Tag: covid-19 crisis

Iconic car rental company Hertz has filed for bankruptcy protection, devastated by the fall in business due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 100-year-old company which started its business with a dozen Ford models, went on to become one of the largest car rental companies in the world, before running up a pile of substantial debt. Hertz said late on Friday that it would use more than $1 billion in cash on hand to keep its business running while it proceeds with the bankruptcy process. “Today’s action will protect the value of our business, allow us to continue our operations and ... Read more

The Chinese Embassy in Ireland has reminded its passport holders that they must not transit two Schengen countries at one time. The advisory was for those stuck in the Schengen areas due to border closures, travel bans and other restrictions amid the Coronavirus outbreak. Through a notice published on its website, the Chinese Embassy noted that many citizens are planning to return to China with repatriation flights from the Schengen countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium. The Embassy reminds these citizens that they must not transit in two or more Schengen area countries consecutively as they may face penalties. ... Read more

Eurobank will make available a fund of $821 million (750 million Euros) to help Greek hotels and support tourism, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. The revival of the tourism sector, which employs about one in five Greeks, is viewed as central to lessening the impact of an expected deep recession, with the European Commission estimating Greece’s economy may contract by 9.7% this year. “Eurobank is the bank of Greek tourism, we are there not only for the sunny days,” Eurobank’s CEO Fokion Karavias said. “Supporting the hotels sector, the heart of the tourism industry, is important ... Read more

Delta Air Lines plans to boost the number of flights it will restore to service in June and July, to allow for spacing among passengers as demand increases. “Once we get close to 60% on an individual route, that’ll be the trigger for us to add more planes into the system,” Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said Wednesday on Fox Business News. The carrier will add 200 flights in June and may add as many as 300 in July, he said. Just two days earlier, the US airline had said it planned to add 100 flights next month. The airline’s ... Read more

Qatar Airways has introduced new flight protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and its crew will now be equipped with full-body gear. “Cabin crew will wear disposable, full body protective gear during flights while passengers must wear face coverings,” the airline stated in a press release. Other changes include serving meals on a tray in lieu of a table set up in business class, individually wrapped cutlery, sealed meals (standard protocol in economy already), and large bottles of hand sanitizer which will be placed in the galleys. To comply with social distancing requirements, there are no more “social areas” on ... Read more

Intersight Tours and Travels has invited articles on the unknown and unexplored tourist destinations and experiences of Kerala. The write-ups can be about hill stations, beaches, waterfalls, islands, village sights, valleys, etc which are unknown to the public. The articles can be either in English or in Malayalam and there is no restriction on the length of the articles. The name of the place, story behind the name, accessibility, two/four wheel drive details, accommodation facilities, details of nearby tourist attractions, contact details including the phone numbers, email ID, website etc. can be included. Resorts and homestays in unexplored destinations and ... Read more

The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) has urged the Prime Minister and Finance Minister to address the concerns of the Indian tourism industry without delay. Tourism, hospitality and health care sectors were expecting immediate relief measures as part of the government’s ₹20 lakh crore stimulus package. These industries were badly hit by the pandemic and hence were looking forward to some support. “But there has been no stimulus for tour operators, hotels, resorts or ayurveda hospitals who have to bear the salaries and maintenance costs even when shut,” ATTOI president Vinod CS said. The government’s lack of empathy ... Read more

Indian domestic flight services would begin from Monday in a “calibrated manner”, laying the ground for gradual resumption of scheduled commercial flight operations. “Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday. All airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from May 25. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for passenger movement are also being separately issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation,” Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted. All domestic passenger flight operations have been suspended for the 54-day lockdown period that began on March 25. However, cargo flights, medical evacuation flights and ... Read more

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has assured hotel representatives that his government will consider granting approval for reopening hotels in the next three days, where they can start dine-in services with limited customers at a time. Many hoteliers met the CM in Bengaluru on Tuesday and threatened to start pushcart service on footpaths if the government does not allow them to restart full-fledged services. The hoteliers said they are ready to take up all measures including sanitising, wearing of masks and other precautions. In Karnataka, there are about 50,000 hotels including darshinis, of which 15,000 are in Bengaluru alone. According to ... Read more

The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has criticised the stimulus package announced by the government, completing ignoring the concerns of the hospitality sector. “I am really shocked that tourism and hospitality was completely ignored despite PM Modi mentioning hospitality as one of the five pillars in his speech. We don’t know what was the criteria of importance. Is space programme more important than tourism? We had made 20 representations to the Department of Tourism and Ministry of tourism but not even one has been considered,” said Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice-President, FHRAI (Federation of Hotel & Restaurant ... Read more

The coordinated rolling out of new health and safety protocols for every part of the tourism value chain – including travel, accommodation, food, and leisure – will make it safer to travel, World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has said. “Trust is the new currency of our ‘new normal’. And tourism is ideally positioned to be the vehicle to channel trust,” said Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO’s secretary general. If people trust in governments and in the tourism sector to keep them safe from harm, they will indeed travel tomorrow, he added. “As the ultimate person-to-person sector, and one that promotes solidarity and friendship, ... Read more

The latest hotel booking data from Smith Travel Research (STR) has revealed for the first time in the many weeks since the pandemic took hold, US hotels have sold over ten million room-nights during the week that ended May 9, 2020. These numbers demonstrate an uptick of more than three million room-nights over the week of April 11. US hotel occupancy rose to 30.1% for the weekend of May 9, showing an increase in weekend occupancies for the second week in a row. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) at hotels in resort destinations was still down by 82.4%, as compared ... Read more

Italy has opened its churches, cafes, restaurants and bars, as it continues to relax its lockdown rules. Italians are once again out in the open, sipping cappuccino and gulping down cold beers, while of course keeping away from other customers as part of social distancing norms. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said gyms and cinemas would soon be able to welcome the public again, as the government seeks to restart economic activity. “We’re facing a calculated risk in the knowledge that the contagion curve may rise again,” Conte said during a televised address. “We have to accept it otherwise we ... Read more

Bali, Indonesia’s popular tropical holiday island, could reopen to tourists in October. The island is today seen as a model by Indonesian authorities in tackling the pandemic, and hence the government deems it fit for reopening. The virus was curbed in the region with the help of about 1,500 traditional village committees. The island has a population of 4.2 million and is heavily dependent on tourism for its revenues. It was said that Bali may end up being a coronavirus hotspot with its large number of foreign visitors, but the island effectively controlled the outbreak. As of Friday, Bali had ... Read more

Almost all Indian states are concerned about the immediate future of the travel and tourism industry, which has been badly hit by the Covid-19 epidemic, but hardly any of them have come up with decisive steps. In this context what the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government is trying to do, appears positive. The state government should pay 50% salary of at least half of the employees working in the hospitality sector, UP’s director general (DG) of tourism Ravi Kumar has said in a draft proposal. In the proposal prepared for a giving a “bailout package” to the tourism industry, Ravi Kumar ... Read more