Category: News

The Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) hosted a webinar on “Preparedness of Hospitality, Travel & Tourism industry during COVID-19” recently, attended by senior officials representing various segments of the hospitality and travel industry.  Agreeing that domestic tourism is likely to be the first sector to be revived, almost all the panellists were of the view that the industry can bounce back to health if all the stakeholders come together to support each other. To promote India as a destination among the foreigners, it is important to properly communicate and convince the world and prospective travellers that they are safe while ... Read more

Based on a careful review of the metrics, travellers from Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey are now exempt from the 14-day quarantine requirement as well as the testing alternative option, Maine governor Janet Mills has said. Mills had previously announced that travellers from New Hampshire and Vermont were able to travel to Maine without these restrictions as well. The update will take effect this Friday, July 3.  Maine is the north-eastern most US state, known for its rocky coastline, maritime history and natural areas like the granite and spruce islands of Acadia National Park. Moose are plentiful in Baxter ... Read more

Neighbours Spain and Portugal reopened their border on Wednesday to all travellers after a three-month closure to prevent the spread of coronavirus, bringing relief to local business owners who have struggled to make ends meet without tourism. “It has been miserable since we reopened in May. There are no customers,” Jose Valentim, a restaurant owner in the Portuguese border town of Elvas, told Reuters. “We hope that from today onwards some Spaniards will be able to come.” For Luis Pinheiro, a 53-year old construction supervisor who commutes across the border every day from the Spanish city of Badajoz to his ... Read more

Scotland’s Highlands has witnessed only 114 coronavirus deaths to date. But the possible influx of tourists when the travel sector reopens from July 15, has the residents worried, The Guardian says in a report. Homemade “tourists go home” signs that appeared at the start of the lockdown to deter isolation tourists may have been removed, but Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, this week acknowledged she could not rule out quarantining or screening travellers from England if infection rates rise south of the border. While tourism bosses warn of threatened cancellations, The Guardian has spoken to residents, businesses and community leaders across the ... Read more

Snowy hills without skiers, closed hotels, empty shops. At the foot of the Andes mountain range, the city of Bariloche in Argentina is covered in snow but there will be no avalanche of tourists this winter amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “Today we are closed, with zero activity,” Belén García Bertone told news agency AFP. The 36-year-old is a third generation of hoteliers and president of the Chamber of Tourism of Bariloche. Located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park, set among mountains and lakes, 1,800 km southwest of Buenos Aires, San Carlos de Bariloche is Argentina’s fourth-most visited tourist destination by foreigners. ... Read more

Even though the European Union (EU) announced on Tuesday that South Korea was on a list of 14 countries allowed to travel there, international travel still looks difficult. Anyone arriving in South Korea from overseas is required to undergo a strict two-week quarantine, either at home or at a government-run facility. They cannot leave their homes and are monitored by government officials, while those in hotels pay about US$100 per night, and there are no visits to cafés, bars, gyms or gardens. With few South Koreans spending more than one week on vacation, the burden of a two-week quarantine on ... Read more

Victorian regional accommodation operators affected by lockdowns in metropolitan Melbourne will be eligible for Government support if losses can be shown. A $5 million fund has been made available to regional businesses including motels, caravan parks and short-term rentals like Airbnb properties that can demonstrate losses due to the new restrictions implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Melbourne. Payments of up to $225 per cancelled booked night will be paid, on the condition that full refunds are provided to Melburnians stuck in lockdown and no cancellation fees are levied, Business News Australia has reported. “We know that the ... Read more

Greek tourism is off to a great start. More than 230 flights landed in Greece on Wednesday, as the country reopened to tourists after four months of lockdown. According to the Hellenic Civil Aviation Administration (HCAA), Athens and Crete’s Heraklion airports had the most arrivals with 69 and 54 respectively, followed by Thessaloniki (23), Corfu (21), Chania (16), Rhodes (14), Mykonos (10), Kos (eight), Santorini (four), Skiathos, Aktio, Kefalonia, Samos (two each), and lastly, Kalamata Paros, and Karpathos (one each). Heraklion airport welcomed its first full flight from Hannover with live traditional Cretan music, Greek Travel Pages (GTP) reported. The island is expecting some ... Read more

