Tag: corona virus crisis

Japan’s tourism players are adopting new marketing strategies to remain relevant in the minds of travellers. From moving products online to introducing deals and greater flexibility in bookings, the stakeholders are trying their best to communicate with their potential visitors. For example, Shangri-La Hotel Tokyo has launched The Boutique, a website selling food, beauty products, bedding and other luxury items from the brand. The campaign is designed to keep the hotel, top of mind for visitors, until they feel ready to book again, according to a report in TTG Asia. True Japan Tours has also moved online to offer virtual ... Read more

The Czech Republic partially opened its borders to neighbouring states on May 26, but tourism has been slow to catch up. That’s understandable as restrictions are still tight and the list of favoured countries is short. This would mean that the upcoming summer season would not be a fruitful one for tour operators. Prague’s mayor, Zdenek Hrib, says he is hugely concerned about the fate of tourism and pledges full support for the sector and its employees. The enforced pause could offer the city a chance to recover from “over-tourism” that is “eating the city from the inside”. “The impact ... Read more

Kazakhstan will resume flights to six countries, including some holiday hot-spots, starting from mid-June. Flights to Turkey, China, South Korea, Thailand, Georgia, and Japan will resume on June 20 in a safe manner, Kazakhstan Civil Aviation Committee said in a statement. ‘‘The number of flights on international routes will be operated based on existing intergovernmental agreements on air traffic and depend on the commercial loading of aircraft on each route,’’ the statement published on the committee’s website said.  Tickets for these flights will go on sale in accordance with the schedule published on the websites of airlines, Caspian News reported. ... Read more

Medical testimonials are going to be a must to fly to Kerala from June 20. All passengers have to carry certificates stating that they are Covid-19 free, for the flights to get operational clearance. The policy applies to government sponsored Vande Bharat Mission and chartered flights equally, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said at a news briefing on Wednesday. Significantly, the chief minister said the state would have no issues in providing no-objection certificates to special flights comprising wholly of passengers who had tested positive at the port of departure. Kerala would receive them and treat them in State-run or commandeered ... Read more

Air India has reintroduced its Coimbatore-New Delhi flight. The flight will be operated four days a week from June 22. The flight – number 547/548 — will depart from New Delhi at 7.40 am and land in Coimbatore at 11 am. The same flight will leave Coimbatore at noon and land in New Delhi at 3 pm.

In a new initiative to attract international tourists to Telangana, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) and Telangana Forest Department are working closely to identify potential vacation spots to form a tourism circuit. The districts where tourism spots are being explored include Sangareddy, Siddipet, Medak, Kamareddy and Adilabad. The USAID, which selected Medak district under its Forest Plus 2.0 to improve greenery in the forest area, has identified immense tourism potential in Telangana. USAID, MoEF and Telangana Forest Department have together roped in a tourism consultant, Deepu Karthikeyan, who ... Read more

The Karnataka government on Wednesday launched caravan tourism, an initiative under which tourists can book a fully-equipped vehicle that will take them places, and also serve as beds for the night. The initiative has been started by the tourism department to revive the sector badly hit by the coronavirus crisis. Each caravan has seats that convert into beds, allowing four people to sleep in one car. The vehicles are equipped with a shower, a modern toilet, a smart television and a music system. They also have a kitchenette that includes a refrigerator, freezer and microwave. The caravan bus has 1,400-watt solar ... Read more

Riaz Ahmad, managing director of Abad Hotels & Resorts, has been in the hospitality sector for many decades, braving umpteen challenges. But even for someone like him, the coronavirus pandemic has presented an unforeseen situation. In this interview he talks about how his company is preparing for the future, keeping the interest of the employees in mind. Often the government ignores the sector as there is a perception that tourism is a business of the wealthy, he says. Excerpts: Q: It’s great to see Abad group reopening its properties across Kerala. How was the lockdown experience at Abad group? What ... Read more

Hilton Hotels is laying off 2,100 employees, or roughly 22% of its corporate workforce, as the pandemic continues to drive down demand for leisure and corporate travel. The hotel chain is also extending the existing furloughs for many of its corporate staff for an additional 90 days, CNN Business has reported. Hilton had announced the initial furloughs, as well as temporary pay cuts for executives, in March. “Never in Hilton’s 101-year history has our industry faced a global crisis that brings travel to a virtual standstill,” CEO Christopher Nassetta said in a press release, adding he was “devastated” by the decision. Covid-19 all ... Read more

The Mexican Caribbean has begun to gradually reopen itself to tourists from June 8, and is on track to have 75% of hotel rooms ready by July 1, according to the Travel Market Report. The region currently has about 45% of inventory reopened, according to a Quintana Roo Tourism Board virtual conference last week. The Quintana Roo Tourism Board handles the marketing for 12 destinations under the umbrella of the Mexican Caribbean and the Grand Costa Maya, including Cancun, Riviera Maya, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Isla Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, and Costa Mujeres. The region is using a “traffic light system,” said Dario ... Read more

Air France plans to serve close to 150 destinations this summer, taking its network to 80% of its usual capacity. By the end of June, the flight schedule will represent 20% of the capacity usually deployed over this period. Subject to the lifting of travel restrictions, the gradual increase in the number of frequencies and destinations will continue, reaching 35% of the flight schedule initially planned in July and 40% in August. Several routes will resume between Paris and the French regions, as well as inter-regional routes, particularly to and from Corsica. The number of services will also be increased to ... Read more

They’ve both got beaches, food, history and sunshine, but two leading tourist destinations are now selling themselves as Europe’s safest as they try to lure the visitors they need to prop up economies fried by the coronavirus. Both Portugal and Greece, which this week opened their doors wider to international visitors, are trumpeting relatively low infection rates and widespread measures to keep the virus in check. And both face financial peril unless they can persuade the tourists to come, CNN says in a detailed report. Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa believes his country remains as attractive as ever, but has ... Read more

Thailand’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved three projects with a combined budget of more than 22 billion baht (USD 707 million) to help the country’s reeling tourism industry recover from the coronavirus crisis. The packages are meant to promote domestic travel from July to October. Tourism normally accounts for more than 10% of Thailand’s GDP. International flight arrivals were stopped in early April, drying up the market for foreign tourists. The biggest package, with an estimated cost of 18 billion baht (USD 579 million), will give travellers a 40% discount to a maximum value of 3,000 baht (USD 96) per night ... Read more

Residents of Malta will be given 100 euro (US$112) vouchers by the government to spend in bars, hotels and restaurants in an effort to revitalise the tourist industry, news agency Reuters has reported. Tourism accounts for a quarter of the Mediterranean island’s GDP but it has been at a standstill since mid-March when flights were stopped during the coronavirus emergency. Flights to a small number of countries will resume on July 1 but they exclude big tourism source markets Britain and Italy (except Sicily). Prime Minister Robert Abela said in a statement a monthly wage subsidy of 800 euros per worker ... Read more

India will take a decision on resumption of international passenger flights in July if coronavirus behaves in a “predictable manner” and if the entire aviation ecosystem and state governments are onboard, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said. The country resumed domestic passenger flights from May 25 after a gap of two months amid the coronavirus pandemic. Scheduled international passenger flights, however, continue to remain suspended in India. “I am often asked, when can you start international civil aviation? If you leave it to me, and if the ecosystem works, and if we have the predictability in terms of ... Read more