexit to save and secure millions of Travel & Tourism jobs, says the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, has urged the two sides to come together to find a way to reach a consensus for a post-Brexit trade deal as talks enter their eleventh hour. The plea comes as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to meet in Brussels with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to try to break the logjam. WTTC says Travel ... Read more

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has shared the update that the Royal Thai Government is now allowing long-stay visitors from around the world to apply for the ‘Special Tourist Visa’ (STV), previously available only to travellers from countries considered low- to medium-risk for the COVID-19 pandemic. Published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette on 9 December 2020, with immediate effect, this latest announcement covers long-stay visitors to Thailand of all types – from tourists to business travellers, investors and others, as well as travellers and crews of foreign yachts. To qualify for the STV, visitors must comply with Thailand’s COVID-19 control ... Read more

Morocco has one of the most diverse landscapes on earth. While most attention is drawn by the Sahara desert and four mountain ranges, the country also has wetlands, tidal lagoons, deep forests, cultivated farmland and coastal and marine habitats. There are eleven National Parks in Morocco, covering over 7,700 square kilometres between them. These important areas are vital for conservation, hosting numerous species of flora and fauna that are either at risk or endangered. They are also spectacular places to visit for nature lovers, places of beauty and peace where visitors can enjoy the diversity of wildlife that Morocco offers. ... Read more

Questioning the inaction of the Central government in announcing a financial stimulus package to the tourism sector, the writ petition filed at Kerala High Court by the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) Society and various Kerala based tour operators, will be heard next on 21 December. The case was initially scheduled for a hearing on 08 Dec, however, the Central government counsel has sought time to file a statement as it involves matters related to government policies. Accepting the request, the single bench Justice PV Asha has granted two weeks’ time for filing the affidavit. The Kerala Travel Mart Society ( ... Read more