Tag: corona virus crisis

Nila enjoys an exalted position in Kerala’s cultural history. The 250-km long river drives Kerala’s traditional ethos and has deep influence on its literary evolution and a number of classical art forms flourish along the banks of the revered river. Once a perennial river, it now dries up in summer and many feel it may be on the verge of extinction. The river looks like a narrow ribbon at many stages of its path, as sand mining and deforestation continue to take a toll. The Ministry of Tourism, as part of its Dekho Apna Desh series, held a webinar to ... Read more

Georgia is setting the goal of becoming the first country to open its doors to foreign tourists starting July 1 after months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s welcoming international travellers with a new slogan – ‘Georgia – Safe Destination!’. Georgia will resume domestic tourism starting June 15 and will receive international tourists starting July 1. “We will do this by creating a safe corridor on land borders with our neighbouring countries, as well as by bilateral negotiations with countries that are interesting for us in terms of tourism”, said Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia when presented a ... Read more

Thousands of employees at a hospital in the epicentre of America’s fight against the coronavirus are being rewarded for their hard work, CNN has reported. More than 4,000 hospital staff — including doctors, physician assistants, nurses, and facilities and food service teams — at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst were surprised with a three-night complimentary vacation, Hyatt and American Airlines have announced. The two companies collaborated to treat the frontline workers with free round trip flights on American Airlines to Hyatt hotels in select destinations across the US and Caribbean “to help them recharge and reconnect with their loved ones” once ... Read more

Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading US airlines, announced that its member carriers are supporting the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to begin checking the temperature of the traveling public and customer-facing employees as long as necessary during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Temperature checks are one of several public health measures recommended by the CDC amid the COVID-19 pandemic and will add an extra layer of protection for passengers as well as airline and airport employees. Temperature checks also will provide additional public confidence that is critical to relaunching air travel and our nation’s economy. ... Read more

Maneesha Panicker is the founder of Silk Route Escapes, an experiential travel company that wants to handpick experiences that bring you closer to India’s culture. She is a former New Yorker who knows the heart of an avid traveller. Maneesha’s latest project is Kayal, an Island Retreat in the backwaters of Kerala. At Kakkathuruthu, she has built an intimate 4-cottage resort where fisherfolk and farmers share their life with guests, not far from the ancient port city of Kochi. She feels Kerala built too many hotels and houseboats and choked the backwaters here. We have to learn to tread carefully ... Read more

The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has said it has initiated a training programme on COVID-19 preparedness in collaboration with food safety regulator FSSAI for hospitality professionals across the country. The programme aims to gear up hotel and restaurant players for a post-lockdown scenario to ensure the safety of their guests and to instil customer confidence, FHRAI said in a statement. It covers training on precautions to be taken and procedures that establishments should ensure implementing including receiving of raw materials, guest service, lobby management, and room maintenance post the lockdown, it added. “The idea behind ... Read more

Russian tour operators are expecting tourists for New Year celebrations. “For the fourth year in a row, we will be arranging New Year’s tours. This year, these groups have not yet been cancelled, so we and our partners hope that these trips will take place,” says Igor Kuzmin, a tour operator. The period from April to October (traditionally high season for inbound tourism in Russia) is usually in greatest demand. Trips are planned by tourists from Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore for this period. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has extended for an indefinite period the ban on the entry ... Read more

Even when the world stands still in a state of shock and surprise, a group of friends from the tourism and hospitality fraternity is joining hands to raise some funds through voluntary contributions to help at least 100 chosen, needy and deserving people within the tourism trade, with a strong resolve that no one from the industry should even think of committing suicide. “In the first phase we intend to offer assistance for medical aid and educational aid. In case you know a person from within our industry or in your organisation who deserves any of the afore-mentioned assistance, please ... Read more

The world is grieving. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a stir all over the globe creating a sense of fear, restlessness and uncertainty. Whereas, this small state in India – Kerala – located down on the southern tip, has caught global attention with its efforts to tackle the pandemic spread. The care and foresight of the Kerala government and the higher officials from the health department helped to identify, analyse and curb down the chaos in the initial stages itself. Kerala’s efficiency in treating foreigners from other countries has been applauded by the world countries. Even at the peak of ... Read more

There is some positive news for the tourism professionals, at last. Kerala Tourism has invited expression of interest from tour operators and transport operators of Kerala to be empanelled for providing chauffeur-driven vehicles to the Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs), stranded in various states of the country. Many of them have an opportunity now to return home, after being locked-down for months. The Kerala government will provide the NRKs an online platform for arranging vehicles to take them back to their respective places in Kerala. In this context, the payment will be made directly by the client. Tour and transport operators have ... Read more

Due to reduced air flight availability, the closure of cruise ports in regions around the world and other factors impacting international travel, Princess Cruises is extending the pause of its global operations. This would result in cancellation of select cruises through the end of the 2020 summer season, including the following cruises and associated cruise tours: All remaining Alaska cruises on Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess All remaining Europe and Transatlantic cruises on Enchanted Princess, Regal Princess, Sky Princess, Crown Princess and Island Princess Summer Caribbean cruises and all Canada & New England cruises on Caribbean Princess and Sky Princess ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism has set up a new fund under the Champion Sector in Services Scheme (CSSS) to encourage MICE operators to bring more conferences and seminars to India. The MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) operators will now be able to avail financial incentives in the form of GST reimbursements. The incentive would be made available for a period of three years. A prior approval from the Ministry will be required to avail these incentives along with a no-objection certificate from the concerned travel trade association. The Ministry has made India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) as the nodal agency ... Read more

Besides being colonized by the Portuguese, Goa has a fascinating historical past, which dates back further to the 3rd century BC. A prominent part of the Mauryan Empire, Goa enjoyed prime importance because of its natural harbours and wide river base. Only in 1987 did Goa get the status of an independent state and the regional language Konkani was recognized as one of India’s official languages. Despite the multi-cultural influences on Goa, the state still boasts of a distinctive culture, which makes the destination an affable one. Fairs and festivals in Goa are really a refreshing experience for the town ... Read more

The ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ initiative of the Ministry of Tourism is to encourage the citizens to travel widely within the country and explore the wonders of India. The aim is to thus enable the development of domestic tourism tourist facilities and infrastructure in tourism spots within the country. As part of this, the Ministry of Tourism, is looking to have a distinct brand identity for this campaign by developing a logo for ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ series based on creative inputs from the citizens of the country through the Dekho Apna Desh logo design Contest. The winner will get a 5-nights ... Read more

Five international air transport and tourism bodies have launched an appeal to international financial institutions, country development partners and international donors to support Africa’s travel & tourism sector which employs some 24.6 million people on the African continent. Without urgent funding, the COVID-19 crisis could see a collapse of the sector in Africa, taking with it millions of jobs. The sector contributes $169 billion to Africa’s economy combined, representing 7.1% of the continent’s GDP. The request is being made by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) of the United Nations, the World Travel & Tourism ... Read more