Category: Top Stories

The coordinated rolling out of new health and safety protocols for every part of the tourism value chain – including travel, accommodation, food, and leisure – will make it safer to travel, World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has said. “Trust is the new currency of our ‘new normal’. And tourism is ideally positioned to be the vehicle to channel trust,” said Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO’s secretary general. If people trust in governments and in the tourism sector to keep them safe from harm, they will indeed travel tomorrow, he added. “As the ultimate person-to-person sector, and one that promotes solidarity and friendship, ... Read more

The latest hotel booking data from Smith Travel Research (STR) has revealed for the first time in the many weeks since the pandemic took hold, US hotels have sold over ten million room-nights during the week that ended May 9, 2020. These numbers demonstrate an uptick of more than three million room-nights over the week of April 11. US hotel occupancy rose to 30.1% for the weekend of May 9, showing an increase in weekend occupancies for the second week in a row. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) at hotels in resort destinations was still down by 82.4%, as compared ... Read more

Italy has opened its churches, cafes, restaurants and bars, as it continues to relax its lockdown rules. Italians are once again out in the open, sipping cappuccino and gulping down cold beers, while of course keeping away from other customers as part of social distancing norms. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said gyms and cinemas would soon be able to welcome the public again, as the government seeks to restart economic activity. “We’re facing a calculated risk in the knowledge that the contagion curve may rise again,” Conte said during a televised address. “We have to accept it otherwise we ... Read more

Bali, Indonesia’s popular tropical holiday island, could reopen to tourists in October. The island is today seen as a model by Indonesian authorities in tackling the pandemic, and hence the government deems it fit for reopening. The virus was curbed in the region with the help of about 1,500 traditional village committees. The island has a population of 4.2 million and is heavily dependent on tourism for its revenues. It was said that Bali may end up being a coronavirus hotspot with its large number of foreign visitors, but the island effectively controlled the outbreak. As of Friday, Bali had ... Read more

Hundreds of skiers hit the slopes at Slovenia’s highest ski resort on Sunday after it reopened following a coronavirus lockdown that lasted nearly two months, news agency Reuters has reported. Slovenia became the first European country on Thursday to declare an official end to its coronavirus epidemic. The small mountainous country of around two million people has so far reported 1,466 coronavirus cases and 104 deaths. Slovenes still have to respect social distancing and are obliged to wear face masks in indoor public spaces as well as disinfect their hands when entering such areas. There were about 200 skiers at ... Read more

Almost all Indian states are concerned about the immediate future of the travel and tourism industry, which has been badly hit by the Covid-19 epidemic, but hardly any of them have come up with decisive steps. In this context what the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government is trying to do, appears positive. The state government should pay 50% salary of at least half of the employees working in the hospitality sector, UP’s director general (DG) of tourism Ravi Kumar has said in a draft proposal. In the proposal prepared for a giving a “bailout package” to the tourism industry, Ravi Kumar ... Read more

Greece is getting ready to present its overall plan for reviving tourism in the post Covid-19 era. This will commence with the announcement of the health protocols for safe operation of air, ferry and road transport in Greece, government spokesman Stelios Petsas has said. The government is drawing up a plan to deal with the impact of coronavirus pandemic, aiming to cushion, as much as possible, the “inevitably large” losses expected for this year’s tourism season. Petsas said the goal was to make the most of the “new common framework” with the guidelines and recommendations presented by the European Commission. ... Read more

About 70% of OYO’s hotels in China have reopened. The Indian hospitality firm is witnessing a slow rise in bookings in China, which is its second largest global market after India. OYO is present right across China in most of its prominent locations. It has 500,000 rooms in China, contributing 32% of OYO’s global revenue. The company said: “We have seen a consistent rise in occupancy in the last five weeks. We are witnessing over 50% occupancy rates in South China in comparison to North China.” OYO currently has plans in place to open the remaining hotels over the next ... Read more

Today we are taking you to the land of bisibele bath, coffee, silk and Mysore Pak. It’s also the land of brave Queen Rani Chennamma also known as Kittur Chennamma of the princely state of Kittur who led an armed rebellion against the East India Company. Yes, we are taking a trip to Mysuru. We probably know enough of the Mysore Palace and the Brindavan Gardens, and hence we are not going into it. Today what we are going to bring to you is a joint initiative between the ministry of tourism and another government institution the National Institute of ... Read more

Hawaii will discourage tourists from visiting its vacation hotspots till end of June. The coronavirus related stay-at-home measures will continue up until that period, state governor David Ige has said. The current 14-day mandatory quarantine for everyone traveling into the state, which began in March, will certainly be extended until the end of next month, Ige said in an online question-and-answer session late on Thursday. Tourism is a big part of Hawaii’s economy – more than 10.4 million visitors came to the islands last year, supporting some 216,000 jobs in a population of around 1.4 million, a Reuters report said. ... Read more

France has decided to pump in €18 billion (US$19 billion) to support its tourism sector, in one of the biggest relief packages the industry has seen across the globe. The tourism sector has been hammered by the COVID-19 crisis, resulting in worldwide shutdown of beaches, leisure attractions and hotels. Businesses with just 20 employees and €2 million in annual revenue in the tourism, hotel and restaurant sector will also be able to tap a solidarity fund until the end of the year, to receive grants of up to €10,000. Nearly 90 million foreign tourists had visited France in 2019, making ... Read more

National carrier Air India has said that it will operate flights to 32 countries to bring back stranded Indians. “Reservation for travel from India to select destinations in the USA, UK, Australia and to Frankfurt, Paris and Singapore has commenced from 1700 hrs on May 14 on the website,” a statement from the carrier said. Union Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that under the second phase as many as 30,000 Indians will be returning to India – which is almost double of the 14,800 Indians – which was the target number in the first phase. “In 1st phase ... Read more

Emirates is all set to operate scheduled flights to Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Melbourne, Milan, Paris, Sydney and Toronto from May 21. “We are pleased to resume scheduled passenger services to these destinations, providing more options for customers to travel from the UAE to these cities,” Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ chief operating officer said. As several of the destinations currently have travel bans and other entry restrictions in place, the airlines says it will only accept passengers who meet the criteria for entering their destination country. “We have implemented additional measures with the relevant authorities in respect to social distancing ... Read more

The Aruba Tourism Authority has announced a new destination booking policy for couples dreaming of booking a 2021 wedding or honeymoon.  Couples can now book their event of a lifetime with the participating hotel or resort venues of their choice with confidence, knowing their special occasion can be postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic issues, by providing a 30-day notice period. As part of Aruba’s ‘Happily Ever After Guarantee’ program, weddings and honeymoons booked for 2021 can be postponed for up to a year from the original event date.  “With nearly 316 million people under lockdown in the U.S. alone, the travel and weddings industry ... Read more

The number of foreign tourists in Thailand may plunge by almost two-thirds to 14 million this year. This will be the lowest level in 14 years, as the coronavirus pandemic hits global travel, according to estimates from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), a Reuters report said. The TAT now predicts only 14 million to 16 million foreign visitors this year, sharply down from 33.8 million projected in March. Last year’s foreign arrivals were a record 39.8 million. Tourism is crucial to Thailand as spending from foreign tourists amounted to 1.93 trillion baht ($59.98 billion), or 11% of GDP last ... Read more