Tag: covid-19 crisis

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has urged mall owners across the country to waive off rentals during the lock-down period and renegotiate commercial terms going forward. NRAI has written to mall owners to urgently resolve commercial concerns of food and beverage retailers, whose business has been hit very hard by the pandemic. “The mandated lock-down has forced us to shut shop and prevent the malls to allow entry to our guests, staff or suppliers. This is a clear case of force majeure and therefore all charges of rentals or common area maintenance for the duration of the lock-down ... Read more

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy’s most visited tourist site, will reopen on June 1 after being closed for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. With over 7 million visitors a year, the Colosseum is one of Rome’s major tourist attractions. The Flavian amphitheatre, which is listed as world heritage, “will finally reopen to the public, under the banner of accessibility, welcome and above all, safety,” according to a statement from the archaeological site. The Colosseum will reopen on Monday “with adequate health protection for staff and visitors” such as masks and temperature measurement, secure routes, compulsory reservations ... Read more

The German government is looking to lift travel warnings for 31 European countries by June 15, if the health situation allows it, the DPA press agency has reported. Great Britain, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are on the list, along with the 26 EU countries, according to DPA. The German government is due to make a decision on Wednesday. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had issued a worldwide warning for tourist travel on March 17 due to the rapid spread of the new coronavirus. This global travel warning would make way for advice per destination, with the risk addressed country ... Read more

Private yachts and boats, catering up to 12 passengers, will be allowed to set sail in Greece, according to a government decision as coronavirus restrictions ease. The government decision allows private yachts and boats to sail to and from the islands, with no restrictions on staying overnight or arriving during late hours, provided they carry up to 12 passengers, maintaining a minimum distance of 1.5 meters between each other. The easing of restrictions on yachting was also announced last week by Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis when he presented the country’s ‘Restart Tourism” plan. The government has also said restrictions ... Read more

For the past three months, Las Vegas wore a deserted look. No crowds, no lights, no fun. But now the famed casinos are set to open, promising to bring some life back into the city. For the past two weeks Nevada has shown a decrease in the number of new coronavirus cases, encouraging governor Steve Sisolak to set a tentative date of June 4 to reopen casinos state-wide, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Our members have spent more than two months preparing for this day,” Virginia Valentine, president and CEO of the Nevada Resort Association, said in an emailed ... Read more

Majority of air travellers are concerned about the environment on an airplane than in an airport, an informal survey has revealed. The survey conducted by aerospace technology firm Honeywell, involving more than 700 frequent business and personal air travel passengers, indicated the types of guidelines and health-related equipment passengers may be looking for while flying during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The anonymous online survey showed that a majority of travellers (72%) were more concerned with the environment on an airplane than in an airport (28%). Nearly 60% of respondents cited social distancing as their top priority during travel, while ... Read more

The Union Tourism Ministry has extended the validity of certification of hotels and the travel agents, tour operators, adventure tour operators, domestic tour operators and tourist transport operators till June 30. According to a note issued to this effect on Tuesday, the ministry said, “The decision was taken considering the current situation when the hospitality industry is going through a very difficult time in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown that has severely impacted the accommodation sector. Validity of approval or certifications of hotels and other accommodation units whose project approvals and classification have expired are deemed to ... Read more

Seychelles, the small island holiday destination in the Indian Ocean with a population of less than a hundred thousand inhabitants, is now Covid-19 and ready to welcome guests. The country, which reported a number of 11 cases in total, has announced the last infected patient tested negative for a continuous number of days and is now considered to be healed from the Covid-19 virus. The pandemic had reached Seychelles in March 2020. The number of cases on the island increased slowly during the next three weeks and reached its peak on April 6, 2020 when the 11th case was confirmed ... Read more

Dubai will begin allowing free movement and business activity to restart from tomorrow. There will be no restrictions on movement or business operations between 6 am and 11 pm, the Dubai media office said in a press release. Some retail and wholesale businesses will be allowed to reopen, subject to further sterilisation operations and social distancing measures, the media office tweeted. Those will include cinemas, indoor gyms and education and treatment centres for children. Business and tourism hub Dubai allowed malls to reopen at limited capacity during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that began on April 24. Dubai also ... Read more

The Thailand government has sold a 3.2% stake in national carrier THAI Airways. The government’s stake now stands at 47.86%, ending the airline’s days as a majority-owned state enterprise. A total of 69.2 million shares were sold to Vayupak, a mutual fund run by the Krung Thai Bank. “The Cabinet agreed the government will reduce its holding in THAI Airways to under 50%, ending the airline’s status as a state-enterprise,” Saksayam Chidchob, Thailand’s transport minister said last week. With the exception of 2016, the airline has posted losses since 2012 and carries debts of approximately $2.9 billion. In 2019, THAI ... Read more

Embankments in the Sundarban delta — a UNESCO world heritage site — have been breached by the surge whipped up by cyclone Amphan which has inundated several kilometres of the islands. The sea-level rise in the delta, which is much higher than average global sea-level rise, will contribute to migration from the region. For around 40 lakh people of the Sundarbans, livelihoods like agriculture, fishing and wildlife tourism are the most predominant, apart from being migrant labourers. The Sunderbans is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers in the Bay ... Read more

Indian domestic air travel may have resumed on Monday after being grounded for two months, but with many states remaining skeptical about opening airports, over 600 flights were cancelled in just one day alone. Flights are yet to resume in large states like West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and operations in airports including Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad are not in full swing yet. Many passengers reached the airports on Monday only to be told by the airline staff that their flights have been cancelled. West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh governments did not relent to the requests by the Civil Aviation ... Read more

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed national carrier Air India to operate international flight service with middle seat booking. The court was hearing a petition filed by the Centre and Air India after Bombay High Court questioned why the airline was not keeping the middle seats vacant in international flights. “Air India shall be allowed to operate non-scheduled foreign flights with middle seats booking for next 10 days,” Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde said. After 10 days, the Supreme Court said the national carrier will have to follow the Bombay High Court’s order directing it to follow ... Read more

The Kerala government has released a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for domestic airline travel. The government has asked all the returnees to register themselves on the ‘COVID-19 Jagratha’ portal after obtaining a flight ticket to get a travel permit. The travel permit will then be issued along with a QR Code on the registered mobile number and email. The same will have to be presented to the airline staff before the boarding passes are given. If more than one passenger travel on a single ticket, details of all persons need to be entered by anyone in the group using ‘add ... Read more

The US has imposed travel restrictions on foreign nationals who have been to Brazil in the last 14 days. Brazil has become a major coronavirus hotspot in recent times, registering the second highest number of cases globally. A White House spokeswoman said the restrictions would help ensure new cases are not brought into the US. “Today’s action will help ensure foreign nationals who have been in Brazil do not become a source of additional infections in our country,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement. Brazil has recorded more than 360,000 cases, while over 22,000 people have ... Read more