Category: News

The calamity that we are facing, is looming large in front of us. There is a virus tsunami that we have to contend with and then there is the economic tsunami related to capital. We have to talk of survival first, before the talk of revival. The tourism sector has been the first hit, the hardest hit and it will take the longest for revival. Therefore, we need survival measures. Special support should be given to the hospitality sector that needs high capital investment, thereby creating large employment. As far as capital is concerned, the RBI governor has announced some ... Read more

The Kerala government is planning to announce a stimulus package for industries such as tourism, minister Kadakampally Surendran has said. Addressing the tourism stakeholders through a virtual meeting organised by Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), the state tourism minister said a big public relations (PR) initiative has to be taken up for the industry to come out of this present crisis. “Our PR work should improve. The message should go out that Kerala is a safe destination to visit,” minister Surendran said, reminding everyone about the solid work that the state has done to control the spread of the virus. At ... Read more

The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) has come forward with a proposal to create a Welfare Fund Board and a Co-operative Bank for the benefit of the tourism sector. Kerala tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran has agreed to support the proposal, ATTOI President Vinod CS said. The ATTOI president had made these recommendations to the minister during a virtual conference on Tuesday which saw participation from all industry stakeholders. Kerala had to bear the brunt of multiple calamities in recent times, with the advent of the nipah virus, the floods and then the coronavirus. The state’s tourism sector has ... Read more

The Russian tourists stranded in India will fly out of the country from Thiruvananthapuram on April 8. The evacuation by Ural Airlines will happen tomorrow at 1.35 pm. The Russian Embassy in Delhi, the Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Thiruvananthapuram, Ratheesh C Nair and others were in continuous dialogue with the concerned officials regarding repatriation of Russian citizens. Most of the stranded Russian tourists are women and youngsters who were camping in Varkala, one of Kerala’s most scenic beaches. A WhatsApp group was created to coordinate the efforts and service of a Russian psychologist was made available to ... Read more

Kerala tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran has stated that the government will come up with a new economic proposal in the next few days, listing a clutch of measures to help the industry survive the corona crisis. He said tourism secretary Rani George has submitted a note to the government, which will now be considered for discussion and subsequent ratification. Addressing the various tourism industry stakeholders through a virtual conference on Tuesday, the minister said the note will be discussed with the chief minister and the finance minister. “Tourism is a sector that had generated Rs 45,000 crore last year, moving ... Read more

Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) is inviting all the stakeholders of the entire tourism industry in Kerala to a scheduled virtual meeting on Tuesday. The virtual conference on April 7, to be hosted on Zoom, will start at 12.20 pm IST. Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampalli Surendran will also join the meeting. For joining the online session you have to download the Zoom software from your Google Playstore. You can use your laptop/desktop/smartphone for this purpose. Make sure you have a microphone, camera and uninterrupted internet connection and your surrounding must be quiet while attending the session. Join Zoom ... Read more

Former tourism minister of India, KJ Alphons, has said the industry will need a big package from the Union government to tide over the crisis generated by the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has devastated the global tourism industry, he said, and all stakeholders will have to put their minds together to find a solution. The Indian tourism industry had generated a gross revenue of $234 billion in 2018, employing 81 million people, said the former minister who had played a critical role for the tourism industry during the first term of the Narendra Modi government. “Now all that revenue is ... Read more

The coronavirus crisis can result in 18-20% erosion of nationwide occupancy across the hospitality sector, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has said. The cascading effect of the global coronavirus pandemic is crippling the country’s tourism and hospitality industry at an “astonishing pace”, the industry body noted. Hence, the ICC has recommended setting up of a ‘Travel & Tourism Stabilisation Fund’ with direct benefit transfer to each unit to prevent financial loss and consequent job loss. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) has come down by about 67% annually in the January-March quarter, while for domestic tourists, the figure is lower by nearly ... Read more

They say every crisis brings with it certain opportunities. The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted the travel and tourism sector to an unimaginable extent yet it throws open new possibilities. Once we see the back of this virus, many people would want to travel domestically to places like Kerala to reduce the stress that has piled on, says Anish Kumar P.K, CEO of The Travel Planners, in an interview. Excerpts: Q: What Is the future of travel after Coronavirus? A: The current coronavirus crisis is impacting everyone’s lives. We can no longer go out to the movies, see our friends, and ... Read more

British Airways had decided to temporarily suspend more than 30,000 of its cabin crew and ground staff, following the corona virus outbreak. The airline, which has grounded most of its fleet, has been locked in talks with unions for more than a week. BA boss Alex Cruz told staff that a large majority of employees would be suspended for the next two months. He said the government’s job retention scheme would fund 80% of their wages. Explaining the decision, Cruz said: “We need to act now to protect jobs and ensure that BA comes out the other side of this ... Read more

Amid the corona virus pandemic that has grounded a majority of planes across the world, Qatar Airways Cargo has said it has started 19 weekly flights between Doha and India to get goods such as pharmaceutical products using its passenger aircraft. These flights are scheduled to start from Wednesday. “These flights will be in addition to the cargo carrier’s existing freighter services and have been introduced as a result of strong demand for Indian products such as pharmaceuticals and fresh produce,” a press statement by the airline said. The airline will operate freight-only passenger aircraft to Delhi (3 weekly flights), ... Read more

For travel lovers stuck at home looking for a virtual positive break, Visit Orlando has compiled a list of 20-plus virtual thrills including 360-degree online experiences, new Facebook Live broadcasts, live streamings of special films and YouTube videos. “We recognize that now, more than ever, we all want to escape from reality, even if it’s just for a moment,” said George Aguel, President & CEO of Visit Orlando. “Whether you like floating down a lazy river in one of our resort pools or immersing yourself into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we hope these experiences provide a much-needed break ... Read more

United Airlines is partnering with New York City to provide free round-trip flights for medical volunteers who want to help in the frontline fight against the COVID-19 crisis. The airline is working closely with the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and a network of medical volunteer organizations, including The Society of Critical Care Medicine, to coordinate travel for doctors, nurses and other medical professionals from across the country to help treat patients, in this time of unprecedented need. “Our healthcare workers are heroes, and they need reinforcements,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This generous partnership ... Read more

Stranded Russian tourists who were scheduled to be evacuated on Saturday from Thiruvananthapuram, were not able to leave India with Russian authorities closing down the airspace. The evacuation by Ural Airlines was scheduled to happen by 2 pm. The Russian Embassy in Delhi, the Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Thiruvananthapuram, Ratheesh C Nair and others are in continuous dialogue with the concerned officials to pave the way for the departure. Most of the stranded Russian tourists are women and youngsters who were camping in Varkala, one of Kerala’s most scenic beaches. A WhatsApp group was created to coordinate ... Read more

The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) is inviting all the stakeholders of the entire tourism industry in Kerala to a scheduled virtual meeting on Monday. The virtual conference on April 6, to be hosted on Zoom, will start at 11.30 am IST. Kerala Tourism secretary Rani George IAS will also join the meeting. Industry stakeholders has been having meetings online, due to the rapid spread of the pandemic that has hit the tourism sector hard. For joining the online session you have to download the Zoom software from your Google Playstore. You can use your laptop/desktop/smartphone for this ... Read more