Thailand has announced a new initiative “Rao Thieu Duaykan” (We Tour Together), created as a stimulus for domestic tourism. From July 15, Thai citizens can apply for a government subsidy to cover part of their hotel and dining expenses when travelling outside their home provinces. Those interested in the programme can participate through the Pao Tang app from July 15. Tourism operators can join now itself. About 22.4 billion baht will be used to fund the programme which will run until October. The money will subsidise five million hotel nights, with taxpayer money covering 40% of hotel rates up to ... Read more

Singapore’s Changi Airport is trialling and implementing a range of new anti-virus measures as it prepares for a gradual resumption of flights in the post Covid-19 outbreak world. Proximity touch check-in kiosks coated with anti-microbial disinfectants, new acrylic screens for counter staff, autonomous cleaning robots with misting attachments, and contactless toilets are just some of the measures, Bloomberg reports. One of the world’s busiest airports for international passenger traffic, Changi like most of its global peers has been brought to an almost complete standstill by the virus outbreak, which has decimated the tourism industry. In the first tentative steps toward ... Read more

India will begin phase-4 of its repatriation mission this Friday, with over 912 flights scheduled over six weeks. Private airlines will play a major role, with IndiGo operating 457 flights and GoAir chipping in with 41 flights. This phase is the biggest so far, but will focus on fewer countries, with flights from only 17 nations. In this phase, Air India will focus almost exclusively on long-haul destinations, leaving shorter routes to Air India Express and private carriers. Long-haul destinations include flights to Australia, the UK, the US, Ukraine, Canada, and Kenya. These flights will operate between July 3 and ... Read more

More than 250 hotels in Goa will throw open their doors on Thursday after the government granted permission to resume operation, the state’s Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar has said. Hotels in Goa had been shut since March, when the lockdown was announced to contain the spread of Covid-19. The Goa government had sought applications from hotel operators who were willing to reopen with a declaration that they will abide by the standard operating procedures. “The hotels will be allowed to start from Thursday. Those who want to travel to Goa can do so. Hotel bookings should be done prior to ... Read more

Mexico’s oldest legacy airline, Aeromexico, has said that it has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization, a form of bankruptcy in which the carrier can keep operating while its debts and obligations are sorted out. The airline said “this legal process will not interrupt the airline’s operations” and that all tickets, reservations and bonus points would continue to be honoured, news agency AP has reported. Like many airlines throughout the world, Aeromexico has been squeezed by a decline in travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Aeromexico General Director Andrés Conesa said “the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the ... Read more

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways will add 15 more destinations shortly, which will include some major cities across the Indian subcontinent. “Throughout July, we’re planning to operate flights to more than 40 worldwide destinations. We continue to work closely with the UAE government and global aviation authorities to increase our network in the future,” the UAE carrier said on its website. Athens, Greece, was the latest destination it added, taking the total number of international flights being flown by Etihad through June to 25 destinations. Khaleej Times reported that from July 16, the carrier will be adding the Indian cities of ... Read more

The Mobile City Council on Tuesday approved the creation of the much awaited Mobile Tourism Improvement District (MTID) – the first in Alabama. Mobile is a port city on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Visit Mobile, the city’s convention and visitors’ bureau, will implement MTID’s marketing initiatives. The city said it will increase its allocation to Visit Mobile for marketing purposes. The initiative will kick-off from today. “The Tourism Improvement District creates a significant platform to position Mobile as a top tourist destination,” said David Clark, Visit Mobile president and CEO. “Congratulations to our lodging partners for seven years of hard work ... Read more