Category: Top Three Stories

The Passport Seva Kendras located in Aluva, Alappuzha, Kochi, Kottayam and Thrissur will be closed till March 31, in a bid to control the spread of the corona virus. The Kochi regional passport officer has said the Post-office Passport Seva Kendras at Chengannur, Kattappana, Olavakkode, Nenmara and Lakshadweep will also be shut during this period.

The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) has requested the Prime Minister to implement a week-long total shutdown in the country, in light of the corona virus pandemic. ATTOI President Vinod CS in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that such a move is required now, especially considering the experience of European countries. “The experience in Europe tells us that it’s not a walk-over situation. The shutdown should be implemented with force and anyone disobeying it should be fined heavily,” the ATTOI President said. “Once we jump above 1,000 infected persons, then there wouldn’t be any ... Read more

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has urged governments around the world to provide financial help to millions working in the tourism sector who are facing tremendous economic difficulties. Governments must extend vital, interest free loans to global travel and tourism companies as well as the numerous small and medium sized businesses as a stimulus. All government taxes, dues and financial demands on the travel sector need to be waived with immediate effect at least for next 12 months, WTTC stated in its letter. “We urge every government to take drastic and decisive action to preserve and protect the ... Read more

The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has called for greater international cooperation to underscore a united response based on the latest public health recommendations and reflecting the deep economic ripple effect and social cost of the pandemic. “This unprecedented public health emergency has already become an economic crisis which will come at a social cost”, said UNWTO’s Zurab Pololikashvili. The Secretary-General added that tourism “is the hardest hit sector and all our best estimates have been overtaken by the changing reality”. In a virtual meeting in Madrid, UNWTO and other related UN stakeholders have decided to form a Global Tourism Crisis ... Read more

Kerala’s tourism sector is currently assessing the kind of loss incurred due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation has become worse than initially expected, but the resilient tourism sector in Kerala has bounced back in the past against such difficulties. In an interview EM Najeeb, chairman and managing director of Airtravel Enterprises Group of Companies tells us how the state can recover over the next six months. Excerpts: Q: Can you brief us about the kind of losses that the tourism sector is facing due to the outbreak of the corona virus? A: The corona virus has ... Read more

Recovery from this present scenario especially with regard to international tourist traffic is going to be difficult, the Tourist Guides Federation of South India, has said. The rapid spread of the corona virus has hit tourism sector badly and the tourist guides are a worried lot. Federation president Jairaj said that it will take couple of months to activate entire flight schedules back into position. Aviation and hospitality will get heavily hit. Many of the hotels in the month of March have decided to completely wipe out the trainee section and continue with their permanent staff and that also is ... Read more

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to instruct the airport authorities to stagger the arrival of fights from COVID-19 affected areas so that the flow of passengers is maintained for the screening of passengers. From the dedicated aerobridges the passengers will arrive, escorted by airline staff to the health centres for initial thermal screening, where symptomatic passengers would be isolated and moved to designated hospital. After screening, the remaining asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to move to the designated immigration counters with passports and a copy of the self-reporting form. Airline staff in the aircraft and at ground will ... Read more

Australia has decided to halt all travel to the country for a period of six months. Only Australian citizens and permanent residents can come in, from March 20. All non-Australian residents will be barred from entering the country from Friday. The number of Covid-19 cases in Australia has crossed 700, with majority of cases coming in through overseas travel. Prime minister Scott Morrison said the travel ban was essential to stop the further spread of the virus. “The reason for this decision is that about 80% of the cases we have in Australia are either the result of someone who ... Read more

The Delhi government has ordered three premium hotels in Aerocity area, near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to block 182 rooms for paid quarantine facilities for people flying in from abroad who are to be quarantined. These ‘Home Quarantine’ rooms would be for people who have been quarantined but are not satisfied with the quarantine facilities of hospitals and wish to be shifted to hotel rooms, according to The Indian Express. These people would have to pay the rent of these rooms. According to the orders of the Delhi government, the IBIS Hotel will have to set aside 92 ... Read more

IndiGo has announced that it will be cancelling its flights on Delhi-Istanbul and Chennai-Kuala Lumpur routes till March 31. “These are purely temporary and precautionary measures. We understand that these measures will cause inconvenience to our customers and we will be refunding the full amount to the impacted passengers,” the airline stated in a press release. The airline has already cancelled flights between Bangalore-Kuala Lumpur until March 31 and Delhi-Kuala Lumpur until April 30.

Indian low-cost carrier GoAir has suspended all international operations in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, and asked its employees to opt for leave-without-pay on a rotational basis till April 15. “The sharp decline in air travel that we are currently experiencing is unprecedented,” GoAir said in a statement. The airline said that its short-term and temporary rotational leave-without-pay programme will not only help the company counter the short term reduction in capacity, but will also ensure that a cross-section of employees stays away from the workplace to ensure business continuity.

Western Railway has decided to hike the cost of platform tickets by up to five times in various cities under its jurisdiction. This steep hike means that a platform ticket which used to cost Rs 10 will now cost Rs 50. The new ticket price will be effective at close to 250 stations in the five divisions under the Western Railway zone including Mumbai, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Ratlam, Rajkot and Bhavnagar. In a statement, the Railways said platform tickets will be sold at the new rates to avoid crowding at platforms, in light of the spread of the corona virus. This ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism and Culture has established a new institute called the Central Institute of Himalayan Culture Studies in Arunachal Pradesh to provide education in Buddhist philosophies. The institute will promote research in different aspects of Buddhism, preserve ancient Buddhist manuscripts, digitize ancient Buddhist texts preserved in the languages of Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese and other Asian languages. The Ministry has taken over the following three Institutions, which have been granted Deemed University Status by UGC – Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda (NNM), Bihar; Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), Sarnath, Varanasi and Central Institute of Buddhist Studies ... Read more

If you are currently in France, stepping out of your place of stay will become an inconvenient affair. Tourists and even French citizens will be required to fill out a form online each time they venture outside. For example, they may have to write “Stepping out to buy groceries” or “going to the park” every time they feel the need to go out. If that is not followed a fine of Euro 38 will follow. French president Emmanuel Macron has said that people would have to stay home as much as possible, unless they have to shop for food, go ... Read more

An association representing all the major American airlines has sought a $50 billion bailout package, even as the White House looks to draft a financial assistance package to help the industry. Travel demand in the US has fallen steeply following the corona virus outbreak, bringing the airline industry to its knees. Airlines for America, the association representing many of the US carriers, has said that without timely action all airlines will run out of money by year-end. The association has said the industry needs $25 billion in grants, $25 billion loans and significant tax relief to keep its head above ... Read more