Category: News

Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading US airlines, announced that its member carriers will voluntarily pledge to refund tickets for any passenger who is found to have an elevated temperature, during a screening process conducted by federal authorities prior to travel. Last month, A4A and its member carriers announced they are supporting the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to begin conducting temperature screenings of the traveling public and customer-facing employees as long as necessary during the COVID-19 public health crisis. As all screening processes for the traveling public are the responsibility of the US government, having temperature checks ... Read more

India’s leading heritage hotel chain, WelcomHeritage, has announced the appointment of Abinash Manghani as its Chief Executive Officer. Earlier, he was with the ITC Hotels where he was responsible for the leisure & luxury verticals nationally and area manager for north India. He has been in the hospitality industry for over three decades. Speaking on his appointment, Abinash Manghani, CEO, WelcomHeritage said, “I am extremely delighted to join the WelcomHeritage group.” “WelcomHeritage Hotels, Palaces and Resorts are uniquely positioned and offer a “Safe Haven” during this pandemic. We have started the ‘Safety Ensured” initiative at all our properties to ensure cleanliness and disinfection ... Read more

The Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), which owns the Taj group of hotels, has announced the launch of its online food delivery platform, Qmin. Consumers can use the platform to order food from eight restaurants in Mumbai including Golden Dragon and Souk from Taj Mahal Palace, Thai Pavilion and Trattoria from President and Ming Yang from Taj Lands’ End to name a few. The launch will cover top ten markets in India including Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru among others over a period of five weeks. The Qmin mobile application will be launched on July 25. Puneet Chhatwal, managing director and ... Read more

The Oberoi Group, in association with Tourism Industry Stake Holders Association (TISHA) and Shimla Hotel Restaurant Association (SHRA), conducted an awareness programme on COVID preparedness on Thursday. Aligned with the Standard Operating Procedures issued by the Government of Himachal Pradesh, the programme was conducted with the vision to educate and build confidence amongst the hoteliers and restaurateurs in the state. The purpose of this programme was to help the hoteliers of Himachal Pradesh learn the finest practices and deliberate strategies for implementing high standards of safety measures. The training programme focussed on preparing the hotels to be COVID ready in ... Read more

The Delhi Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association on Thursday announced that Chinese nationals would no longer be provided accommodation in over 3,000 hotels and guest houses across the city. Said association president Sandeep Khandelwal, “The Chinese are not the world, we can survive without them as well. We are all law-abiding citizens and no one will take law in their hands, but this would make the Chinese worried. War and trade cannot happen at the same time.” Khandelwal added that the association would also try to get five-star hotels on board with this decision. While a majority of hotels have ... Read more

Texans travelling to New York, Connecticut or New Jersey will have to quarantine for 14 days under travel restrictions announced by governors in those states. The governors put the restrictions in place to prevent a new wave of coronavirus-infected visitors arriving from states where there has been a sharp uptick in cases following the reopening of businesses, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. Texas is one of nine states with infection rates high enough to fit into the required quarantine category, but other states could be added if rates increase, Dallas News has reported. ”We now have to make sure the ... Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his approval for declaring Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh as an international airport, during a cabinet meeting. Its elevation as an international airport will help the state to grow its tourism fortunes. Kushinagar Airport is located in the vicinity of several Buddhist Cultural Sites like Sravasti, Kapilvastu, and Lumbini. Kushinagar itself is a Buddhist cultural site. Declaring it an international airport will offer improved connectivity, wider choice of competitive costs to air-travellers from Kushinagar. It will result in boosting domestic/international tourism and economic development of the region. Kushinagar is located in the north-eastern part of Uttar ... Read more

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has told India’s flag carrier Air India that transportation of passengers — whether UAE nationals or not — to the emirates will not be allowed. If any one wishes to fly on a Vande Bharat Mission flight from India to Dubai, he or she will require “specific approval from the Embassy of UAE in New Delhi and UAE ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation (MOFAIC),” said an Air India spokesperson on Wednesday. “All passengers including the Indian Nationals who are holding valid Residency Permit/Work Permit of United Arab Emirates and have procured approval of the UAE’s Federal Authority ... Read more

Australia is likely to keep its borders shut to international travellers till 2021 to contain the spread of COVID-19. Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has announced that one of the reasons that helped Australia to contain the virus successfully was its decision to close down the borders. He added international border restrictions are likely to be there for some time to come. When he was specifically asked if it was more likely to happen next year, he added, “I think that is more likely the case”. It has been three months since an indefinite ban was implemented on international travel due to ... Read more

Pubs, hairdressers and cinemas will be able to open from July 15 if coronavirus cases continues to decline in Scotland, its First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced. Sturgeon said the move was possible thanks to “real and sustained progress” in suppressing Covid-19. People in Scotland will be allowed to meet up with two other households indoors from July 15 and outdoor hospitality such as beer gardens will be allowed to re-open from July 6. Sturgeon also said the five-mile travel limit will be lifted from July 3, while non-essential retail within indoor shopping centres will re-open from July 13. Households will ... Read more

South Africa’s tourism sector has lost an estimated R68bn in revenue amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has necessitated national lockdowns and enforced restrictions on global travel. The R270bn tourism industry, which anchors South Africa’s less-developed provinces, is reeling and counting the cost of the worldwide pandemic, says Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa. The entire value chain and associated industries that depend on tourism and hospitality are feeling the squeeze induced by the coronavirus crisis, The Africa Report has said. The R68bn revenue loss comes with loss of employment. The other industries and sectors we impact are going ... Read more

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) have decided to extend support to Ukraine’s tourism sector, in a bid to mitigate the losses suffered. “Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the tourism and hospitality industry across the world is expecting more than a billion tourists to cancel their holiday plans, leading to an 80% compared with 2019. In response, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) have teamed up to offer emergency support and recommendations for Ukraine’s tourism industry, which has also been badly affected by the ... Read more

The UAE has completed its national sterilisation programme and lifted all movement restrictions effective Wednesday. This means residents can travel freely across the country any time of the day, Khaleej Times has reported. Earlier, they were required to stay home during the national sterilisation programme timings between 11 pm and 6 am in Dubai and 10 pm and 6 am in all other emirates. “Today we announce the completion of the National Disinfection Programme, which covered the country’s public facilities and transportation. However, the public buildings will continue to be regularly disinfected,” said Dr Saif Al Dhaheri, spokesman for National ... Read more

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday announced a fresh set of mandatory rules for expats wanting to return to the state from other countries. Expats returning from countries with provisions for COVID-19 testing are expected to take the tests and carry the certificates with them. The tests should be taken no earlier than 72 hours before boarding the flight, said the Chief Minister. The passengers returning from the UAE need to carry their pre-flight COVID-19 test certificates with them. Those returning from Oman and Bahrain need to wear N-95 masks, face shield, gloves and use sanitizers frequently. However, all ... Read more

As coronavirus cases continue to rise in Tamil Nadu unabated, the state government has intensified the lockdown measures and has even imposed restrictions on inter-district travel.  Thirty-three deaths and 2,865 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, taking the tally in the state to 67,468 while the death toll touched 866. This is the highest single-day spike in the number of cases.  Tamil Nadu surpassed the grim milestone of 60,000 total coronavirus cases on Monday.  At a time when all states across India have been on an ‘Unlock’ mode from June 1, Tamil Nadu government was the ... Read more