Tag: covid-19 pandemic

The Hotel Association of India (HAI) on Monday appointed former Ministry of Tourism secretary, Madan Prasad Bezbaruah, as its secretary general. Bezbaruah succeeds R K Puri, a senior bureaucrat and first Director of Tourism, Railway Board, who was instrumental in the conceptualisation and launch of “Place on Wheels”. The appointment comes in the wake of the hotel industry struggling on account of the pandemic. Puneet Chhatwal, president of HAI and managing director and chief executive of the  Indian Hotels Company Limited said that it is now time to devise ways in which the hotel industry can evolve from the Covid-19 ... Read more

Two pilot wings of national carrier Air India — Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) and Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG) — have written a letter to the airline’s Chairman and MD (CMD) Rajiv Bansal, mentioning steps that should be taken to secure the survival of Air India. “Presently, the management has resorted to an across the board 10% cut on allowances. While prima facie appearing to be fair, this scheme distributes the financial burden across the various categories of employees in an extremely discriminatory manner amounting to treating unequal people equally,” said the pilots in the letter. The letter suggested that ... Read more

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has assured the Maharashtra government that it is safe to restart operations of hotels and restaurants. HRAWI informed Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray that it will be taking all necessary precautions while opening the sector. The association will launch a COVID-19 Food Safety Training and Certification programme by the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI)/HRAWI and a desktop audit programme which deals with all required compliances. HRAWI has called for government’s support on certain aspects to revive the industry such as bar opening, property ... Read more

Uruguay’s selection as the only Latin American nation to be named on the European Union’s safe countries list makes it look like a surprise, but the decision was made on solid health grounds. Only 936 Covid-19 cases have been reported in Uruguay, and 27 deaths. A lockdown, initiated on March 13 with the cessation of university classes and quickly expanded to cover schools, shopping centres and the Argentine border, has been a success. Uruguay has announced that it is analysing the opening of its borders to EU countries. Uruguayan Foreign Minister Ernesto Talvi said in Montevideo that the opening of ... Read more

A month ago, Karnataka’s tourism department was trying to encourage travellers to visit various destinations in the state in order to revive the sector. But with coronavirus cases rising each day in large numbers, the department has decided to go slow. In fact, Tourism Minister C T Ravi has asked travellers coming in from Bengaluru not to flock to districts like Chikkamagaluru and adjoining hilly districts. Tourists have had to encounter locals who were quite agitated by the tourist movement in the district. There have been clashes too. The tourism industry had gained momentum with package tours and eco-tourism activities, ... Read more

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, India’s leading integrated travel services company, has introduced Honeymoon Specials & Romantic Breaks, a range of exclusive experiences for newly-weds or getaways for India’s couples looking to spend quality time post lockdown. India’s lockdown and work-from-home has put couples through increased pressures: a relationship test amidst juggling work with domestic chores. Thomas Cook India’s Romantic Breaks thus offers couples that much-needed time to unwind and rediscover themselves. The packages also serve as a unique opportunity to celebrate an anniversary or special occasions – for couples across age groups, Thomas Cook India stated. Set against spectacular locales, ... Read more

tourHQ, the global marketplace connecting travellers with tour guides, has partnered with Makemytrip and Goibibo to bring online travel experiences to the Indian market. These experiences have been specially curated for the Indian clientele and will allow them to get the “Travel Wali Feeling” from the comfort of their home. The online experiences are varied and seek to recreate the buzz that people get from their travels – detailed tours of city attractions, introduction to local culture, breath-taking views and interaction with locals. What’s unique is that these tours are live streamed via video call, where the hosts do the ... Read more

The Delaware Tourism Office (DTO) has launched a “Go-to-Guide” to encourage safe travel this summer. The DTO worked with Governor John Carney’s office and public health officials to launch the guide. “To help provide travellers with a kind of ‘what to expect’ when they arrive here in Delaware; everything from making sure you pack the face covering and also some hand sanitizers and some extra travel ideas – like traveling around not during peak times to help with social distancing,” said Delaware Tourism Office director Liz Keller. The guide was launched in part because of the number of calls they ... Read more

The Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) has announced that the Tourism EXPO Japan (TEJ) will be organized at the Okinawa Convention Centre from October 29 to November 1 this year as originally scheduled.  The event will be organized by following the public health guidelines drawn by Japan Exhibition Association and in line with the Okinawa Prefecture’s action plan ‘Okinawa Tour Style With Corona.’  The event will be downsized from 600 booths originally to 450 booths, probably 80 international booths to avoid congestion, and the deadline of applications for the exhibition has been extended by July 31, 2020. Under the ... Read more

Himachal Pradesh has made it mandatory for tourists to show COVID-19 negative test reports from an ICMR recognised lab. Those coming in without the test reports will be denied entry. The state has decided to open the state for tourists and the tourism department will issue standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the functioning of the industry today. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that on the basis of the guidelines from the Ministry of Home Affairs, there will not be any restrictions on movements of people. “Registrations would be mandatory and we would keep a record if someone is tested ... Read more

Dubai Tourism hosted a virtual forum for stakeholders and partners to share its industry outlook ahead of the city’s reopening to international tourists on July 7. The forum discussed plans for reopening the city to foreign tourists, the local and global impact of the pandemic, future industry trends, global marketing initiatives, business events in Dubai, domestic tourism and Dubai’s summer events that form part of its annual retail calendar. The online forum is part of Dubai Tourism’s efforts to further enhance collaboration with stakeholders through regular top-level industry engagements, which are crucial to accelerate the revival process, highlight the city’s ... Read more

The Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, is set to reopen on Monday but visitors will have to adhere strictly to the Covid-19 guidelines. The monument was closed for over three months, as part of the lockdown restrictions. Only 5,000 tourists will be allowed in a day, split into two groups, news agency Reuters has said. Earlier around 80,000 tourists used to visit the monument in Agra on a daily basis. The visitors will have to wear masks and maintain social distancing. “All centrally protected monuments & sites shall be bound by the protocols like sanitization, ... Read more

Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, has announced nine new flights connecting various south Indian cities from July 9-14. The move follows the UAE government’s objection to Vande Bharat Mission flights operated by Air India. Air India Express will operate these flights as part of the repatriation mission from Sharjah, according to the Indian Consulate in Dubai.  The flights will connect Madurai, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli, Kochi and Hyderabad. Indian nationals registered with the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi or the Consulate-General of India in Dubai and fulfilling the required entry conditions can book through the Air India Express ... Read more

Showcasing the potential of motoring expeditions in India, a recent Dekho Apna Desh webinar organised by the Ministry of Tourism, highlighted the diverse network of roads and terrain available in various corners of the country. The virtual session was moderated by Tourism Ministry’s additional director general Rupinder Brar and presented by Manish Sarser, senior manager, Mahindra Adventure and Hari Singh, Head of Operations, JK Motorsports and Founder, DriveTech India. Beginning with India’s leadership position in terms of length of road networks, Brar stated that the country has the second largest road network in the world with a total length of ... Read more

UAE-based Indian welfare groups are anxious about the fate of future repatriation flights from the country after two chartered flights to India could not take off on Saturday in the absence of approvals from authorities in India, according to a Khaleej Times report. The Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), a welfare organisation, said the Etihad Airways EY254 flight that it had chartered from Abu Dhabi to Kozhikode on Saturday had to be cancelled ‘at the last moment’ because the Directorate of General Civil Aviation (DGCA) did not send the permissions necessary for it to land in India. As per the ... Read more