Category: Top Stories

Dubai has decided to open its ice rinks and ski slope, after weeks of closure. Its indoor ski slope has started to draw people in small numbers, with the added protection of surgical masks and gloves. Earlier, this week Dubai had decided to ease restrictions on travel and business. Authorities are trying their best to ensure safety of people, with strict social distancing and cleaning measures. Dubai had implemented a month-long 24-hour curfew in April and has gradually eased restrictions since then, including allowing malls and restaurants to open at limited capacities. This week, there was no restriction on movement ... Read more

Starting July 1, Madeira and Porto Santo will be fully open to international travellers. To ensure security for both tourists and residents, all people travelling to the islands will have to either present a health test done 72 hours prior to departure or be tested upon arrival, without any costs. COVID-19 tests on arrival will be paid for by the Madeira Government. Madeira is focused on positioning itself as a COVID-safe destination and are working with SGS, the world leader in certification, to ensure good practice across the destination to minimise risk in the wake of Covid-19. The certification process ... Read more

Cyprus is hoping to regain lost ground in its tourism sector from July, by recording at least 30% of the tourist arrivals compared to last year. The Mediterranean island had moved swiftly to contain the outbreak, ordering a broad lockdown within days of its first registered case on March 9. It started easing it on May 4 and has said hotels will reopen on June 1, Reuters reported. Cyprus is hugely dependent on tourism for its revenues, which accounts for about 13% the country’s output. With five months of the season lost, Cyprus expects, at best, about 30% of last ... Read more

Spain usually welcomes more than 80 million visitors each year, making it one of the most visited countries in the world. But it has been hard hit by the coronavirus crisis and wants to be cautious as it opens to visitors from July 1, Gonzalez Laya told Reuters. “In this very atypical year of 2020, we will not be able to behave as usual,” she said. “It’s health. It’s making sure that we do not import cases as we are trying to control the cases we have in the country. It’s very prudent management on our side to make sure ... Read more

Marriott International has begun to add job listings on recruitment websites, in an early sign of recovery from an international lockdown that has devastated the global hotel industry. Most of the jobs listed, are for the Chinese market. In March, as the Coronavirus pandemic set in, the hospitality industry put a complete stop on hiring as revenues plummeted. But in the past two weeks, job listings at Marriott International saw their first spike since March. The jump in job listings is certainly telling, but the types of jobs Marriott is hiring for, show early signs of international travel for an ... Read more

Croatia has started to open its borders for tourists, following the improved epidemiological situation in the country. Entry into the country is permitted to all owners of real estate and vessels, who can confirm their ownership when crossing the border with appropriate documentation. Entry is allowed to any person with proven economic or other business interests as well. Crossing the border is also possible for all tourists who have valid reservations for accommodation or boat charter. That tourism is slowly returning to Croatia is also clear from the tourist traffic recorded during the first week since the entry of foreign ... Read more

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) will be reopened from August 1, with adequate safeguards. He said issues facing the tourism industry as well as measures necessary for a quick revival came up for discussion when the Task Force Committee entrusted with COVID-19 control met under the patronage of the President. It was the Task Force that recommended re-opening of the airports for foreign tourists, as the country gradually returns to normalcy. President Rajapaksa highlighted the necessity of following health guidelines issued by international and local health experts in the event of opening the ... Read more

The German government is looking to lift travel warnings for 31 European countries by June 15, if the health situation allows it, the DPA press agency has reported. Great Britain, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are on the list, along with the 26 EU countries, according to DPA. The German government is due to make a decision on Wednesday. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had issued a worldwide warning for tourist travel on March 17 due to the rapid spread of the new coronavirus. This global travel warning would make way for advice per destination, with the risk addressed country ... Read more

Private yachts and boats, catering up to 12 passengers, will be allowed to set sail in Greece, according to a government decision as coronavirus restrictions ease. The government decision allows private yachts and boats to sail to and from the islands, with no restrictions on staying overnight or arriving during late hours, provided they carry up to 12 passengers, maintaining a minimum distance of 1.5 meters between each other. The easing of restrictions on yachting was also announced last week by Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis when he presented the country’s ‘Restart Tourism” plan. The government has also said restrictions ... Read more

For the past three months, Las Vegas wore a deserted look. No crowds, no lights, no fun. But now the famed casinos are set to open, promising to bring some life back into the city. For the past two weeks Nevada has shown a decrease in the number of new coronavirus cases, encouraging governor Steve Sisolak to set a tentative date of June 4 to reopen casinos state-wide, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Our members have spent more than two months preparing for this day,” Virginia Valentine, president and CEO of the Nevada Resort Association, said in an emailed ... Read more

LATAM Airlines Group, Latin America’s largest air carrier, has sought bankruptcy court protection in New York after the Covid-19 pandemic grounded flights across the region. The Chapter 11 petition allows LATAM to keep operating while the Chilean carrier works out a plan to pay creditors and turn around the business. LATAM, whose shareholders include Chile’s Cueto family and Delta Air Lines Inc., continues to operate on a reduced schedule. The group has secured the financial support of shareholders, including the Cueto and Amaro families, which have lasting ties to LATAM, and Qatar Airways, to provide up to $900 million in ... Read more

Dubai will begin allowing free movement and business activity to restart from tomorrow. There will be no restrictions on movement or business operations between 6 am and 11 pm, the Dubai media office said in a press release. Some retail and wholesale businesses will be allowed to reopen, subject to further sterilisation operations and social distancing measures, the media office tweeted. Those will include cinemas, indoor gyms and education and treatment centres for children. Business and tourism hub Dubai allowed malls to reopen at limited capacity during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that began on April 24. Dubai also ... Read more

The Thailand government has sold a 3.2% stake in national carrier THAI Airways. The government’s stake now stands at 47.86%, ending the airline’s days as a majority-owned state enterprise. A total of 69.2 million shares were sold to Vayupak, a mutual fund run by the Krung Thai Bank. “The Cabinet agreed the government will reduce its holding in THAI Airways to under 50%, ending the airline’s status as a state-enterprise,” Saksayam Chidchob, Thailand’s transport minister said last week. With the exception of 2016, the airline has posted losses since 2012 and carries debts of approximately $2.9 billion. In 2019, THAI ... Read more

In the biggest ever bailout package in aviation history, Lufthansa and the German government have finalised the terms of a €9 billion ($9.8 billion) rescue deal, following weeks of intense negotiations over the future of the airline. The rescue package will give the government a 20% stake in the group, which owns airlines in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium. Lufthansa said in a statement that Germany’s Federal Economic Stabilization Fund, which is being used to assist companies hit by the corona virus pandemic, has approved a “stabilization package,” which the company’s executive board supports. Underscoring the trouble facing airlines, Lufthansa’s ... Read more

The US has imposed travel restrictions on foreign nationals who have been to Brazil in the last 14 days. Brazil has become a major coronavirus hotspot in recent times, registering the second highest number of cases globally. A White House spokeswoman said the restrictions would help ensure new cases are not brought into the US. “Today’s action will help ensure foreign nationals who have been in Brazil do not become a source of additional infections in our country,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement. Brazil has recorded more than 360,000 cases, while over 22,000 people have ... Read more