Category: News

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started a special safety audit of all Indian airlines, two weeks after the plane crash in Kerala’s Kozhikode in which 18 people were killed, a senior official of the aviation regulator said on Thursday. “It will be a complete FOQA (Flight Operations Quality Assurance) audit,” he said. The FOQA is the process of obtaining and analysing all kinds of data from flights to improve the safety and efficiency of future flight operations, PTI reports. “All Indian airlines will undergo the special safety audit that has begun. In the first phase, we are ... Read more

The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) has urged the Indian government to initiate direct flights between Thiruvananthapuram and various European cities, to rekindle interest among European guests to visit the state of Kerala. ATTOI President Vinod CS has said that starting air travel services to cities like Frankfurt, London, Zurich and Dublin will help to rejuvenate the tourism sector in Kerala, especially in the post-COVID scenario. “The greater connectivity to Europe will help European travellers to visit us more often, thus contributing more foreign exchange earnings for the state,” he said. “I hope the Central government can expedite ... Read more

Chandy’s Windy Woods, Munnar, has been awarded by TripAdvisor, as the “first among the best 25 luxury hotels in India” and also as the “9th among top 25 hotels in Asia”. It also has been ranked “17th among world’s top 25 hotels”. Chandy’s Windy Woods, Munnar, has always been a “classic choice” for family vacations, honey mooning, destination weddings and corporate events, the hotel management said in a statement. “We believe our success mantra to be our quality service, hospitality, food and of course the breath-taking view of the tea plantation from every room,” the statement added. “We are humbled by this ... Read more

Kerala’s Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran has termed the Central Government decision to lease out the Thiruvananthapuram Airport to Adani Enterprises as a “big scam”. “This is daylight robbery. Despite our requests, the airport has been leased to the Adani group, which is a large conglomerate,” the minister said. Adani has won the rights to operate the airport for 50 years. The Kerala government has been opposing privatisation of the Thiruvananthapuram airport for a long time. The state had even expressed willingness to create a separate company to run the airport. The minister termed the privatization move as unacceptable citing that ... Read more

Thailand’s tourism ministry aims to introduce its “Safe and Sealed” tourism plan in Phuket by October 1, while operators in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai are teaming up as a northern hub for long-stay travellers, Bangkok Post has reported. Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the ministry will join a meeting with Public Health, Interior, Foreign and Transport ministries on August 27 about the plan to open the country to tourists from low-risk cities or provinces who seek an excursion to Thailand. After a plan is developed, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) must approve it before launching the scheme. ... Read more

India is negotiating with 13 countries, including Australia, Japan and Singapore, to establish separate bilateral air bubble arrangements for international flight operations, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said. Under a bilateral air bubble pact, airlines of both the countries can operate international flights with certain restrictions. Puri said on Twitter air bubbles have also been proposed with our neighbours Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan. Since July, India has established such bubbles with the following countries – the US, the UK, France, Germany, the UAE, Qatar and the Maldives. “We are now taking these efforts forward & ... Read more

Effective August 21, Etihad Airways will operate a series of special passenger flights from Abu Dhabi to Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai. The flights can be booked through Hala Travel Management, Etihad’s travel management arm, by calling +971 2 511 7777, or via email at support@htm.ae . Flights must be booked at least 24 hours in advance. The mandatory documentation required will be collected and processed by Hala travel consultants.  Travellers leaving Abu Dhabi to India are required to show a negative COVID-19 PCR test result from a government accredited medical facility, received within 96 hours prior to departure. This negative result certificate will exempt ... Read more

The cost of the restrictions on travel introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is there for all to see. Between January and May, the sudden and rapid fall in tourist arrivals cost an estimated $320 billion. That’s three times greater than the impact of the Great Recession of 2007-2009 on our sector – and this is just for the first five months of the year,UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili has said. The re-opening of borders to tourism is a welcome relief to millions who depend on our sector. But this alone is not enough, especially in view of recent announcements and ... Read more

The Kerala government will shortly announce a relief package aimed at homestays and houseboats, CKTI President EM Najeeb has said. CKTI President EM Najeeb said he has personally met the minister to congratulate him for the relief package announced. “The government’s relief package is a morale booster for the entire Kerala tourism industry. The industry will stand united and support the government,” he said. “The minister has assured me that shortly the government will announce a relief package for homestays, houseboats and guides,” Najeeb said. “Kerala’s tourism sector will get rejuvenated by this move. Considering that the Union government has ... Read more

Kerala Tourism has announced a Rs 455 crore loan scheme to support the sector which has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, in a move that’s bound to bring substantial relief to the industry. The scheme known as the Chief Minister’s Special Tourism Loan Fund will benefit both entrepreneurs and employees of the sector who are struggling to keep themselves afloat. As per the scheme announced by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, 2,500 large scale entrepreneurs in the sector can avail working capital loans from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. Besides that,  2,500 small scale tourism entrepreneurs can avail ... Read more

Leading tourism associations have come forward to congratulate the Kerala state government’s decision to announce a financial package worth Rs 455 crore, which will be used to provide loans to entrepreneurs and employees in the industry. ATTOI President Vinod CS said he would like to congratulate the State Government, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Secretary Rani George and all the officials of the tourism department for putting together this package. “This is will be highly beneficial for the sector,” he said. “Covid-19 has destroyed the sector. Many had lost their jobs and entrepreneurs didn’t have a clue on how to ... Read more

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is expecting tourism revenues in September to grow by 20% compared to the same month last year, after the government approved September 4 and 7 as compensation holidays for this year’s Songkran Festival. The festival was postponed due to the pandemic. TAT’s governor has said the long weekend in September will stimulate people to take advantage of the ‘Rao Tiew Duay Kan’ (We Travel Together) tourism stimulus campaign. September normally has no national holidays, and schools nationwide are already open. In addition, the TAT aims to organise a fair to stimulate the tourism sector this month. ... Read more

Private airline Vistara is likely to start flight operations between India and the UK, Germany and France under the bilateral air bubble arrangements that have been signed with these countries, news agency PTI has said. Earlier this month, India and the UK signed a bilateral air pact, under which the airlines of both the countries can operate international flights with certain restrictions. India had signed similar bilateral pacts with Germany and France in July. Vistara got its second B787-9 wide-body aircraft on Saturday. It received its first B787-9 aircraft in February. “Vistara has already got the slots at the Heathrow ... Read more

Kerala Tourism is planning to attract domestic tourists through innovative campaigns on web portals, social media, television channels, radio, music streaming channels and OTT (over-the-top) platforms, once the pandemic eases. Impressions lasting from 1-6 minutes will be featured on 14 web portals as part of the online ad campaign at a cost of ₹1.18 crore, The Hindu has reported. Bloggers will be brought on to project Kerala under the Kerala Blog Express Influence Engagement Activity. The initiative is estimated to cost ₹88.5 lakh. In the ₹2.36-crore Social Media Tactical Campaign, Kerala will be featured on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, ... Read more

Singaporeans will be given $320 million in “tourism credits” to spend domestically as part of a campaign to prop up local businesses, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced on Monday. The credits will be called SingapoRediscovers Vouchers, named as part of the $45 million campaign launched last month to drive local spending at Singapore’s eateries, shops, hotels and leisure attractions, Straits Times has reported. Heng, who is also Finance Minister, noted in his ministerial statement that foreign visitor arrivals have dried up due to travel restrictions. “Many Singaporeans love to travel but are unable to do so now. Local consumption ... Read more