Tag: corona virus crisis in kerala

ടൂറിസം മേഖലയിലെ തൊഴിലാളികൾക്കു വേണ്ടി ഒരു ഉത്തേജന പാക്കേജ് സർക്കാർ നടപ്പാക്കും. ആഭ്യന്തര ടൂറിസത്തിനു ഊന്നൽ നൽകുക ഈ സർക്കാരിനെ സംബന്ധിച്ചിടത്തോളം ഏറ്റവും പ്രധാനപ്പെട്ട കാര്യമാണ്, എന്ന് ഒരു അഭിമുഖത്തിൽ ടൂറിസം മന്ത്രി കടകംപള്ളി സുരേന്ദ്രൻ പറഞ്ഞു. ഈ മേഖലയുടെ അഭിവൃദ്ധിക്കായി ഒരു സഹകരണ സംഘം സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്നതായിരിക്കും എന്ന് മന്ത്രി കൂട്ടിച്ചേർത്തു . Q : നമസ്കാരം, ആദ്യം തന്നെ കൊറോണ വൈറസ് വ്യാപനം നിയന്ത്രിക്കുന്നതിൽ മികച്ച പ്രവർത്തനം കാഴ്ച വെച്ച ഈ സർക്കാരിനു അഭിനന്ദനങ്ങൾ. മുഖ്യമന്ത്രി ശ്രീ പിണറായി വിജയന്റെ നേതൃത്വത്തിൽ ആരോഗ്യ മന്ത്രാലയം, ടൂറിസം മന്ത്രാലയം, പോലീസ്, ആരോഗ്യ പരിപാലന പ്രവർത്തകർ എന്നിവരെല്ലാം ഏകോപനത്തോടെ നടത്തിയ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളെ ലോകം ശ്രദ്ധിച്ചു. ടൂറിസം മേഖലയെ സഹായിക്കുന്നതിന് ഒരു മാർക്കറ്റിംഗ് കാമ്പെയ്ൻ നിർമ്മിക്കാൻ ഈ ഉദാഹരണം ഉപയോഗിക്കാമോ? A : തീര്‍ച്ചയായും കോവിഡ് എന്ന മഹാമാരിയെ കേരളം നേരിട്ട ഈ രീതി അന്താരാഷ്ട്ര പ്രശംസ പിടിച്ച് പറ്റിയത് ഭാവിയില്‍ വിനോദ സഞ്ചാരികളെ ... Read more

Wayanad is a destination which ideally should cater to high volume-low traffic tourism, says Wayanad Tourism Organisation (WTO) President KR Vancheeswaran in an interview. The other challenge is connectivity. Wayanad is still dependent on the Calicut airport which is one of the oldest airports in Malabar. However post-Covid, Wayanad will rise as a safe domestic destination to visit, says Vancheeswaran. Excerpts: Q: Wayanad is one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Kerala. But now unfortunately Covid-19 has struck the world and with it global tourism will also be impacted. Can you please give us a sense of how much ... Read more

The South India Hotels and Restaurants Association (SIHRA) has urged the Kerala state government to help the hospitality sector by issuing suitable directions to the electricity board to help them reduce their overheads. In a letter to electricity minister MM Mani, SIHRA vice-president (Kerala) Suresh M Pillai said power bills are one of the major expenses for the hospitality industry. The letter requested the minister to waive off demand charges during the lock-down period and energy bills be charged on the basis of actual consumption units. The load factor incentives should be calculated excluding the lock-down period and average bills ... Read more

Kerala Tourism, like any other tourism entity, stands still at the moment with lot of uncertainty ahead. Whether one is looking at it positively or negatively, the uncertainty remains etched in the minds of each investor and employee. No one really knows how long the current situation will prolong. At the moment, India is being praised for the way this pandemic has been handled. Kerala is a state which is much talked about in this scenario and appreciated by everyone. This gives us an advantage of safety in the minds of travelers. How long will this hang in the minds ... Read more

