Tag: corona virus crisis

The Uttarakhand tourism department will provide discount coupons to tourists who check in to hotels and homestays across the state. This pilot project, aimed at improving tourism in the picturesque Himalayan state, comes with a ‘Tourist Incentive Coupon’ worth Rs 1,000, Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj has said. The offer, which will come into effect in the next few days, will be applicable to tourists who make e-bookings for a three-day stay in hotels or homestays in the state, Conde Nast Traveller reports. “The tourists will be given the discount coupon while registering themselves on the government portal under tourist category. ... Read more

photo credit : Wisanu Boonrawd & missmeghanyoung The Utah Office of Tourism has appointed IndiJo Consulting as its official representative in India. IndiJo Consulting will carry out sales, marketing and PR activities on behalf of the tourism board. These include webinars, trade training, co-op promotions, social media initiatives, support product development, trade & media relations. Utah is a state in the western USA that is blessed with the most breath-taking landscapes. The 5 national parks, 7 national forests, 44 state parks, and vibrant cities make Utah one of the most popular tourism destinations in the world. Speaking on the occasion ... Read more

Starting October 15, the Bahamas will enter Phase 3 of the Tourism Readiness & Recovery Plan ahead of the busy holiday season, which will include the reopening of beaches and major hotels.   Since 1950, tourism has played an integral role in the Bahamas’ economy, accounting for more than 50% of the country’s GDP and 60% of national employment. The COVID-19 Pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on global tourism and The Bahamas’ economy has felt the impact, particularly following 2019’s record-breaking tourism numbers, where the country welcomed 7.2 million visitors. As part of Phase 3, beaches and major hotels will reopen on all islands. Minister of ... Read more

Tourism industry body IATO has urged the government to provide immediate relief to the tourism sector, which has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the tour operators have been forced to lay off their staff, many have sent staff on furlough and those who are remaining are getting less than 30%, the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) said in a statement. In light of this, IATO has sought various relief measures from the government. This includes one-time financial grant of the gross salaries amount paid to the staff of tour operators on the basis of the ... Read more

Hilton is closing its Times Square hotel from October 1, according to a document it filed with state regulators this week. Two hundred employees will lose their jobs, the filing says, due to “unforeseeable business circumstances prompted by COVID-19.” The 44-story hotel at 234 West 42nd Street, in New York, was opened in 2000. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, an industry group, hotel occupancy in urban markets was 38% in August, well below the 50% it takes for most properties to break even, according to a report by USA Today. August hotel occupancy in New York was ... Read more

NotOnMap, a social initiative for the marginalized across rural India and StayFlexi, the world’s first flexible and autonomous hospitality company based out of California have come together for their social initiative NotOnMart for rural India. NotOnMart in essence is a small scale community-led initiative that aims to scale up the coordination of micro-sized businesses. The project can turn out to be a major promoting factor for rural tourism, as it supports rural craftsmen. With this initiative, NotOnMap plans to support the livelihood of farmers and craftsmen of rural pockets by connecting them directly to the end-consumer through a tech-enabled platform ... Read more

Hotel aggregator Oyo has decided to extend the furlough period of its Indian employees, by six more months. The furlough period was initially expected to conclude by the end of August. The Gurugram-headquartered company has also introduced a voluntary separation option for those employees who want to move on. Under its voluntary separation plan, Oyo India has also granted restricted stock units to all its employees. Staff who opt for the voluntary separation program are being given a choice to cancel a small portion – around 25% – of their unvested restricted stock units or RSUs and get additional cash ... Read more

Air India has been allowed to conduct ground handling operations at US airports. The airline has called the move as an opportunity for the future. The development has overturned a US Department of Transportation`s July 2019 order whereby Air India`s right to self-handle at US airports was suspended.   An Air India spokesperson said the airline was not affected due to this restriction by the US Department of Transportation to self handle at the US airports as it did not conduct any self-handling of its flights in the US. “However, the relaxation will give us an opportunity to self handle at ... Read more

The Karnataka Tourism Society is inviting membership from travel, tourism and hospitality stakeholders, to revive the industry and create value. The Society is aimed at promoting tourism in the state of Karnataka and to drive the interests of all persons engaged in activities connected with tourism. Tourism contributes 14.8% towards the State’s GDP and supports over 16 million jobs. Karnataka has immense potential to become a world-class destination and the state is trying to support the efforts of the tourism department to globally market it. The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators ... Read more

Telangana is planning to construct a memorial tourism site at former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s village exhibiting his life and struggles. Rao’s native village is Vangara in Warangal.  State tourism minister V Srinivas Goud visited Vangara and revealed the plan for the development of the village as a tourism spot. He said, “The village would be recognised globally to mark the centenary celebrations of late Narasimha Rao.” To continue educating and inspiring the country and its younger generations of  Rao’s personality, the building where he lived will be developed into a museum which will have a photo gallery exhibiting ... Read more

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has reviewed the various activities for promoting adventure tourism in India, in the wake of the Covid situation. The Indian government is keen on promoting adventure tourism in the country. Representatives of the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, National Institute of Water Sports, Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering, Indian Mountaineering Foundation and Adventure Tour Operators Association of India participated in the meeting.  During the meeting, Patel was briefed that during 2019-20, the National Institute of Water Sports ( NIWS) held 192 water sports training courses for around four thousand trainees. Patel said ... Read more

Recovery in China’s domestic tourism sector is picking up pace thanks to the summer holiday travel rush, CGTN has reported. Shanghai students are back on campus and the World Expo Museum is finally getting a break. In July and August, the museum welcomed 60,000 tourists, a big jump from previous months. Tourists still need to book in advance to visit, but that hasn’t stopped them from coming. And most of the visitors are young local students, the CGTN report said. “We saw an obvious increase. In July and August, we were seeing 1,500 or 1,800 every day, 15 or 20 ... Read more

Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB), the national promotion body designed to support the growth of Azerbaijan’s tourism industry, will host its biggest virtual travel trade event in October. Titled “Travel Business Azerbaijan Online” (TBA 2020), the event will be held on October 14, 2020. The online event will bring together local and international tourism professionals, in order to forge partnerships and profitable business deals, Azerbaijan Tourism Board said in a statement. The event aims to bring together 300 buyers from China and South-East Asia, Russia and CIS countries, India and South Asia, Europe, and GCC countries to establish direct communication while also ... Read more

Marriott International has curated a selection of handpicked staycation offers across their hotels in India. Guests can book now and indulge in a peaceful getaway until December 31, 2020.  Ensuring maximum flexibility and savings, guest packages will be tailor made, to each unique holiday need and preference. These staycations come with the added benefits of a complimentary pick up and drop, room upgrade on check-in and free stay for kids. That’s not all, select hotels will also let guests indulge in special evenings curated by our chefs or avail of in-room movie experiences, topped with snacks and beverages. Marriott Bonvoy ... Read more

The tourism industry in Goa is banking on drive-in visitors after the mandatory COVID-19 test for domestic travellers at state borders, railway stations and the airport here was lifted as part of easing of lockdown restrictions. Goa Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Nikhil Desai said, initially, the sector will have to depend on drive-in tourists as there is very little response to flights and trains, PTI has reported. ‘Since borders are now open and tourists are allowed to enter Goa without COVID-19 testing, those from neighbouring states are expected to drive into the state in their own vehicles,’ he said. ... Read more