Category: Top Stories

The owner of a Frankfurt restaurant is staging a protest against the coronavirus lockdown in Germany by filling his tables with a hundred stuffed toy pandas, in a play on the word “pandemic”. German officials are expected on Wednesday to agree to extend until Dec. 20 a “lockdown light” they imposed on Nov. 2 which means bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues must stay closed, while shops and schools can remain open. The pandas are seated at the restaurant’s tables and propped up at the bar, some with bottles of Corona beer. “We wanted to put some life back into our ... Read more

Not so good news for the international tourism scenario. The recent survey research conducted by UNWTO points out that the revival of International Tourism will not be possible until the last quarter of 2021 and could even get stretched to 2022. Mr. Suman Billa, Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Route, UNWTO while revealing the summary of the study said “One exercise we have done is that we have experts from all geographies in the world to look at what the forecast is like, now 80% of these experts think that international travel will only recover in the third quarter of ... Read more

The UK government’s latest move that will slash the travel quarantine lockdown if passengers test negative on the fifth day will provide a much-needed economic boost and is a step towards reviving international travel, says the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). However, while many holidaymakers will embrace the reduced quarantine and will be able to afford the test, which will cost between £65 and £120, WTTC says it won’t be enough to resuscitate meaningful business travel. For that to take place and to significantly aid the Travel & Tourism sector, which has been battered by widespread and uncoordinated travel ... Read more

One of the leading associations of the Indian Tourism & Hospitality Industry, FAITH (Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality) has submitted its recommendations for the tourism, travel, and hospitality industry of India ahead of the Union Budget FY 21 -22. The vision is Tourism – Made in India. India should be aiming of becoming one of the most preferred Tourism destinations both for domestic and international tourists offering best-in-class tourism experiences, infrastructure & services and enabling the tourism entrepreneurs of India to create value for all their stakeholders. Adhering to this vision, FAITH has proposed the following Budgetary ... Read more

Yatra Online Inc India’s leading corporate travel services provider and one of India’s leading online travel companies, announced today that it has received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. notifying the Company that it has regained compliance with the NASDAQ Capital Market’s minimum bid price continued listing requirement. The letter noted that for at least 10 consecutive business days, from November 9 through November 23, 2020, the closing bid price of the Company’s ordinary shares has been at $1.00 per share or greater. Accordingly, the Company has regained compliance with NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 5550(a)(2) and NASDAQ considers the matter ... Read more

UAE based Emirates Airlines has been recognized as the Best Airline for 2020 at The Sun Travel Awards, and the Best Long-Haul Airline at The Times and The Sunday Times Travel Awards. Following an unprecedented year for travel, hundreds of thousands of votes were cast by readers looking to celebrate the best in the industry. Emirates’ range of world-class products and services onboard its modern, wide-body aircraft helped to secure the award wins, with passengers able to enjoy over 4,500 channels of entertainment on ice – the airline’s award-winning inflight entertainment system – as well as regionally inspired meals and ... Read more

Kochi metro since its inception has been in the forefront when it comes to novel and innovative ideas. Adding another feather to their cap, and a pat on the back of the ever-growing cyclist community of Kochi, the KMRL has granted permission to passengers to carry their cycles inside the metro stations and the trains for free. Cycling has grown leaps and bounds in the state after the spread of the pandemic with many people taking it up as a mode of daily commuting and many others enticed by its health and fitness benefits. The decision is expected to encourage ... Read more

Seen as a welcome move, India’s national carrier Air India will be operating additional flights between India and UK from 11 DEC’20 till 27 MAR’21 under the air bubble agreement. Every Friday there would be a flight to Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham and on every Saturday there would be a return flight on the route Birmingham-Amritsar-Delhi. The new flights to UK are in addition to the existing flights in operation. The bookings for flights to UK are presently open. It is expected that the additional flights would come as a major relief for the large population of Indian expatriates in UK, especially Birmingham ... Read more

Sad news for the art lovers, the fifth edition of the KMB ( Kochi Muziris Biennale) scheduled for DEC this year has been postponed to November 2021 in view of the ongoing pandemic situation and since Kerala has noticed a second spike in COVID 19 cases. KMB has been India’s most talked-about art exhibitions and also the people’s favorite since its launch in 2012. Earlier when it was announced that the exhibition will be held from DEC 20 there was a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm from the Art lovers which has now given way to disappointment. A statement ... Read more

With the opening of the tourism industry in Kerala, medical and wellness tourism has gained tremendous momentum. Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy are the key contributors injecting a new life to the hospitality industry which has itself been on life support system for a long time now. Yoga as well as Ayurveda has been seen as natural ways of boosting immunity, improving quality of life and wellbeing of both mind and body. The fact that both don’t pose any harmful effects adds to the advantage. Both are believed to have great significance in building immunity for the body, and also help ... Read more

Apart from the health hazards and causalities, one of the worst effects of the pandemic is that it has isolated many people and forced them to confine to their homes for safety reasons. Family functions, get together with friends and team outings have always helped people connect with family, peers, and colleagues. This has taken a serious blow and a feeling of isolation has overshadowed lives. Christmas and New Year are round the corner and it is time to work on your holiday plans, modify them to make sure you and your loved ones stay safe. The safety of your ... Read more

Starting October 15, the Bahamas will enter Phase 3 of the Tourism Readiness & Recovery Plan ahead of the busy holiday season, which will include the reopening of beaches and major hotels.   Since 1950, tourism has played an integral role in the Bahamas’ economy, accounting for more than 50% of the country’s GDP and 60% of national employment. The COVID-19 Pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on global tourism and The Bahamas’ economy has felt the impact, particularly following 2019’s record-breaking tourism numbers, where the country welcomed 7.2 million visitors. As part of Phase 3, beaches and major hotels will reopen on all islands. Minister of ... Read more

Hilton is closing its Times Square hotel from October 1, according to a document it filed with state regulators this week. Two hundred employees will lose their jobs, the filing says, due to “unforeseeable business circumstances prompted by COVID-19.” The 44-story hotel at 234 West 42nd Street, in New York, was opened in 2000. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, an industry group, hotel occupancy in urban markets was 38% in August, well below the 50% it takes for most properties to break even, according to a report by USA Today. August hotel occupancy in New York was ... Read more

Greece’s Tourism Minister Haris Theocharis has said the country is trying to do everything possible to ensure that the country remains an attractive tourist destination with a low rate of coronavirus infections. Talking to BBC Radio he said that the country’s measures to control the pandemic has proved to be successful. “We’re taking specific targeted measures where we see specific concentrations of cases,” Theocharis told Radio 4’s “Today” program. He went on to note that coronavirus cases in Greece remain far below the European Union average in proportional terms and the UK threshold of 20 cases per 100,000 residents per week, ... Read more

Recovery in China’s domestic tourism sector is picking up pace thanks to the summer holiday travel rush, CGTN has reported. Shanghai students are back on campus and the World Expo Museum is finally getting a break. In July and August, the museum welcomed 60,000 tourists, a big jump from previous months. Tourists still need to book in advance to visit, but that hasn’t stopped them from coming. And most of the visitors are young local students, the CGTN report said. “We saw an obvious increase. In July and August, we were seeing 1,500 or 1,800 every day, 15 or 20 ... Read more