Category: News

There is some positive news for the tourism professionals, at last. Kerala Tourism has invited expression of interest from tour operators and transport operators of Kerala to be empanelled for providing chauffeur-driven vehicles to the Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs), stranded in various states of the country. Many of them have an opportunity now to return home, after being locked-down for months. The Kerala government will provide the NRKs an online platform for arranging vehicles to take them back to their respective places in Kerala. In this context, the payment will be made directly by the client. Tour and transport operators have ... Read more

Due to reduced air flight availability, the closure of cruise ports in regions around the world and other factors impacting international travel, Princess Cruises is extending the pause of its global operations. This would result in cancellation of select cruises through the end of the 2020 summer season, including the following cruises and associated cruise tours: All remaining Alaska cruises on Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess All remaining Europe and Transatlantic cruises on Enchanted Princess, Regal Princess, Sky Princess, Crown Princess and Island Princess Summer Caribbean cruises and all Canada & New England cruises on Caribbean Princess and Sky Princess ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism has set up a new fund under the Champion Sector in Services Scheme (CSSS) to encourage MICE operators to bring more conferences and seminars to India. The MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) operators will now be able to avail financial incentives in the form of GST reimbursements. The incentive would be made available for a period of three years. A prior approval from the Ministry will be required to avail these incentives along with a no-objection certificate from the concerned travel trade association. The Ministry has made India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) as the nodal agency ... Read more

Besides being colonized by the Portuguese, Goa has a fascinating historical past, which dates back further to the 3rd century BC. A prominent part of the Mauryan Empire, Goa enjoyed prime importance because of its natural harbours and wide river base. Only in 1987 did Goa get the status of an independent state and the regional language Konkani was recognized as one of India’s official languages. Despite the multi-cultural influences on Goa, the state still boasts of a distinctive culture, which makes the destination an affable one. Fairs and festivals in Goa are really a refreshing experience for the town ... Read more

The ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ initiative of the Ministry of Tourism is to encourage the citizens to travel widely within the country and explore the wonders of India. The aim is to thus enable the development of domestic tourism tourist facilities and infrastructure in tourism spots within the country. As part of this, the Ministry of Tourism, is looking to have a distinct brand identity for this campaign by developing a logo for ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ series based on creative inputs from the citizens of the country through the Dekho Apna Desh logo design Contest. The winner will get a 5-nights ... Read more

Five international air transport and tourism bodies have launched an appeal to international financial institutions, country development partners and international donors to support Africa’s travel & tourism sector which employs some 24.6 million people on the African continent. Without urgent funding, the COVID-19 crisis could see a collapse of the sector in Africa, taking with it millions of jobs. The sector contributes $169 billion to Africa’s economy combined, representing 7.1% of the continent’s GDP. The request is being made by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) of the United Nations, the World Travel & Tourism ... Read more

Goa will have to reinvent its tourism profile and go back to the pristine 1960s, in a bid to get the industry back on its feet, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said on Thursday. Speaking to reporters outside Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s official residence in Panaji, Ajgaonkar said that the state would only focus on “wealthy tourists” and stay away from budget tourism in the future. “We have to recreate the Goa of the 1960s to kickstart our tourism again. In 1960s, Goa was beautiful and now in 2020 it is very different with more than 8 million visiting tourists,” the ... Read more

The international air traffic may recover in the middle of summer, official spokesperson of Russian carrier Aeroflot, Yulia Spivakova, has said. “It is difficult to indicate the exact timing of flights so far but when looking at the best-case forecasts, then the international traffic may start recovering in the middle of summer,” she said. “However, it can be definitely said that we will keep up intensive disinfection of aircraft, as long as such need remains,” Spivakova said. Particular precautions can be introduced for passengers and carriers after the coronavirus pandemic, she said. “It is not ruled out that recommendations and ... Read more

The Shanghai Disneyland has decided to open again, for the benefit of tourists. During the initial reopening phase, the park will operate with additional procedures and limited attendance. The Shanghai Disney Resort (SDR) has announced that the Shanghai Disneyland theme park will officially reopen to the public on May 11. The initial park reopening will demonstrate a deliberate approach, drawing on the experience from the successful reopening of Disneytown, Wishing Star Park and Shanghai Disneyland Hotel in early March, implemented with enhanced health and safety measures. During this initial reopening phase, the park will institute new measures and procedures, including ... Read more

The Union Ministry of Tourism is preparing a set of guidelines for travellers, monuments, guides, hotels and restaurants, tour operators and other stakeholders, in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The official document should be ready by the middle of this month and will be supported, endorsed and vetted by the ministry, news agency IANS has reported. It will be in line with the Ministry of Health guidelines and various ideas that are coming from the industry. This was stated by Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Dr Rupinder Brar. She was speaking at a webinar organised by ... Read more

Air Arabia, the Sharjah-based low-cost airline, has opened regular passenger flight bookings on its online reservation portal with effect from June 1. The move has made the aviation sector sit up and take note, as this was not expected to happen so quickly. The airline had earlier mentioned on its website that the flights are suspended until May 30. Any passenger can now book the flight by visiting the Air Arabia website to destinations including Karachi and Peshawar in Pakistan; Mumbai, Delhi, Trivandrum in India; Dhaka in Bangladesh; Beirut, Lebanon; Cairo, Egypt; Moscow, Russia; and some other European and Eastern ... Read more

National carrier Air India has opened bookings for those passengers who meet the eligibility criteria and wish to travel from India to London, Singapore and select destinations in the United States on flights that will operate between May 8 to May 14, a statement from the airline said. “We would like to inform all those who wish to travel from India to London, Singapore and select destinations in the USA on Air India flights operating between May 8 and May 14 to click on http://www.airindia.in/r1landingpage.htm for booking. Passengers are requested to read the eligibility criteria carefully as available on the ... Read more

China’s tourism sector showed great signs of recovery over the May Day holiday with 115 million trips made, mostly by younger people emerging from weeks of coronavirus lockdown, according to government data and operators. The five-day holiday period from May 1 was an important test for the country’s tourism industry, one of the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus. News agency Reuters said the total of 115 million trips over the holiday was down 41% from the 195 million over the same period last year. But the figure beat expectations of about 90 million trips and was a hopeful sign, ... Read more

The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to waive off electricity charges for a period of six months, in a major relief to the travel and hospitality sector in the state. The move is expected to provide a relief of around Rs 15 crore. The excise and taxation license fee would also be waived off, the government said. A decision to this effect was taken in the Cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Jairam Thakur. A presentation was made in the Cabinet regarding steps taken for economic revival and economic reforms to be initiated by the state government after lockdown. Several ... Read more

The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH) — the nodal federation of all the national associations representing the tourism, travel and hospitality sectors in India — has estimated a loss of Rs 10 lakh crores to the industry, as a result of the pandemic. The federation presented the revised guidance during a meeting with the Empowered Group-6 (EG-6), an inter-ministerial panel set up by the government and headed by Niti Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant. The earlier estimate was given to the government in March, when it had pegged the loss at Rs 5 lakh crores. The ... Read more