Category: News

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has announced that it will operate more than 100 flights in a week. During the first phase of operations from May 25 to June 30, there will be flight services to and from Kochi, Lakshadweep, Bengaluru, Kozhikode, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kannur, Mumbai, Mysore and Pune. Air India, Air Asia, Alliance Air, Indigo, SpiceJet, Vistara and Air India Express will be operating from Kochi. CIAL has automated systems for check in procedure, safety checks and identification procedure, as part of the Covid-19 safety protocol. There will be two rounds of thermal screening – one near the ... Read more

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has urged mall owners across the country to waive off rentals during the lock-down period and renegotiate commercial terms going forward. NRAI has written to mall owners to urgently resolve commercial concerns of food and beverage retailers, whose business has been hit very hard by the pandemic. “The mandated lock-down has forced us to shut shop and prevent the malls to allow entry to our guests, staff or suppliers. This is a clear case of force majeure and therefore all charges of rentals or common area maintenance for the duration of the lock-down ... Read more

Didi Chuxing, the biggest ride-sharing platform in China, has invested $7 million in starting an international travel agency based in Beijing, according to a report by ChinaTravelNews. As per public information from company-data provider Qichacha, Beijing Jucai Dongli Technology (Jucai Tech), an associate company of Didi Chuxing, has invested RMB50 million ($7 million) to establish a new company called the Beijing Xiaoju International Travel Agency. Xiaoju International Travel Agency will provide services covering domestic travel, inbound tours, tour information consultancy, tickets sales and others. In fact, this is not the first time Didi has dipped its toes into tourism. In ... Read more

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy’s most visited tourist site, will reopen on June 1 after being closed for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. With over 7 million visitors a year, the Colosseum is one of Rome’s major tourist attractions. The Flavian amphitheatre, which is listed as world heritage, “will finally reopen to the public, under the banner of accessibility, welcome and above all, safety,” according to a statement from the archaeological site. The Colosseum will reopen on Monday “with adequate health protection for staff and visitors” such as masks and temperature measurement, secure routes, compulsory reservations ... Read more

The German government is looking to lift travel warnings for 31 European countries by June 15, if the health situation allows it, the DPA press agency has reported. Great Britain, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are on the list, along with the 26 EU countries, according to DPA. The German government is due to make a decision on Wednesday. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had issued a worldwide warning for tourist travel on March 17 due to the rapid spread of the new coronavirus. This global travel warning would make way for advice per destination, with the risk addressed country ... Read more

Private yachts and boats, catering up to 12 passengers, will be allowed to set sail in Greece, according to a government decision as coronavirus restrictions ease. The government decision allows private yachts and boats to sail to and from the islands, with no restrictions on staying overnight or arriving during late hours, provided they carry up to 12 passengers, maintaining a minimum distance of 1.5 meters between each other. The easing of restrictions on yachting was also announced last week by Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis when he presented the country’s ‘Restart Tourism” plan. The government has also said restrictions ... Read more

For the past three months, Las Vegas wore a deserted look. No crowds, no lights, no fun. But now the famed casinos are set to open, promising to bring some life back into the city. For the past two weeks Nevada has shown a decrease in the number of new coronavirus cases, encouraging governor Steve Sisolak to set a tentative date of June 4 to reopen casinos state-wide, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Our members have spent more than two months preparing for this day,” Virginia Valentine, president and CEO of the Nevada Resort Association, said in an emailed ... Read more

Majority of air travellers are concerned about the environment on an airplane than in an airport, an informal survey has revealed. The survey conducted by aerospace technology firm Honeywell, involving more than 700 frequent business and personal air travel passengers, indicated the types of guidelines and health-related equipment passengers may be looking for while flying during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The anonymous online survey showed that a majority of travellers (72%) were more concerned with the environment on an airplane than in an airport (28%). Nearly 60% of respondents cited social distancing as their top priority during travel, while ... Read more

The Karnataka Tourism Society has submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa demanding that hotels, restaurants and some tourism destinations be opened immediately. Society president K Shama Raju told reporters that although the CM was keen to accord permission, a decision will be taken only after consulting the central government. The Society demanded that hotels and restaurants be given permission to serve food in adherence with physical distance norms. Other demands include an exemption on property tax for April 2020, exemption from paying excise licence fee, and waiver of electricity charges. They also urged the government to give ... Read more

The Union Tourism Ministry has extended the validity of certification of hotels and the travel agents, tour operators, adventure tour operators, domestic tour operators and tourist transport operators till June 30. According to a note issued to this effect on Tuesday, the ministry said, “The decision was taken considering the current situation when the hospitality industry is going through a very difficult time in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown that has severely impacted the accommodation sector. Validity of approval or certifications of hotels and other accommodation units whose project approvals and classification have expired are deemed to ... Read more

Seychelles, the small island holiday destination in the Indian Ocean with a population of less than a hundred thousand inhabitants, is now Covid-19 and ready to welcome guests. The country, which reported a number of 11 cases in total, has announced the last infected patient tested negative for a continuous number of days and is now considered to be healed from the Covid-19 virus. The pandemic had reached Seychelles in March 2020. The number of cases on the island increased slowly during the next three weeks and reached its peak on April 6, 2020 when the 11th case was confirmed ... Read more

Dubai will begin allowing free movement and business activity to restart from tomorrow. There will be no restrictions on movement or business operations between 6 am and 11 pm, the Dubai media office said in a press release. Some retail and wholesale businesses will be allowed to reopen, subject to further sterilisation operations and social distancing measures, the media office tweeted. Those will include cinemas, indoor gyms and education and treatment centres for children. Business and tourism hub Dubai allowed malls to reopen at limited capacity during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that began on April 24. Dubai also ... Read more

The Thailand government has sold a 3.2% stake in national carrier THAI Airways. The government’s stake now stands at 47.86%, ending the airline’s days as a majority-owned state enterprise. A total of 69.2 million shares were sold to Vayupak, a mutual fund run by the Krung Thai Bank. “The Cabinet agreed the government will reduce its holding in THAI Airways to under 50%, ending the airline’s status as a state-enterprise,” Saksayam Chidchob, Thailand’s transport minister said last week. With the exception of 2016, the airline has posted losses since 2012 and carries debts of approximately $2.9 billion. In 2019, THAI ... Read more

In the biggest ever bailout package in aviation history, Lufthansa and the German government have finalised the terms of a €9 billion ($9.8 billion) rescue deal, following weeks of intense negotiations over the future of the airline. The rescue package will give the government a 20% stake in the group, which owns airlines in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium. Lufthansa said in a statement that Germany’s Federal Economic Stabilization Fund, which is being used to assist companies hit by the corona virus pandemic, has approved a “stabilization package,” which the company’s executive board supports. Underscoring the trouble facing airlines, Lufthansa’s ... Read more

Any comeback by the beleaguered airline industry will extend into 2023, according to new data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA estimates that passenger traffic won’t rebound to pre-crisis levels until at least 2023. It expects that global passenger demand in 2021 will be 24% below 2019 levels and 32% lower than the forecast the association made in October 2019. The new data is based on a slower opening of economies and relaxation of travel restrictions. Lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders could return if the virus comes back strong in the fall and winter with a second wave, ... Read more