Category: News

Goa’s Ports Minister Michael Lobo has said that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant would soon ask the bars in the state to be reopened. “Restaurants have opened. But no one seems to be visiting restaurants because their attached bars are shut,” Lobo said.  “Most people like to have a beer with their food or a peg before going to sleep,” he said. The opening of the bars would, in turn, boost the local economy, which has been stricken by the Covid-19 pandemic, the minister added. Lobo, after a meeting with the Chief Minister in Panaji, said that until the Covid-19 situation ... Read more

The European Union on Tuesday extended a ban on travellers from the United States, India and most other countries, citing epidemiological factors for the decision. The countries were chosen based on certain criteria, including that the number of new cases over a 14-day period had to be “close to order below the EU average.” The countries also needed to have a “stable or decreasing trend of new cases over this period.” The UK will be treated as part of the EU, according to the Council, until the end of the year. The UK currently has a mandatory quarantine period of 14 ... Read more

Singapore has announced the gradual reopening of its tourism sector from today. In the initial phase, 13 attractions will be allowed to resume operations. Universal Studios Singapore, Madame Tussauds, Singapore Zoo, Bounce, Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay, Jurong Bird Park, River Safari, Zero Latency, Art Science Museum, Casino at Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, S.E.A. Aquarium, and Sands Sky Park and Observation Deck will reopen their doors for visitors in the first phase. In the beginning, most attractions will be restricted to no more than 25% of their operating capacity at one time. Access to the ... Read more

Egypt has announced it will reopen its seaside resorts from today. The areas opening up are southern Sinai, where the resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab are located, Red Sea province, home to the Hurghada and Marsa Alam resorts, and Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean. The cabinet has said that international flights will be allowed to enter the country from July 1, while foreign tourists will be permitted at the resorts least affected by Covid-19. Tourists coming to Egypt will now be required to submit a valid health insurance policy to Egyptian airport authorities as part of measures to limit the coronavirus spread. ... Read more

Malta is reopening its tourism from today, allowing visitors from 20 plus nations to enter the country without an isolation period. Restrictions on all other flight destinations will be lifted on July 15. The Prime Minister of Malta, Robert Abela, announced that Malta’s International Airport too will resume commercial passenger flights from today.   Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean between Sicily and the North African coast. It’s a nation known for historic sites related to a succession of rulers including the Romans, Moors, Knights of Saint John, French and British. It is also famous for its numerous fortresses, megalithic temples and ... Read more

Kerala Tourism secretary Rani George has said the state government is working on reviving the tourism sector with special focus on ayurveda, adventure and houseboat tourism. Addressing an interactive virtual session organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), she said, “SOPs for these areas are already prepared and will soon be circulated to the industry for implementation.” “The Kerala government has been proactive in preventing COVID-19 in the state. We will be focusing on promoting Kerala as a safe and hygienic destination for prospective tourists,” Rani George added. Baby Mathew, President, Kerala Travel Mart Society ... Read more

India’s largest domestic carrier IndiGo on Tuesday introduced an additional 5.5 days of “leave without pay” per month for its pilots, effective July. IndiGo had implemented one to five days of leave without pay in May. The new move will effectively take the total number of “no pay days” to ten. The carrier has also implemented fresh salary cuts for some of the pilots. “There will also be a salary revision for under training transition captains and transition first officers and that would be communicated by the HR team,” the airline stated. The airline will review the leave without pay ... Read more

The Fern Hotels & Resorts, one of India’s leading hotel chains, is looking to partner with standalone hotels and enter into management contracts, Param Kannampilly, the Chairman & Managing Director of the company has said. Explaining the benefits of associating with the company he said, “We have a robust sales and marketing network with a pan-India presence, so the association will help individual hotels grow their corporate, MICE and leisure business in these uncertain times”. “We can look into the possibility of tie-ups under our Fern, Zinc and Beacon brands depending upon the property,” he added. Providing details of the newly announced ... Read more

Two prominent Taj hotels in south Mumbai have received threat calls from Pakistan, with the caller threatening to carry out a terror attack similar to the 26/11 attacks. Security has been heightened at both the hotels following the calls. The Taj Mahal Palace in Colaba and the Taj Lands End in Bandra received calls on their landline phones. The police said they are in the process of identifying the caller. Both the hotels are extremely popular with both domestic and international tourists, but are currently closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Police said that the first threat call was made ... Read more

The Maharashtra state government has now restricted extensive movement within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which has seen an unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases in the past month. In Mumbai, city police have stopped allowing people to move beyond a 2-km periphery from their homes. On Monday, while extending lockdown restrictions till July 31 under ‘Mission Begins Again’ initiative, the government has asked people in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and other cities to use only neighbourhood markets and barred them from travelling long distance for shopping non-essential items. Violations will invite police action. Chief secretary Ajoy Mehta issued an order on ... Read more

The European Union is edging toward finalising a list of countries whose citizens will be allowed to enter Europe again in coming days, with Americans almost certain to be excluded in the short term due to the number of U.S. coronavirus cases. Spain’s foreign minister said that the list could contain 15 countries that are not EU members and whose citizens would be allowed to visit from July 1. EU diplomats confirmed that the list would be made public on Tuesday. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity to the news agency Associated Press (AP) because the procedure is ongoing ... Read more

As part of the Dekho Apna Desh webinar series, the Ministry of Tourism introduced a session on  “Unlocking Travel & Tourism Safely & Responsibly during Covid”. The webinar was moderated by  Rupinder Brar, ADG, Ministry Of Tourism and was presented by  Dr Sandeep Bhalla, Director of Public Health Foundation of India, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Singh, Chief Medical Superintendent of Amrita Institute of Medical & Sciences Research Centre at Kochi, Dr Paridhi Mody, Programme Officer of Public Health Foundation of India. As countries around the globe including India are now gradually opening up trade and industries including travel & tourism, bringing ... Read more

Greece will not be accepting direct flights from the UK and Sweden until July 15, it was announced on Monday. The announcement followed a meeting chaired by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, ahead of Greece reopening airports to international flights on Wednesday, July 1. Regarding which non-European Union travellers will be allowed entry as of July 1, Greece intends to follow the list expected to be released soon by European officials, a statement by the PM’s press office said. The list will include the countries whose travellers will be allowed in when the EU’s external borders are reopened on July 1, Greek ... Read more

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation is preparing for the phase-2 of reopening, starting July 1, which allows for the resumption of international travel. All travellers visiting The Bahamas beginning July 1, must: Present a COVID-19 RT-PCR Negative (Swab) Test. Those arriving between July 1-7 must present results less than ten (10) days old. Those arriving after July 7 must present results less than seven (7) days old. Select individuals will not be required to provide a test: Children under two (2) Children between 3-10, if state or county of residence does not administer tests under that age. Parents or guardians must provide proof of testing restriction ... Read more

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has come on board to facilitate the development of a roadmap towards ‘Building a Safer and Resilient Tourism Sector in Sri Lanka: Post COVID-19’, to better assess the rapidly evolving pandemic and its crippling impact on the tourism sector.   This national roadmap is intended to catalyse the development of a framework to support the development of a new Strategic Plan and Vision for tourism 2021-2024. The first in a series of  consultations with development partners convened under the theme; ‘Putting People First: Building a more Resilient Tourism Sector in Sri Lanka’ was held on ... Read more