Tag: corona virus

Foreign nationals who have visited one of the countries mentioned below in the past 14 days cannot enter the United States, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) has said. The countries mentioned in the list are China, Iran, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City, United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. American citizens, lawful permanent residents and their families, who have been in one of these countries will be allowed to enter the United States but ... Read more

Kerala’s tourism sector is currently assessing the kind of loss incurred due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation has become worse than initially expected, but the resilient tourism sector in Kerala has bounced back in the past against such difficulties. In an interview EM Najeeb, chairman and managing director of Airtravel Enterprises Group of Companies tells us how the state can recover over the next six months. Excerpts: Q: Can you brief us about the kind of losses that the tourism sector is facing due to the outbreak of the corona virus? A: The corona virus has ... Read more

If you are traveling to Mumbai for a meeting, think again.  All offices in Mumbai and a few other cities in Maharashtra will be closed till March 31 to fight the spread of the corona virus, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Friday. Only essential services will operate in Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and Nagpur, the Chief Minister said as the number of cases in Maharashtra climbed to 52. He asked employers not to stop employee salaries. “Crises will come and go but don’t stop your humanity,” said Uddhav Thackeray. He also said stopping public transport would be the “last ... Read more

The corona virus outbreak has hit the tourism sector hard, in an unprecedented manner. In an interview, S Swaminathan , Managing Director of Dravidian Trails Holidays Pvt Ltd., Cochin, Kerala tells us why we can’t have a fixed time-frame for revival of the sector. He feels all stakeholders should spread the positive news about all the precautionary measures taken by the authorities. The authorities should now give the sector the required benefits that will help the tourism entrepreneurs rebuild the business. Excerpts: Q: Corona virus has impacted Kerala’s tourism fortunes to a very large extent. Can we attach a value ... Read more

Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI) President EM Najeeb “We are ready to give all support to any government decision to fight the COVID-19 menace. Even if they want to use all resorts and hotels as care centres in the state for quarantine measures, we will only be glad to do so.”

Even during the most depressing of times, there can often emerge a bright piece of news. In Venice, one of the world’s greatest tourist spots, marine life has come back to attract the crowd. Swans, dolphins and plenty of fish are seen again in the Venetian canals, much to the delight of the local people. With the advent of the corona virus, there are hardly any tourists in Italy and the same can be said about Venice, known for its canals. Tourists often take gondola rides down these canals, but with the country under a lock down there are hardly ... Read more

The Delhi government has ordered three premium hotels in Aerocity area, near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to block 182 rooms for paid quarantine facilities for people flying in from abroad who are to be quarantined. These ‘Home Quarantine’ rooms would be for people who have been quarantined but are not satisfied with the quarantine facilities of hospitals and wish to be shifted to hotel rooms, according to The Indian Express. These people would have to pay the rent of these rooms. According to the orders of the Delhi government, the IBIS Hotel will have to set aside 92 ... Read more

Kerala’s leading hotels and resorts are confident that the current gloomy scenario that has risen out of the corona virus pandemic, will be a temporary phenomenon. The various representatives of the hospitality sector have said that normalcy will return within a few weeks, as governments around the world are trying their best to contain the health hazard. Dr.Raja Gopaal IyerCEOUDS Hotels “We have taken precautionary measures regarding basic hygiene of all their employees and existing guests. Business was going on good as usual. But because of sudden outbreak of COVID19 there have been cancellations. Corporate clients have deferred the original ... Read more

ATTOI executive committee member & CEO of Tourdesigners, VG Jayachandran has urged the government to waive off road tax of tourist vehicles for a period of one year, besides providing interest free or low interest loans to tourism entrepreneurs to rebuild the business. The tourism sector has been hit badly by cancellation of bookings by tourists due to the onslaught of the corona virus pandemic. Several airlines have also cancelled flights to many countries. Jayachandran said a moratorium alone wasn’t sufficient. “It doesn’t mean even a waiver of interest during the period. In this situation, any financial institution will agree ... Read more

The Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI) has written to all the 12 Members of Parliament (MPs) from Kerala, requesting them to take up the woes of the tourism sector in Parliament or related committees. CKTI President EM Najeeb in his letter to the MPs said the tourism industry which has already been facing various challenges, has been hit especially hard by the Covid-19 epidemic. In this context CKTI has requested the Union finance minister and the tourism minister to advise banks to extend moratorium on the repayment of loans and interests from entrepreneurs in the tourism sector for at ... Read more

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which represents over 5 lakh restaurants in the country, has advised its restaurant members to shut down dine-in operations starting Wednesday across the country till March 31. “We have taken a decision to advise members to close all restaurants across India because we are endangering a lot of employees. We will never be able to survive the guilt if a fatality occurs at our end,” NRAI president Anurag Katriar said. Katriar however said the decision to shut down individual restaurants will remain voluntary and not mandatory. In a report released last year, the ... Read more

Western Railway has decided to hike the cost of platform tickets by up to five times in various cities under its jurisdiction. This steep hike means that a platform ticket which used to cost Rs 10 will now cost Rs 50. The new ticket price will be effective at close to 250 stations in the five divisions under the Western Railway zone including Mumbai, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Ratlam, Rajkot and Bhavnagar. In a statement, the Railways said platform tickets will be sold at the new rates to avoid crowding at platforms, in light of the spread of the corona virus. This ... Read more

The impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on travel continues to change rapidly. As a result, many customers who have booked travel through online travel agencies have been experiencing difficulties either connecting with travel advisors or cancelling and changing plans directly on these sites. Companies like Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and CheapTickets are coordinating with their travel partners to process an unprecedented number of customer requests. As a result, they have taken steps to help travelers, including increasing the number of travel advisors available, improving existing self-service options and introducing new automated ways for travelers to take action. Here’s what you ... Read more

India on Tuesday banned the entry of passengers from Malaysia, Philippines and Afghanistan into the country with immediate effect. In an additional travel advisory the government said no flight shall take off from these countries to India after 3 pm IST. The various airlines concerned should enforce this at the port of initial departure, the advisory said. This instruction is a temporary measure and will be in force till March 31 and will be reviewed subsequently. India has already banned the entry of passengers from EU countries, Turkey and the UK till March 31.

German car maker Volkswagen has said it will temporarily shut down most of its European plants in light following the corona virus pandemic. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Chief Executive Herbert Diess said the company would shut down production at factories operated by the group’s brands “in the near future,” with most European plants set to suspend work for at least two weeks. Production at Volkswagen plants in Spain, Slovakia and Italy would all be halted before the end of the week, Diess added. The decision to shut the plants come shortly after the world’s largest carmaker by sales, warned ... Read more