Category: News

A senior Republican senator has said that the backlog for an Indian to get a permanent residency in the US is more than 195 years, and urged the US Senate to address this issue with a legislative resolution. A Green Card, or a Permanent Resident Card, is a document that is issued to immigrants into the US which acts as proof that the bearer of such a card has been granted the privilege to reside permanently in the country. Senator Mike Lee said that the current Green Card policy offered nothing to the offspring of an immigrant whose deceased parent’s ... Read more

In yet another setback, 60 Air India pilots who flew repatriation flights to bring back Indians stranded abroad have tested positive for coronavirus, the airline has said in a letter to the government. The Vande Bharat mission to repatriate Indians came “with a heavy price to pay for those on the frontline. As of date, at least 60 plus pilots have been tested Covid positive,” senior pilots of the national carrier have stated, in the letter addressed to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri. “This has had a ‘devastating effect’ on their family members,” said the letter. The pilots are already ... Read more

By George Scaria (Travelife Certified Sustainability Manager) Sustainability in tourism has been a major talking point at several industry platforms for the last few years. When it comes to the post Covid-19 new normal, sustainability will have a major role to play. The concept is based on the three Ps – People, Planet & Profit. But unfortunately, many misunderstand or misinterpret the above to suit their own convenience. In this article, I am trying to bring a few points which may be closer to the real definitions. In my personal experience, I have found that many of our industry stakeholders have ... Read more

The archaeological ruins of Liangzhu City, a World Cultural Heritage Site with a history of 5,000 years, has achieved full 5G coverage. The application of 5G would provide a better tourism experience at the site. The archaeological ruins of Liangzhu City (about 3300-2300 BC) is located in Hangzhou, capital of East China’s Zhejiang province, with an urban area of 3 square kilometres and a heritage area of 14.34 sq.km. With the addition of the buffer zone, it extends to 114 sq.km. According to the World Heritage Committee, the ruins of the ancient city is an outstanding example of early urban civilization, showing an early regional state with ... Read more

Airlines for America (A4A) – the industry trade organization representing the leading US airlines – has welcomed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to adopt the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standard for future aircraft. EPA’s proposal to adopt the ICAO standard will further enable US airlines to meet the industry’s goals to achieve carbon neutral growth in the near term and to cut net carbon emissions in half in 2050 relative to 2005 levels. The standard, which takes into account safety, technological feasibility and environmental benefit, applies to new models of commercial ... Read more

Qatar Airways has launched an international arbitration seeking at least $5bn from four Arab countries as compensation for blocking the airline from their airspace for the past three years. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt had imposed a ban on the airline since June 2017 when they cut all ties with Qatar and brought upon an air, land and sea blockade on it, over accusations of supporting “terrorism”. Doha denied the charges alleging that the quartet aims to infringe on its sovereignty. The airline said it has made substantial investments in these four countries in order to ... Read more

Noesis Capital Advisors and Ngage Hospitality have designed a masterclass on digital strategies for hotels and resorts, dedicated to providing insights on how marketers can stay relevant in today’s intensely competitive and evolving environment. The session will be held on July 24. The masterclass titled ‘Digital Marketing Strategies for Hotels & Resorts to thrive in the New Normal’ will aid all hospitality-related businesses that want to redevelop or re-skill their marketing strategies with the present day tools. It is designed to have an interactive and ‘open discussion’ format. Industry leaders have been curated strategically for discussions to inspire and prepare you to ... Read more

Emirates has announced that it will resume passenger services to Seychelles from August 1, coinciding with the country’s re-opening to international tourists. Operating flights to Seychelles five times a week with a Boeing 777-300ER, Emirates offers travellers convenient access to this popular Indian Ocean holiday destination. The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, off East Africa. Seychelles is home to numerous beaches, coral reefs and nature reserves, as well as rare animals such as giant Aldabra tortoises. Mahé, a hub for visiting the other islands, is home to capital Victoria. It also has the mountain rainforests ... Read more

Marriott International has announced the opening of its 800th property in Asia Pacific, the JW Marriott Nara in Japan. The launch marks the entry of the JW Marriott brand into Japan. The company also expects the EDITION and Aloft brands to debut in Japan before the end of the year. “We remain confident in the resilience of travel, our owners and franchisees, guests and associates as well as the future prospects of lodging in Asia Pacific, our second largest market,” said Craig S. Smith, Group President, Asia Pacific for Marriott International. “We are encouraged by recent trends, especially in China, ... Read more

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is offering free admissions for US military veterans and their families to safely visit its SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld San Antonio, and Busch Gardens Tampa parks. The US military veterans and retirees can redeem their complimentary single-day ticket(s), valid through November 11, for themselves and up to three friends or family members online at www.WavesofHonor.com. This offer will be valid at SeaWorld San Diego and Busch Gardens Williamsburg upon the parks’ reopening. In addition to enhancing the parks’ already strict health and safety measures, capacity at each park is carefully limited to create even more open space for guests to enjoy ... Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised that ‘Ease of Living’ is as important as ‘Ease of Business’, adding that the pandemic has reminded us of the importance of resilience of the global economy against external shocks, which can be achieved by stronger domestic economic capacities. Delivering the keynote address at the India Ideas Summit on Wednesday, Modi listed several sectors which offer tremendous opportunities to invest such as infrastructure creation including building  roads, highways and ports and turbocharging civil aviation, wherein top private Indian airlines plan to include over a thousand new aircraft over the coming decade. At the Summit ... Read more

By Anish Kumar – CEO, Travel Planners Countries like Chile, Germany, Italy, Britain and the US are looking at providing immunity passports to people who have recovered from the coronavirus, so that they feel encouraged to travel. Immunity passport is a form of documentation given to those who have recovered from Covid-19. Those who have recovered from the impact of the coronavirus have developed herd immunity, and hence such measures are being considered to revive the travel sector. It is estimated that around 8.33 million people have recovered from Covid-19 worldwide. They have developed antibodies against the disease and are ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism, as part of its Dekho Apna Desh series conducted a webinar titled, “The Mystical Triangle- Maheshwar, Mandu & Omkareshwar” on July 18. Presented by Ashima Gupta, Commissioner of Income Tax, Indore and Sarita Alurkar, a Singapore based marketing professional, the webinar showcased the richness of the destinations covered under the mystical triangle and acquainted the viewers with these serene, captivating getaways in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The first stop of the mystical triangle was Maheshwar or Mahishmati, one of the most serene and captivating destinations of Madhya Pradesh with historical significance, 90 kms away from ... Read more

Casino Hotel and Brunton Boatyard have become the first hotels in south India to get the Workplace Assessment for Safety and Hygiene (WASH) certification from the Quality Council of India (QCI), CGH Earth has announced. QCI is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that governs ISO and NABH certifications. “CGH Earth has always consciously tried to create a safe and hygienic environment. We are happy to announce that Brunton Boatyard and Casino Hotel have been certified by WASH. The rest of our hotels and resorts will follow soon,” said Michael Dominic, CEO, CGH Earth. “The well ... Read more

Nepal’s Tourism Ministry has said that it would let all tourism related activities including mountain climbing during autumn. The Nepal government has already announced that it will resume all domestic and international flights from August 17. With the latest announcement, the tourism fraternity believes that the industry which incurred a loss of over 10 billion rupees a month during the COVID-induced nationwide lockdown would gradually return to a new normal, Himalayan Times said in a report. “The ministry plans to resume all tourism related activities by following health and safety protocols from August 17,” the Ministry’s secretary Kedar Bahadur Adhikari ... Read more