Category: News

British Airways has said it will retire all of its Boeing 747s as it suffers from the sharp travel downturn. The airline is the world’s largest operator of the jumbo jets, with 31 of them in the fleet. “It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect,” a British Airways (BA) spokesman told the BBC. “It is unlikely our magnificent ‘queen of the skies’ will ever operate commercial services for British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic,” the spokesman added. BA, ... Read more

ITC Hotels has announced a tie-up with food aggregator Zomato to deliver dishes from its restaurants to those craving a taste of Dal Bukhara and other ITC specialities. ‘Gourmet Couch by ITC Hotels’ is the chain’s most recent culinary offering that encompasses exclusively curated menus from ITC Hotels’ signature brands, delivered to the guest’s residence under stringent safety protocol.  Anil Chadha, COO, ITC Hotels said, “ITC Hotels has always showcased the finest culinary traditions through its globally acclaimed signature brands. However, in a world where change is the order of the day, it has been our endeavour to ensure our patrons ... Read more

The government plans to begin a contentious travel initiative next week as planned, despite a resurgence in new coronavirus cases, by excluding hardest-hit Tokyo from the campaign. Trips by residents of Tokyo and journeys to and from the capital will be ineligible for the government’s subsidy program, which will begin on Wednesday in a bid to spur domestic travel, tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba told reporters. “We will commence the campaign, as we ask both the lodging industry and travellers to take measures to prevent the spread of the virus in the remaining 46 prefectures,” Akaba said. The government plans to ... Read more

The Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) has charged tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar for allowing COVID-19 positive tourists into Goa. A press statement issued by GPCC general secretary Amarnath Panjikar said tourists have been allowed entry into the state illegally.  “The tourism minister is solely responsible for COVID-19 positive tourists coming to Goa with bogus addresses,” Panjikar said. “The irresponsible act of the tourism minister to open the doors of Goa has now resulted in additional pressure being put on the health workers as well as the police force in tracing these COVID-19 infected tourists,” he alleged. He stated that many ... Read more

Thailand’s medical tourism and wellness programs will go ahead despite the controversy swirling around two Covid-19 cases this week – in Bangkok and in Rayong. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says the Ministry of Public Health will announce a list of hospitals that pass its criteria next week, and the first group of medical tourists will be allowed to land in Thailand within the next 2 weeks. He says the program will be operated under strict guidelines, including ensuring general patients are safe and visitors are not allowed to enter public areas. The visitors, ... Read more

Helge Braun, who has coordinated Germany’s fight against the pandemic from the start, said the government is considering limiting travel in and out of areas that see a sudden, unexplained surge in Covid-19 cases. “Our measures are appropriate to prevent a second big wave,” Braun told The Associated Press (AP) during an interview at the Chancellery in Berlin. “But this requires us to stay the course, not get careless in our measures, and maintain our respect for the virus.” Germans have watched in horror as cases in the United States, Brazil and elsewhere surged long after Germany flattened its own curve ... Read more

In an effort to restrict the spread of the coronavirus during travel, the Indian Railways has rolled out a prototype of what it calls the first ‘Post COVID Coach’. The new railway coach is designed to reduce the odds of someone getting infected by the virus  during a train journey, by adding hands-free amenities to reduce surface contact.  It has been designed at the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, Punjab. “Sustaining the ruthless fight against Covid-19, Indian Railways’ production unit, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, has developed a Post Covid Coach to fight Covid 19. This post Covid coach has design ... Read more

Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said that bilateral air bubbles will be the way forward in resuming international travel amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “I think the answer is bilateral air bubbles – which will carry a number of people but under defined conditions – as countries continue to impose entry restrictions including India,” Puri said at a press conference. Puri said Air France will operate 28 flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore to Paris from July 18 till August 1, while United Air will operate 18 flights from Delhi, Mumbai to Newark till July 31. Scheduled international ... Read more

Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy has said that the administration is contemplating reopening the Union Territory for tourists from August 1. He said that he would write to the Union Tourism Minister to ease the lockdown and open up tourism, to revive the economy. “The Puducherry administration managed to contain the spread of COIVID 19 due to the coordinated efforts of all sections of people. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the Union Territory is 65% and the death 1.5% of the total number of cases,” he said. The Tourism Ministry should facilitate foreign and domestic tourists to visit Puducherry so ... Read more

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has conducted India Luxury Virtual Connect (ILVC), India’s first ever virtual roadshow designed exclusively for leading travel partners across key metro cities to touch base with the Thai private sector. The first ever India Luxury Virtual Connect (ILVC) conducted on July 15 -16, witnessed participation from 28 Thai luxury sellers along with 130 travel agents across south-west India and another 130 agents from the north-east. ILVC was conceptualized and executed by BRANDit, the official representative firm of TAT’s Mumbai office. The ILVC interface, developed by Travel Gyan, is a virtual platform for leading travel partners ... Read more

Hawaii has decided to delay reopening its tourism sector for another month. It will now open on September 1. The move comes in the wake of the rising Coronavirus cases in the Aloha State. It was earlier decided to allow tourists into Hawaii from August 1. Hawaii Governor David Ige stated that all travellers who enter the state, even those who have tested negative for coronavirus, will be undergoing a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The previous plan was to allow tourists, who have tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of entering Hawaii, to bypass the mandatory 14-day quarantine starting from ... Read more

Etihad has added more destinations to its hand baggage only ‘Deal Fare’ which allows travellers to purchase lower fares in economy class if no checked baggage is required. Throughout July and August 2020, the Deal Fare will be introduced on routes including Belarus, Greece, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Serbia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Turkey. Initially, it was only available on flights between Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Azerbaijan. Robin Kamark, chief commercial officer, Etihad said, “Following its success within the GCC region, we are excited to include more destinations that ... Read more

Madhya Pradesh’s bio-diversity, tiger reserves and national parks have made it a fascinating travel destination. The Ministry of Tourism presented a webinar on ‘Wild Wonders of Madhya Pradesh’ under Dekho Apna Desh webinar series, providing an immersive virtual safari experience of the state, which is also known as the heart of Incredible India. The webinar was moderated by Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism and was presented by Suyash Keshari, a young wildlife filmmaker who was born and brought up in Madhya Pradesh and worked extensively on its wildlife. Madhya Pradesh is an amalgamation of natural wildlife, history ... Read more

Many leading companies in the travel and tourism industries were ranked high on the Disability Equality Index’s (DEI) list for their level of disability workplace inclusion. According to the DEI’s ‘Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion list’, major brands in the aviation, cruise, hotel and theme park industries all scored a perfect 100 in this year’s rankings. Airlines such as American, Delta, Southwest and United all finished at the top of the list, while Royal Caribbean International was the only cruise line to reach a perfect score, Travel Pulse reported. As for the hospitality industry, Choice Hotels International and Marriott International both ... Read more

Qatar Airways, on Wednesday, became the first airline to resume operations to Velana International Airport (VIA) after Maldives reopened borders. According to the airline, the scheduled flights will connect via Hamad International Airport located in Doha, Qatar, with European and American destinations including London, Copenhagen, Stockholm and New York. Daily flights from Doha to Male’ will depart at 0205hrs and arrive at 0905hrs, while flights from Male’ to Doha will take off at 2000hrs and land at 2245hrs. “We are excited to resume scheduled flights to the very popular tourist destination of Malé, Maldives. We are even more delighted to ... Read more