Tag: corona virus crisis

India is in talks with the US, Canada and some countries in Europe and West Asia on establishing  bilateral international flight bubbles, said Arvind Singh, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI), on Thursday. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) had on June 23 said India is considering establishing “individual bilateral bubbles” with the US, the UK, Germany and France. Singh said, “Talks are mainly going on between India and the US, India and Canada, India and Europe and India and the Gulf countries to start flights,” he said at a webinar called “Reposing the faith in flying” organised by the ... Read more

John George, Unimoni’s national head (travel & holiday business), feels tourists should be made aware of all the measures taken by the hospitality and transportation sectors to make their travel safe and hygienic. Since people always have the basic instinct to travel, the sector will surely bounce back, he says. Excerpts from an interview: Q: It has been a tough time for the global tourism industry, ever since the advent of the pandemic. As Unimoni’s product head of holidays business, how do you assess the situation? Yes, we should admit the fact that tourism is one of the worst affected ... Read more

Rail travel in India is about to get better. Well, at least on paper. The Indian Railways has invited proposals from private companies to run 151 modern passenger trains on 109 pairs of routes across the country. The project would entail private sector investment of about ₹30,000 crore, the Indian Railways said in a statement. This is the first time private investments have been sought for running passenger trains in India. “The objective of this initiative is to introduce modern technology rolling stock with reduced maintenance, reduced transit time, boost job creation, provide enhanced safety, provide world class travel experience to ... Read more

A small Italian town in Molise found itself overwhelmed by interest after offering free accommodation in a bid to attract tourists this summer. San Giovanni in Galdo – with a population of around 550 – received more than 2,000 applications from all over the world for a week’s stay in one of its traditional central Italian hill-top houses, Local Italy reports.  The village association announced it would offer up to 40 free holidays in one of the local homes left empty by depopulation and within days saw “hundreds and hundreds” of applications pour in, organisers said. In total over 2,000 ... Read more

In wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Himachal hoteliers have urged the state government to not start tourist activities in the state till October despite the state government issuing standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding the same. In a letter to chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and the tourism secretary, Himachal’s hoteliers have said that tourist activities should not be permitted for the next few months as Covid-19 cases are increasing at an alarming rate in India and the world at large. All Himachal Association of Hospitality and Tourism, spokesperson, Ashwani Bamba said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the tourism and hospitality ... Read more

The Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) hosted a webinar on “Preparedness of Hospitality, Travel & Tourism industry during COVID-19” recently, attended by senior officials representing various segments of the hospitality and travel industry.  Agreeing that domestic tourism is likely to be the first sector to be revived, almost all the panellists were of the view that the industry can bounce back to health if all the stakeholders come together to support each other. To promote India as a destination among the foreigners, it is important to properly communicate and convince the world and prospective travellers that they are safe while ... Read more

Based on a careful review of the metrics, travellers from Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey are now exempt from the 14-day quarantine requirement as well as the testing alternative option, Maine governor Janet Mills has said. Mills had previously announced that travellers from New Hampshire and Vermont were able to travel to Maine without these restrictions as well. The update will take effect this Friday, July 3.  Maine is the north-eastern most US state, known for its rocky coastline, maritime history and natural areas like the granite and spruce islands of Acadia National Park. Moose are plentiful in Baxter ... Read more

Neighbours Spain and Portugal reopened their border on Wednesday to all travellers after a three-month closure to prevent the spread of coronavirus, bringing relief to local business owners who have struggled to make ends meet without tourism. “It has been miserable since we reopened in May. There are no customers,” Jose Valentim, a restaurant owner in the Portuguese border town of Elvas, told Reuters. “We hope that from today onwards some Spaniards will be able to come.” For Luis Pinheiro, a 53-year old construction supervisor who commutes across the border every day from the Spanish city of Badajoz to his ... Read more

Scotland’s Highlands has witnessed only 114 coronavirus deaths to date. But the possible influx of tourists when the travel sector reopens from July 15, has the residents worried, The Guardian says in a report. Homemade “tourists go home” signs that appeared at the start of the lockdown to deter isolation tourists may have been removed, but Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, this week acknowledged she could not rule out quarantining or screening travellers from England if infection rates rise south of the border. While tourism bosses warn of threatened cancellations, The Guardian has spoken to residents, businesses and community leaders across the ... Read more

Snowy hills without skiers, closed hotels, empty shops. At the foot of the Andes mountain range, the city of Bariloche in Argentina is covered in snow but there will be no avalanche of tourists this winter amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “Today we are closed, with zero activity,” Belén García Bertone told news agency AFP. The 36-year-old is a third generation of hoteliers and president of the Chamber of Tourism of Bariloche. Located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park, set among mountains and lakes, 1,800 km southwest of Buenos Aires, San Carlos de Bariloche is Argentina’s fourth-most visited tourist destination by foreigners. ... Read more

Even though the European Union (EU) announced on Tuesday that South Korea was on a list of 14 countries allowed to travel there, international travel still looks difficult. Anyone arriving in South Korea from overseas is required to undergo a strict two-week quarantine, either at home or at a government-run facility. They cannot leave their homes and are monitored by government officials, while those in hotels pay about US$100 per night, and there are no visits to cafés, bars, gyms or gardens. With few South Koreans spending more than one week on vacation, the burden of a two-week quarantine on ... Read more

Victorian regional accommodation operators affected by lockdowns in metropolitan Melbourne will be eligible for Government support if losses can be shown. A $5 million fund has been made available to regional businesses including motels, caravan parks and short-term rentals like Airbnb properties that can demonstrate losses due to the new restrictions implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Melbourne. Payments of up to $225 per cancelled booked night will be paid, on the condition that full refunds are provided to Melburnians stuck in lockdown and no cancellation fees are levied, Business News Australia has reported. “We know that the ... Read more

Greek tourism is off to a great start. More than 230 flights landed in Greece on Wednesday, as the country reopened to tourists after four months of lockdown. According to the Hellenic Civil Aviation Administration (HCAA), Athens and Crete’s Heraklion airports had the most arrivals with 69 and 54 respectively, followed by Thessaloniki (23), Corfu (21), Chania (16), Rhodes (14), Mykonos (10), Kos (eight), Santorini (four), Skiathos, Aktio, Kefalonia, Samos (two each), and lastly, Kalamata Paros, and Karpathos (one each). Heraklion airport welcomed its first full flight from Hannover with live traditional Cretan music, Greek Travel Pages (GTP) reported. The island is expecting some ... Read more

Thailand has announced a new initiative “Rao Thieu Duaykan” (We Tour Together), created as a stimulus for domestic tourism. From July 15, Thai citizens can apply for a government subsidy to cover part of their hotel and dining expenses when travelling outside their home provinces. Those interested in the programme can participate through the Pao Tang app from July 15. Tourism operators can join now itself. About 22.4 billion baht will be used to fund the programme which will run until October. The money will subsidise five million hotel nights, with taxpayer money covering 40% of hotel rates up to ... Read more

Singapore’s Changi Airport is trialling and implementing a range of new anti-virus measures as it prepares for a gradual resumption of flights in the post Covid-19 outbreak world. Proximity touch check-in kiosks coated with anti-microbial disinfectants, new acrylic screens for counter staff, autonomous cleaning robots with misting attachments, and contactless toilets are just some of the measures, Bloomberg reports. One of the world’s busiest airports for international passenger traffic, Changi like most of its global peers has been brought to an almost complete standstill by the virus outbreak, which has decimated the tourism industry. In the first tentative steps toward ... Read more