Tag: corona virus crisis in kerala

KTM President Baby Mathew Somatheeram has said the state government’s announcement to support the tourism sector with a financial package, should have come earlier. “I am happy that such a move has happened at least now, though there has been some delay. It should have happened earlier. For months, KTM has been trying to ask the government for this support. Every month we have been following up,” he said. Still, many things are yet to be announced, he added. For example, support for the houseboat sector. KTM had met with the chief minister and tourism minister, finance minister, industries minister ... 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

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

Kerala Tourism will increase its cooperation with other state tourism departments and the Central Government to avoid issues in inter-state travel, said Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran on Friday. The Minister said he expects tourists to start visiting Kerala Tourist Places in the next one or two months. He was speaking at the concluding session of the two-day e-Conclave organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) with the participation of representatives from various states and the Central Government on the future of tourism. In the first phase, ayurveda, eco-tourism and adventure tourism sectors will be strengthened ... Read more

Kerala on Thursday demanded more flights to be operated from Saudi Arabia as part of the Vande Bharat Mission. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that of the 270 flights operated as part of the mission, only 20 were from Saudi. On Thursday, leaders of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre met the chief minister, demanding operation of more flights from Saudi Arabia. Of the 87,391 Keralites who registered to return to Kerala from Saudi, only 13,535 could return so far. Pinarayi pointed out that a majority of those who wish to return from ... Read more

Kerala Tourism secretary Rani George has said the state government is working on reviving the tourism sector with special focus on ayurveda, adventure and houseboat tourism. Addressing an interactive virtual session organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), she said, “SOPs for these areas are already prepared and will soon be circulated to the industry for implementation.” “The Kerala government has been proactive in preventing COVID-19 in the state. We will be focusing on promoting Kerala as a safe and hygienic destination for prospective tourists,” Rani George added. Baby Mathew, President, Kerala Travel Mart Society ... Read more

With Covid-19 cases continuing to rise steadily in Kerala, the government has decided to discourage travel of aged people and children below 10 years and enforce reverse quarantine vigorously. On Monday, the state reported 138 fresh cases taking the tally to 3,310, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office said. In the last three days, the state has reported more than 100 Covid-19 cases daily. The government is worried because a large number of expatriates from Persian Gulf countries are expected in the coming days. More than 80% of recent Covid-19 cases in the state were expatriates or people who came from ... Read more

DJ Hector It’s a trickle. But that’s enough for now. Green shoots have started to dot the domestic tourism map of Kerala, with guests braving the pandemic to light up their travel plans. Let’s take the example of Gokul and Suramya, a honeymooning couple, who decided to drive all the way from Thiruvananthapuram to Wayanad to beat the lockdown blues. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, considering the surge in coronavirus cases not just in Kerala but across India itself. Their parents and relatives had suggested some places near Thiruvananthapuram for their stay. A few others did not want ... Read more

Kerala’s tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran has said that the state’s tourism sector has incurred a loss of Rs 15,000 crore due to the coronavirus induced lockdown. The minister said that a rejuvenation package for tourism in the state has been prepared and will be implemented to attract tourists to the state after the COVID-19 crisis ends. “The state has incurred Rs 15,000 crore loss in tourism sector. We have prepared a project and submitted it to the Chief Minister in this regard. We are planning to bring a rejuvenation package for the tourism sector in the state,” Surendran said. He ... Read more

The Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) Society has urged its members to contribute to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, to support the government in fighting the pandemic. “It is our responsibility to extend support to the government by contributing our humble share towards Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, even though we are in deep trouble,” said KTM President Baby Mathew, in a letter addressed to the members. “Every small amount of help from us is valuable and we can collectively extend our financial support to the government. Requesting all the members to make this effort successful by contributing financial assistance as much ... Read more

Will the state government’s move, allowing for deferment of fixed electricity charges for a period of six months, help the hospitality industry? The sector had asked for a waiver of fixed charges, but that demand was not met. Tourismnewslive.com quizzed a number of leading industry players about this, seeking their comments. Over to their views. Chacko Paul – Managing Director -The Travancore Heritage Chowara & Lepondy, Pondicherry Hospitality industry is one of the highest tax generating as well as the biggest provider of jobs. But it is also the worst affected sector due to this Covid-19 pandemic. In this present ... Read more

The state government should immediately announce relief measures for the benefit of micro and medium scale entrepreneurs in the tourism sector, the Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) President, Vinod CS has said. “Concerns of taxi drivers, guides and such other people in the unorganised sector have not been addressed. The government has promised action but nothing has come through so far,” he said. “It’s high time the government announced something substantial. We have been waiting for many weeks now. Small time tourism entrepreneurs, tour operators and homestays need help at this time. I hope the government will do ... Read more

Lock-down restrictions should be lifted in places relatively unaffected by the coronavirus so that India’s economy revives, ATTOI President Vinod CS said on Tuesday. “After May 3, complete shutdown may not be possible. We have to locate the hotspots and isolate those areas. Rest of the places should be allowed to function as usual,” he said, concerned about how the various industries across the country are facing a huge setback. He felt that the focus should be on preventing community transmission in affected areas. The affected and relatively unaffected areas have to be demarcated while maintaining access control. “Complete lockdown ... Read more

India, like the rest of the countries of the world, is fighting the spectre of COVID-19. An immediate fallout of the pandemic has been the unprecedented loss of lives despite the tenacious efforts by the governments. To add to the misery, the global economy is now in shambles, affecting all kinds of businesses and development. More than 100 countries have closed borders, global supply chains are disrupted, while people have lost jobs and their means of livelihood. COVID-19 has severely impacted the tourism industry in India. Flights, trains, and public transport have ceased operations, while hotels and resorts have shut ... Read more

The South Kerala Hotelier’s Forum (SKHF) has urged the state government to waive off fixed electricity charges for the next six months, instead of allowing deferment of the same. Most of the other states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat etc have already waived of fixed charges for HT consumers since March 2020. These states have big factories and industries where the fixed charges are huge. Still, these states were the first to announce such big relief measures to consumers, SKHF secretary general Manoj Babu said. “We had requested the Kerala government for waiver of fixed charges. But as the ... Read more