Kerala Tourism should find a solution to improve Munnar’s fortunes by constituting a new body with the involvement of local authorities and industry. If Munnar and nearby areas can be further beautified with a proper vision for the future, it will be a game changer not only for Munnar tourism but also for whole of Kerala Tourism, says Shankar R Nair, general manager, Blanket Resorts, Munnar. In an interview, he says lack of awareness among guests about the places to visit in Munnar along with the activities available, is a concern. If we can do some detailed planning on these ... Read more

Kerala Tourism has assisted the repatriation of 268 tourists, most of them British, who were not able to return home due to the ban on international flights. The tourists have left for London on a British Airways flight, chartered by the British High Commission in India. The deputy high commissioner of Britain in Bengaluru was personally present at Kochi to oversee the repatriation, Kerala Tourism secretary Rani George said in a note. Joint director of Kerala Tourism Raj Kumar and his team in Kochi, and deputy director Biju and his team in Thiruvananthapuram provided the ground support for the repatriation. ... Read more

The South Kerala Hoteliers’ Forum (SKHF) has written to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan urging him to request the concerned authorities to extend the moratorium on bank loans to a period of 12 months from March this year. RBI had granted moratorium for only a period of three months. Interest during the period should also be waived off, SKHF stated in the letter. These benefits should be made available to all accounts irrespective of whether the account is regular or whether instalments are overdue for payment, as of February this year. According to the directive issued by RBI, such overdue accounts ... Read more

The houseboats enjoy a unique pride of place in Kerala’s decorated tourism map. It’s an experience that most tourists cherish for a life time when they visit the state. It’s like the calling card of Kerala’s tourism brand. However, the corona virus pandemic has hit the segment hard and it will take months before normalcy returns to the industry, says Jobin J Akkarakalam, director, Spice Routes Luxury Cruises. The house boat segment involves high maintenance costs and hence the losses are even steeper. He estimates that the segment will see losses of Rs 2 crores every month. Excerpts: Q: The ... Read more

The hospitality sector has to focus on survival first. When the pandemic subsides, Kerala can evolve a marketing campaign around how well the state has tackled the health crisis, thus boosting the confidence of the tourists. Of course, as a tourism destination there is still a lot to learn and improve. Waste management is one such area, says Riaz Ahmed, industry veteran and managing director of Abad Hotels & Resorts. With regard to Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) 2020, he said no decision has been reached. If it gets postponed, it may be good to hold it in mid 2021, he ... Read more

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), including leaders from the tourism sector, has requested the Kerala chief minister to provide a subsistence allowance of Rs 9,000 for every employee in the sector. In a virtual conference attended by Pinarayi Vijayan, the tourism industry said the moratorium for loans and interests should be extended for a minimum period of one year. A soft loan with low interest rate for the industry to meet the costs for a year, electricity to be charged on actual usage basis for the hospitality sector, GST holiday for the tourism industry for a year and road ... Read more

Kerala needs to promote itself as the safest and most hygienic tourism destination in India. Some tourists may see Kerala just as any other Indian state, but we should show them the distinction, says Rupert Evers and Olga Ostapenko, Operators of Marari Villas, Alleppey. Excerpts from an interview: Q: What will be the future of travel and tourism after Coronavirus? After the coronavirus episode we may see a completely uncertain world. International travel may be obliterated until a vaccine is developed and that will take at least 12-18 months, plus time for distribution and administration of a vaccine to the ... Read more

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

Business is not about planning alone. It’s about expectations too. Whatever we plan may receive a setback all of a sudden. That’s what happened to the hospitality industry across the globe during the Covid-19 attack . As we all know, ours is a fragile industry. Natural calamities, seasons, recession, epidemics etc have its own influence on this sector. So expectations play a big role in the hospitality industry. I am talking about the post Corona scenario of Kerala Tourism.We have expectations that the business would again start coming in or there will be a boom within six months or so. ... Read more