Category: News

Sri Lanka has further extended the validity period of all visas for foreigners until June 11, and has advised getting it endorsed before the period lapses. The previous extension granted on April 1 will lapse on May 12. “Applicants shall pay the relevant visa fee and get the visa endorsed in the passport by securing an appointment via https://eservices.immigration.gov.lk/vs/home.php on or before June 11,” the immigration department said. Foreigners experiencing difficulties in booking their appointments online have been advised to contact +94070710050 between 9 am and 4 pm. Reports suggest that there are more than 10,000 tourists in Sri Lanka, ... Read more

Colombia’s national airline, Avianca, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court. The carrier is the second-largest in Latin America, but its passenger operations have been grounded since March because of coronavirus. It said the pandemic had cut more than 80% of its income, and it was struggling with high fixed costs. If it fails to come out of bankruptcy, Avianca will be the first major airline to go under amid the pandemic. In a statement, the firm said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a court in New York. The process postpones a US company’s ... Read more

Greece’s premier vacation island, Santorini, may acquire a new look soon. While preparing to open up for a post COVID-19 summer tourism season with increased hygiene standards, resorts and bars in Santorini may have a new guest in the form of plexiglass screens. A Santorini bar owner has already taken an independent step when he surrounded the bar’s beachside lounge chairs with plexiglass screens for increased protection, Reuters reported. Demilmar, the famous bar located at Santorini’s famous black sand beach of Perissa, came up with the idea to encase lounge chairs in plexiglass. The bar management said it didn’t want ... Read more

China appears to be leading hospitality major Marriott’s recovery. Occupancy rates in China have gone from single-digit lows in February to just over 30% currently, “China does appear to be recovering and holding. I know there is lots of debate on if there’s a resurgence of the virus in China,” Marriott President and CEO Arne Sorenson said on Monday during the first quarter earnings call. “By and large, what we hear there is reassuring.” Coronavirus first impacted Marriott’s China portfolio in January before ramping up elsewhere in March. Marriott properties in Chinese resort markets saw close to 70% occupancy rates ... Read more

The Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, has won this year’s SKYTRAX Award for Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia. In a statement, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) has said that the airport was voted by customers as the Best Regional Airport in India & Central Asia for the third time in four years at the 2020 World Airport Awards. “For an 11-year old airport to be named Best Regional Airport in India & Central Asia for the third time is a remarkable achievement for Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. This award reaffirms our commitment to provide a world-class experience for ... Read more

Dubai state carrier Emirates Airline has reported a 21% increase in its full-year profit in the 12 months to March 31, though the pandemic cost the carrier over 3.4 billion dirhams in revenues in March. The airline, one of the biggest long-haul carriers in the world, said it made 1.06 billion dirhams ($287.5 million) in that time, up from 871 million dirhams the previous year. But the coming year will be severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the airline’s chairman said. Emirates Airline and Group Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said that from February, things began changing rapidly ... Read more

Nila enjoys an exalted position in Kerala’s cultural history. The 250-km long river drives Kerala’s traditional ethos and has deep influence on its literary evolution and a number of classical art forms flourish along the banks of the revered river. Once a perennial river, it now dries up in summer and many feel it may be on the verge of extinction. The river looks like a narrow ribbon at many stages of its path, as sand mining and deforestation continue to take a toll. The Ministry of Tourism, as part of its Dekho Apna Desh series, held a webinar to ... Read more

Georgia is setting the goal of becoming the first country to open its doors to foreign tourists starting July 1 after months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s welcoming international travellers with a new slogan – ‘Georgia – Safe Destination!’. Georgia will resume domestic tourism starting June 15 and will receive international tourists starting July 1. “We will do this by creating a safe corridor on land borders with our neighbouring countries, as well as by bilateral negotiations with countries that are interesting for us in terms of tourism”, said Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia when presented a ... Read more

Thousands of employees at a hospital in the epicentre of America’s fight against the coronavirus are being rewarded for their hard work, CNN has reported. More than 4,000 hospital staff — including doctors, physician assistants, nurses, and facilities and food service teams — at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst were surprised with a three-night complimentary vacation, Hyatt and American Airlines have announced. The two companies collaborated to treat the frontline workers with free round trip flights on American Airlines to Hyatt hotels in select destinations across the US and Caribbean “to help them recharge and reconnect with their loved ones” once ... Read more

Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading US airlines, announced that its member carriers are supporting the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to begin checking the temperature of the traveling public and customer-facing employees as long as necessary during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Temperature checks are one of several public health measures recommended by the CDC amid the COVID-19 pandemic and will add an extra layer of protection for passengers as well as airline and airport employees. Temperature checks also will provide additional public confidence that is critical to relaunching air travel and our nation’s economy. ... Read more

Maneesha Panicker is the founder of Silk Route Escapes, an experiential travel company that wants to handpick experiences that bring you closer to India’s culture. She is a former New Yorker who knows the heart of an avid traveller. Maneesha’s latest project is Kayal, an Island Retreat in the backwaters of Kerala. At Kakkathuruthu, she has built an intimate 4-cottage resort where fisherfolk and farmers share their life with guests, not far from the ancient port city of Kochi. She feels Kerala built too many hotels and houseboats and choked the backwaters here. We have to learn to tread carefully ... Read more

The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has said it has initiated a training programme on COVID-19 preparedness in collaboration with food safety regulator FSSAI for hospitality professionals across the country. The programme aims to gear up hotel and restaurant players for a post-lockdown scenario to ensure the safety of their guests and to instil customer confidence, FHRAI said in a statement. It covers training on precautions to be taken and procedures that establishments should ensure implementing including receiving of raw materials, guest service, lobby management, and room maintenance post the lockdown, it added. “The idea behind ... Read more

Russian tour operators are expecting tourists for New Year celebrations. “For the fourth year in a row, we will be arranging New Year’s tours. This year, these groups have not yet been cancelled, so we and our partners hope that these trips will take place,” says Igor Kuzmin, a tour operator. The period from April to October (traditionally high season for inbound tourism in Russia) is usually in greatest demand. Trips are planned by tourists from Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore for this period. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has extended for an indefinite period the ban on the entry ... Read more

Even when the world stands still in a state of shock and surprise, a group of friends from the tourism and hospitality fraternity is joining hands to raise some funds through voluntary contributions to help at least 100 chosen, needy and deserving people within the tourism trade, with a strong resolve that no one from the industry should even think of committing suicide. “In the first phase we intend to offer assistance for medical aid and educational aid. In case you know a person from within our industry or in your organisation who deserves any of the afore-mentioned assistance, please ... Read more

The world is grieving. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a stir all over the globe creating a sense of fear, restlessness and uncertainty. Whereas, this small state in India – Kerala – located down on the southern tip, has caught global attention with its efforts to tackle the pandemic spread. The care and foresight of the Kerala government and the higher officials from the health department helped to identify, analyse and curb down the chaos in the initial stages itself. Kerala’s efficiency in treating foreigners from other countries has been applauded by the world countries. Even at the peak of ... Read more