Tag: corona virus crisis

European Union countries desperate to revive their economies and reopen borders to tourists may bar US citizens from entering because the country’s efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic has not shown any positive results, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. Drafts of lists of countries that would be blocked show that the US — which has had at least 2,312,302 confirmed cases and 120,402 deaths, the most in the world — is among those under consideration for the ban along with Brazil and Russia, the paper reported. EU nations are considering potential lists of visitors who would be acceptable based on how their ... Read more

Restrictions on travel, introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, are slowly being eased, allowing tourism to restart in a growing number of destinations, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) said on Tuesday. According to the UNWTO’s latest research, as of 15 June, 22% of all destinations worldwide (48 of them) have started to ease restrictions – up from just 3% (7 destinations) on May 18 – with Europe leading the way. Destinations that have eased travel restrictions for tourists include: – 37 destinations in Europe, including 24 of the 26 Schengen Member States– 6 destinations in the Americas, including 5 Small Island Developing States– 3 destinations in Asia and the ... Read more

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has released the third phase of its ‘Safe Travels’ measures designed to rebuild global consumer confidence and reduce risk in the Covid-19 context. The latest focus covers the reopening of global attractions, holiday rentals and car hire companies. Protocols for the attractions industry were compiled on the basis of insights and frameworks developed by the Global Association for the Attractions Industry. The measures increase the focus on health, safety and physical distancing standards for venues such as amusement parks, aquariums, family entertainment centres, museums, science centres, theme parks, water parks, zoos and other ... Read more

With the coronavirus community transmission looming, the Thiruvananthapuram city corporation has clamped down on travel, by restricting key entry points and enhancing patrolling of affected areas. The functioning of Palayam and Chalai markets and major shopping centres will be affected as shops can only be opened on alternate days. The police will control the entry of people into public places. This could affect domestic tourists to a great extent.  The decision will be applicable to malls and supermarkets also. The city has decided to strengthen monitoring of fishermen going to Tamil Nadu shores.  All shops should have washing areas and sanitisers ... Read more

India is considering establishing “individual bilateral bubbles” with the US, the UK, Germany and France allowing airlines of each country in the pact to operate international passenger flights, the Aviation Ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry’s statement has come after the US Department of Transportation announced on Monday that it has barred Air India from operating chartered flights between India and the United States from July 22 without its prior approval, in an apparent retaliation for the Indian government not allowing American carriers to operate between the two countries. The Aviation Ministry said, “As we contemplate further opening up in ... Read more

Shillong now has another tourism attraction in arsenal. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has inaugurated a set of Orchid Log Houses overlooking the beautiful hills of Mawdiangdiang. The tourism project is funded under the Swadesh Darshan initiative of the Ministry of Tourism. Mawdiangdiang is located 6 km from Shillong towards the east. The Meghalaya government expects that the canopy walkway and the log houses will be a sought-after tourist attraction even as the state is planning to formulate a novel tourism strategy to attract high-end domestic tourists. In the wake of the COVID-19 situation when foreign travel is still likely to ... Read more

Hundreds of thousands of people are now on the move in Central and Southeast Europe as travel restrictions imposed to contain the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are eased, according to a news report by Intellinews. Croatia More than 350,000 tourists are now in Croatia and the number is rising by the day, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said last week. Admittedly this is low compared to last year, when 20 million people visited the country, but it is positive news for the tourism-dependent country that is trying to save at least part of the summer season this year ... Read more

Although Karnataka has cleared its new tourism policy (2020-25), for the district of Chikkamagaluru a separate policy is being formulated, to address the growing concerns of environmentalists and conservationists. The hill district with just a population of 12 lakh receives a tourist footfall of 85 lakhs annually. In the wake of rampant violations — construction of resorts, roads, exploitation of water resources in ecologically fragile areas and spoilage of hills ranges by irresponsible tourists — the need for a separate tourism policy was felt, New Indian Express said in a report. Efforts have begun to frame guidelines so as to make ... Read more

To overcome the revenue loss caused by the lack of foreign tourists during the coronavirus pandemic, Estonia’s Ida-Viru County has launched a campaign with the goal of attracting at least 100,000 tourists over the summer. Ida-Viru County, or Ida-Virumaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is the most north-eastern part of the country. The county contains large deposits of oil shale – the main mineral mined in Estonia. As oil shale is used in thermal power plants, Ida-Viru contains most of Estonia’s energy resources. Last year, a record year for tourism, saw 91,000 tourists stay in Ida-Virumaa from ... Read more

Lithuania is looking to attract tourists from Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Japan and China to boost revenues and is taking proactive steps to spread awareness. Keliauk Lietuvoje (Lithuania Travel), a national tourism promotion agency, has opened search for representatives in these countries for initiating tourism marketing services. The aim of tourism marketing services would be to raise the profile of Lithuania as a country attractive for tourists and to boost incoming tourist flows, the agency told news wire BNS. According to the Central Procurement Portal, the agency signed contracts with Milan-registered Aigo (257,100 euros, ex-VAT), Travel Link Market ... Read more

Expedition cruise specialists Rainforest Cruises has announced conservation-themed Amazon River Cruises in Peru, this year. Guests will have the rare opportunity to participate in critical pink river dolphin research and raise their awareness of conservation issues in the region, said Rustourismnews in a report. Two voyages aboard the Zafiro vessel will be hosted by the Rainforest Trust to promote conservation awareness. A representative from the charity will lead the cruise and guests will have the opportunity to learn about their initiatives and hear from guest speakers from the local Amazon Rescue Centre (CREA) about their conservation efforts, with a special focus on ... Read more

North Macedonia’s Minister of Economy Kreshnik Bekteshi has said the country has outlined a set of measures to support tourism amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Bekteshi declared that the support of local tourism, which is one of the most affected sectors by the coronavirus crisis, is the main priority for the Ministry of Economy. “Given that the hotel industry is most affected by the crisis, we will encourage activities related to training, conferences, and seminars in hotels. Events and conferences will be co-financed by 50% of the costs or up to 30,000 Macedonian Denar (about 549 US dollars) per applicant,” Bekteshi ... Read more

The Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) has called on the government to turn its attention to the deteriorating tourism sector and commit enough resources to boost infrastructure for a better outcome. The Federation in a statement signed by the President, Bella Ayayee Ahu, noted that it has been working tirelessly to improve on service quality of the industry to ensure growth and development. According to the Federation, the state of physical and soft infrastructure in the sector, inadequate investments, reputation as a high cost destination, poor tourism support services, lack of professionalism and service quality are factors that continue to hamper ... Read more

The King Hussein International Airport has resumed domestic flights between Aqaba and Amman after flights were shut down due to travel restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. General Manager of Aqaba Airports Company (AAC) Nasser Majali told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that the airport’s preparedness was “completely in accordance with the requirements and approvals of the Jordan Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission”. He said that arrangements have been made for the arrival and departure of domestic flights operated by local airlines, including Royal Jordanian, Jordan Aviation and Fly Jordan, stressing that the airport will “stringently adhere” to ... Read more

The US government has restricted charter flights from India, accusing it of “unfair and discriminatory practices” by violating a treaty governing aviation between the two countries, Bloomberg has reported. Air India has been making flights to repatriate its citizens during the travel disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, but also has been selling tickets to the public, the US Department of Transportation alleged. At the same time, US airlines have been prohibited from flying to India by aviation regulators there, the department said in its order. The situation “creates a competitive disadvantage for US carriers,” the agency said in a ... Read more