Tag: corona virus crisis

Emirates feels it’s time to get the big birds back up in the skies, resuming services to London and Paris on Wednesday. The A380s, also known as Superjumbos, have been grounded since March. The Dubai based carrier will deploy its A380 on its daily Amsterdam service, and add a second daily A380 service to London Heathrow starting from August 1. This announcement follows the Emirates A380’s return to the skies on Wednesday with EK001 to London Heathrow, which took off from Dubai International airport at 0745hrs and EK073 at 0820hrs to Paris. The airline said Emirates flight EK073 received a ... Read more

More than one lakh employees in Kerala’s travel and tourism sector have lost their jobs during this pandemic, says Sheik Ismail, vice-president of Concord Exotic Voyages. Many of them have turned to selling fish and vegetables to survive. He says though the industry has many associations and leaders, they have failed to raise funds for their needy colleagues. Some of them are selfish and request things for their own benefit and not for the entire industry, he says. Excerpts from an interview: Q: Kerala’s travel and tourism sector has been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. The state is hugely dependent ... Read more

Hungary will introduce international travel restrictions and tighten its border controls from today, as an effort to prevent a new wave of the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, Gergely Gulyás has announced. Gulyás has stressed that Hungary must prevent the virus from being imported from abroad, clarifying that there will not be any additional restrictive rules within the country, reports SchengenVisaInfo.com. “Hungary is today among the safest countries in Europe. But given new outbreaks around the world, the government is putting the health and safety of Hungarians foremost and is doing everything possible to prevent the ... Read more

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) is gearing up to set up branches across the island that will improve the services extended.  Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairperson Kimarli Fernando said that plans are afoot to have SLTDA branches in each of the provinces so that the needs and requirements of tourists are well looked after, Mirror Business has reported. “In the past, provinces worked separately, but now we are looking at an ‘all of the country’ approach for tourism. For this we are working closely with the provinces and the relevant authorities.  So far, the support extended for ... Read more

As Michigan hits its peak tourism months, owners of resorts and restaurants are saying a quiet prayer. They have immense concerns on what lies ahead and many say they have one goal for 2020: survival. According to a report by CBS News, many tourism entrepreneurs are still optimistic about the summer, although business was down in June compared to last year. A few of them are finding it difficult to budget their business without knowing what’s ahead. “Everybody knows this will not be a year to thrive, it’ll be a year simply to survive as a business,” said Dave Lorenz, ... Read more

India is home to nearly 3,000 tigers. According to the latest census, the tiger population rose from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,967 in 2018 making India one of its biggest and most secure habitats. India counts its tigers once every four years – so the next census is likely to be in 2022. Tiger tourism has been a big draw with travellers, especially domestic visitors. The Ministry of Tourism organised a webinar on ‘Tigers and Tourism’ under the Dekho Apna Desh series, unveiling the rich heritage of tiger habitation in India and its relevance with tourism. The session was moderated ... Read more

Thomas Cook (India) and group company SOTC Travel Ltd have announced the launch of Private Journeys, a premium offering that provides chauffeured van tours designed for smaller groups of family or friends. Private Journeys covers more than 32 countries, for travel from September at a starting price of Rs 25, 800. Curated by experts, the companies said these exclusive private experiences include both sightseeing and food. Destinations include, France, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Russia, Romania, Kenya, South Africa, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Thailand and Vietnam, among others. A guest will have access to premium, private vehicles with English speaking drivers, centrally located four-star ... Read more

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, the capital’s first low-cost carrier, on Tuesday marked the inauguration of its operations with its first flight to Alexandria in Egypt. A second Air Arabia Abu Dhabi flight will operate from the UAE’s capital to the Nile city of Sohag today. The new airline has started its operations with two Airbus A320 aircraft based at Abu Dhabi International Airport, offering the same value-for-money product and services provided by Sharjah-based Air Arabia. The airline was formed following an agreement by Etihad Airways and Air Arabia to establish an independent joint venture company that will operate as a ... Read more

Johnnie Walker, the whisky which traces its roots back 200 years, will soon be available in paper bottles. Diageo, the drinks giant that owns the brand, said it plans to run a trial of the new environmentally-friendly packaging from next year. The brand, popular with travellers the world over, is sold in glass bottles, but the firm is now looking for ways of using less plastic across its products, according to a report by the BBC. Whisky tours are very popular with tourists who visit Scotland and Diageo is playing a role. The Johnnie Walker Princes Street attraction is the ... Read more

Online travel company Yatra.com on Tuesday said it has entered into a partnership  with upGrad Enterprise (the B2B arm of online higher education firm upGrad), thus foraying into the educational technology (edutech) segment. As the company aims to diversify its portfolio beyond travel, this partnership will enable its corporate clients to deliver advanced learning and skill development for their employees, Yatra.com said in a statement. Yatra.com, however, did not disclose any financial details of the partnership. “In a tough economic climate, it is important to develop and reskill the workforce to overcome the challenges being presented. We are excited to join forces with ... Read more

Jammu and Kashmir reopened to tourists on Tuesday, allowing only air travellers to enter the territory. The decision to partially reopen the region was taken by the government, which stated that safety guidelines will have to be strictly followed by the tourists. “There will be partial opening of the tourism sector for visitors from outside J&K, limited to tourists arriving by air only,” the government said in a statement. “In the view of the COVID related measures, it was imperative to put in place a protocol to be followed by the tourists as well authorities engaged in the hospitality sector.” ... Read more

Andhra Pradesh is preparing to develop its tourism sector after suffering heavy losses over the past six months. As part of this, tourism minister Avanthi Srinivas conducted an industry review recently and decided to set up five-star and seven-star hotels across seven tourist destinations in the state by forging public-private partnerships. He said the tourism department had lost a total of Rs 60 crores at the rate of Rs 10 crores per month due to the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year, the tourism department had completed the construction of nine tourism control rooms in various districts across the state for ... Read more

The Union Tourism Ministry organised a webinar under its “Dekho Apna Desh” series on the topic ‘Himachal: Around the next bend’ focusing on the beautiful villages, mountains, pristine rivers, culture and heritage of Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh is a northern Indian state in the Himalayas. It’s home to scenic mountain towns  such as Dalhousie. Host to the Dalai Lama, Himachal Pradesh has a strong Tibetan presence. This is reflected in its Buddhist temples and monasteries, as well as its vibrant Tibetan New Year celebrations. The region is also well known for its trekking, climbing and skiing areas. Swathed by cedar, ... Read more

California has clamped new restrictions on businesses as coronavirus cases and hospitalisations soared, forcing the governor to close all popular entertainment destinations. Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, ordered bars closed and restaurants, movie theatres, zoos and museums across the nation’s most populous state to cease indoor operations. Gyms, churches and hair salons must also close in the 30 hardest-hit counties, Reuters reported. “It’s incumbent upon all of us to recognize soberly that COVID-19 is not going away any time soon, until there is a vaccine and/or an effective therapy,” Newsom said at a news briefing. The governor called the move ... Read more

Hotel Association of India (HAI), the apex body of the hotel industry in India, has said it will wholeheartedly support Jammu & Kashmir’s further development as a tourism destination. At the recently concluded India Global Week, KB Kachru, Vice President, Hotel Association of India and Chairman Emeritus and Principal Advisor South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group called on investors to consider J&K for their new ventures citing good returns based on promising infrastructure and in the Union Territory.  The India Global Week 2020 was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and witnessed the presence of several luminaries from across the ... Read more