Category: News

Wild Florida’s Drive-thru Safari Park will remain open as it operates in compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations for social distancing. In the drive-thru safari park, guests can ride in their own car and identify more than 100 native and exotic animals from the comfort and safety of their own car. This experience is hands-free, as guests can book online, check-in and ride through without any human contact. Regarding other opportunities in the attraction, Wild Florida will temporarily suspend all of its air-boat tours and animal encounters while also closing ... Read more

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the deadline for filing returns of goods and services tax (GST) for the months of March, April and May has been extended to June 30. The last date for filing belated income tax returns for FY18-19 has also been extended to the same date. But the move to extend the GST filing deadline cannot in any way provide sufficient relief to some of the hardest hit sectors in the economy, most notably the travel and tourism segment. The tourism sector had asked for a GST holiday for a period of 12 months, ... Read more

Private vehicles of employees working at the Bengaluru airport were obstructed on Tuesday while they were traveling to their workplace. Buses were also prevented from going to the airport with employees. Hari Marar, MD & CEO of the Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said these employees perform tasks that are critical for the functioning of the airport, including security, airlines, immigration, customs, fire services, air traffic control and technology support. In support of the Government’s decision to bring the situation under control, the airport will remain closed to passengers from March 24, 2359 hours IST, to March 31, 2359 hours ... Read more

The state government should extend licenses for another six months without the entrepreneur having to make any payment, including bar licenses which are due for renewal shortly. In an exclusive interview, industry veteran Jose Dominic of CGH Earth Group, says a moratorium needs to be declared in this crisis situation to help the sector. If you don’t give a moratorium for loans then all of the tourism industry will become bankrupt, he says. Excerpts: Q: Corona virus has impacted Kerala’s tourism fortunes to a very large extent. Can we attach a value to the loss incurred to Kerala tourism due ... Read more

Kerala has decided to close its borders and enter a lock-down mode, as Covid-19 cases continue to rise. The lock-down will continue till March 31. Essential services will remain open, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Borders will be closed and the state will intensify monitoring activities. The chief minister announced that all liquor shops in the state will remain closed until further orders. These measures were decided during a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister. Public transport will not be allowed to ply but private vehicles will be allowed. Hospitals and petrol pumps will function. Restaurants will be shut ... Read more

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has said that all domestic commercial airlines will cease operations from the midnight of March 24. Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destination before 11.59 pm. The decision will not apply to cargo airlines. The government has not decided when to restart operations. India had already stopped international flights into the country. Airlines around the world are taking measures to curtail flights in a bid to control the spread of the virus. With flight schedules in disarray, airlines are expected to bear massive losses. Most carriers have requested their respective ... Read more

Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, has offered to convert Mahindra Holiday Resorts as temporary health care facilities. “Going by various reports from epidemiologists, it is highly likely that India is already in stage-3 of transmission. Cases could rise exponentially with millions of casualties, putting a huge strain on medical infrastructure,” Mahindra said in a series of tweets. He further said, “A lockdown over the next few weeks will help flatten the curve and moderate the peak pressure on medical care. However, we need to create scores of temporary hospitals and we have a scarcity of ventilators.” Mahindra plans to make ... Read more

The Passport Seva Kendras located in Aluva, Alappuzha, Kochi, Kottayam and Thrissur will be closed till March 31, in a bid to control the spread of the corona virus. The Kochi regional passport officer has said the Post-office Passport Seva Kendras at Chengannur, Kattappana, Olavakkode, Nenmara and Lakshadweep will also be shut during this period.

Just a few days ago, Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) secretary Manu PV received an emergency call from French Embassy, Pondicherry. The caller briefed Manu about a lady sitting somewhere in a restaurant in Thiruvananthapuram. All the hotels in the vicinity had denied her entry and she was distraught. There was no place that she could go to. So, this was clearly a distress call. Manu immediately knew that this was a question of the sector’s reputation. He told the Embassy that the lady can call him for any help. “I was sure I could arrange accommodation for ... Read more

India should introduce hygiene protocol to tackle epidemics The impact created by the corona virus may last up to a year and the tourism sector may face the biggest financial crisis in its history as a result. In an elaborate interview, ATTOI President Vinod CS says this is the time to take initiative and control the situation to reduce the damage, even as he looks for support from the state and central governments. Excerpts: Q: Corona virus has impacted Kerala’s tourism fortunes to a very large extent. Can we attach a value to the loss incurred to Kerala tourism due ... Read more

In a significant move to check the spread of the corona virus, the Union and State governments have decided to announce a lock-down in 75 districts across the country. In Kerala, the districts that will enter the shut down mode are Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Malappuram, Kannur and Kasargod. Inter-state bus services have been suspended till March 31. Railway services also have been suspended till March 31, including suburban rail services. Metro rail services have also been stopped. However, goods trains are exempted. The decisions have been taken at a high level meeting attended by Chief Secretaries of all States ... Read more

The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) has requested the Prime Minister to implement a week-long total shutdown in the country, in light of the corona virus pandemic. ATTOI President Vinod CS in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that such a move is required now, especially considering the experience of European countries. “The experience in Europe tells us that it’s not a walk-over situation. The shutdown should be implemented with force and anyone disobeying it should be fined heavily,” the ATTOI President said. “Once we jump above 1,000 infected persons, then there wouldn’t be any ... Read more

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has urged governments around the world to provide financial help to millions working in the tourism sector who are facing tremendous economic difficulties. Governments must extend vital, interest free loans to global travel and tourism companies as well as the numerous small and medium sized businesses as a stimulus. All government taxes, dues and financial demands on the travel sector need to be waived with immediate effect at least for next 12 months, WTTC stated in its letter. “We urge every government to take drastic and decisive action to preserve and protect the ... Read more

Foreign nationals who have visited one of the countries mentioned below in the past 14 days cannot enter the United States, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) has said. The countries mentioned in the list are China, Iran, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City, United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. American citizens, lawful permanent residents and their families, who have been in one of these countries will be allowed to enter the United States but ... Read more

The Police Commissionerate in Kochi has launched the ‘Foreigners Outreach Cell’ for providing assistance to foreign nationals who may be facing difficulties due to the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. Foreign nationals can get help in procuring health clearance certificate, medical assistance, accommodation, transport, ticketing and visa by sending a text, audio or video message or a Whatsapp message to 8590202060. As soon as the message reaches COVID-19 police control room at the Police Commissionerate at Kochi, a police officer will contact the foreign national in distress and gets his difficulty resolved. The Police Commissionerate is continuously in touch with district health ... Read more