Tag: corona virus crisis

More than 500 Nicaraguan workers in the tourism and hotel industry, who have lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 health crisis, have been stranded for more than three months in the Cayman Islands,  because of the government’s refusal to allow them their right to return home, says a report by Confidencial, a leading weekly newspaper. “We want to return to our homeland; it is our constitutional right. We are out of work, and we are surviving thanks to the good heart of the government and the people of the Cayman Islands who have been supporting us”, said Earny Atly, ... Read more

Sri Lanka’s second underwater museum has opened, off the Sandy Bay beach in Trincomalee. The island’s first ever underwater museum was inaugurated earlier this year in the Galle Harbour. The museum was built utilizing the manpower of the Sri Lanka Navy. All the statues placed here have been handmade by naval personnel and these unique sculptures have been produced from concrete and eco-friendly materials. The site will promote the formation of corals which will be an added feature with the passage of time. The museum has been set at a depth of around 60ft within an area of 150ft length and ... Read more

Full-service carrier Vistara has announced a set of safety measures for its customers as part of its safe-flying initiative. The “FlyerCode” initiative comes following a survey conducted by the airline recently in which as many as 55% of the respondents expressed fear of exposure while travelling and apprehension about fellow passengers not following health and safety protocols, Vistara said in a release. The airline has urged the customers to follow the set of measures for safe-flying and remain careful, observant, distanced and empathetic, whenever they fly. As part of the FlyerCode, Vistara has urged its customers to provide all their ... Read more

Hong Kong Disneyland will shut down again on Wednesday because of an uptick in coronavirus cases, less than a month after it reopened, Disney said on Monday. According to the company, the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort hotels will remain open but with reduced services. The theme park first closed in January and then reopened on June 18. Hong Kong’s Department of Health has reported a spike in coronavirus cases in recent days. The department reported 28 confirmed cases on Saturday and an additional 38 cases on Sunday, to take the total number of cases to over 1,470. In contrast Orange County, Florida, ... Read more

Philippines speaker Alan Peter Cayetano wants the government to ramp up testing among tourism frontliners as the country prepares for reviving domestic tourism. Cayetano cited the need to include tourism in the government’s plan to expand its testing strategy to cover nonmedical frontliners, who are not showing symptoms of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). He also urged the Department of Tourism (DoT) to work with the Task Force Test, Trace, Treat and the private sector to accelerate the plan to conduct Covid-19 testing for the workers in key tourist destinations, Manila Times has reported. “An aggressive and sustained Covid-19 testing ... Read more

German flag carrier Lufthansa has announced that it will cut 20% of its leadership positions and 1,000 administrative jobs, in a restructuring plan to cope with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.  After downsizing the executive board of the Lufthansa parent company, the corporation is now also planning similar actions at its subsidiaries, with Lufthansa Cargo AG, LSG Group, and Lufthansa Aviation Training set to lose one board position each.  The airline said that it would also halve its investment in new aircraft, although it could still add up to 80 new planes by 2023. According to a statement, ... Read more

United Airlines has warned that 36,000 employees, nearly half its US staff, could be furloughed in October in a clear indication of how deeply the virus pandemic is hurting the airline industry. The outlook for a recovery in the airline industry has dimmed in just the past two weeks, as infection rates rise in the US and some states impose new quarantine requirements on travellers, according to a PTI report. Airlines say they must shrink to match falling travel demand. American Airlines executives have said they could have 20,000 more employees than the airline will need this fall. United told ... Read more

Haryana is not a hotspot on most people’s tourism maps. But a good look into what Haryana can offer, can draw domestic tourists towards the state. The Ministry of Tourism had organised a webinar on “Haryana: Culture, Cuisine and Tourism” showcasing the rich and varied heritage of Haryana, as part of its Dekho Apna Desh series. The webinar was moderated by Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General,  Ministry Of Tourism and was presented by Rajbir Deswal, a retired IPS officer and practising advocate along with Mahasingh Poonia, Director of cultural youth and Affairs, Kurukshetra University and Ashish Dahiya, a professor at ... Read more

Chhattisgarh Tourism Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu has said the state will concentrate on promoting domestic tourism to overcome the impact of the pandemic on the tourism sector. Accordingly, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board will develop water sports and cafeteria at all the prominent dams and water bodies of the state, Sahu told a meeting of the Board’s directors. The coronavirus crisis has hit the tourism industry the most, the minister said. Now the best bet is to work on the policy of drawing local tourists to the state’s tourism spots, he added. Sahu has asked the Tourism Board officials to work on a ... Read more

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said the government will help the travel and tourism industry only if they give recommendations regarding tackling the coronavirus situation. The minister advised the sector to help the Centre in achieving its objective of creating an Atma Nirbhar Bharat, even as the sector is struggling to keep itself alive in the wake of the global pandemic. Before the industry representatives attending the webinar realised what hit them, the minister fired the next salvo. He slammed the industry for its “bad practices” and “wrong doings”, asking it to look within. The officials of the ... Read more

Karnataka Tourism Minister CT Ravi has tested positive for COVID-19. He had given his swab sample for testing twice in this past week. While he tested negative the first time, his second result came back positive. CT Ravi is now the first minister in Karnataka to have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. “Since one test returned negative and one returned positive, I got a third test done today (Sunday). I am waiting for the third umpire’s resolution,” he tweeted. He also went on to add he is asymptomatic and that he did yoga and pranayama on Sunday morning. “I ... Read more

Air France has announced that it would be increasing its flight schedule for summer 2020 and gradually building up its destination-offering and flight-frequencies over the next few months, through to October. Thus, by September, it hopes to achieve 50% of its flight schedule, pushing it to 60% in October. Additionally, the airline says that its domestic network will be restored to nearly full capacity flying out of Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. However, medium and long-haul routes and frequencies will slowly build over the coming weeks and months. Earlier, Air France-KLM had announced plans to cut more than 7,500 jobs at its French ... Read more

American hospitality major Hilton has stopped operating its Hilton Cape Town hotel from Sunday, after nine years of running it. The property at the Buitengracht Street of Cape Town, will be handed back to its owner, Millat Properties. Hilton had recently announced that it would cut 2,100 jobs – more than a fifth of its corporate staff –  in response to the coronavirus crisis, which has decimated the hospitality industry. “Never in Hilton’s 101-year history has our industry faced a global crisis that brings travel to a virtual standstill,” said CEO Christopher J. Nassetta. In South Africa, leisure accommodation is ... Read more

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has announced a codeshare agreement with Abu Dhabi’s first low-cost airline, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi. Etihad has placed its ‘EY’ code on Air Arabia Abu Dhabi’s inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi to the Egyptian city of Alexandria July 14, followed by the Nile city of Sohag the next day. The new agreement enables guests to book Etihad flights in conjunction with Air Arabia Abu Dhabi services, connecting its global route network beyond the UAE capital to new airline’s routes. Etihad plans to add further codeshare destinations to the partnership scope ... Read more

Hyatt says all of its hotels in the Asia Pacific region have completed the first phase of its new cleanliness programme, Business Traveller reports. All 149 hotels in the region have hired “hygiene and wellbeing leaders”, a measure that is part of the hotel group’s Global Care and Cleanliness Commitment, which was announced in early May to restore confidence in travel. Other hygiene and safety measures introduced in phase one include providing alcohol wipes at restaurants and as part of in-room amenities, knock-and-go room service, “increased frequency” of cleaning air filters, implementation of a new wellness policy for colleagues, and ... Read more