Tag: covid-19 pandemic

Costa Rica’s government will halt reopening the country’s economy due to an increase in the number of coronavirus cases over recent days, a senior official said on Friday. The Central American nation which has already lost 100,000 jobs due to the pandemic, and this decision will hit the economy hard. “These are not numbers to think that nothing is wrong and that we can continue with the reopening,” Health Minister Daniel Salas said during a news conference. Over the last 24 hours, Costa Rica has registered a record 119 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to ... Read more

Machu Picchu, the jewel of Peruvian tourism, is all set to reopen in July. But there will be restrictions on the number of visitors. Given the need for social distancing and other measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, only 675 visitors will be allowed in each day – one-quarter the usual number, Jean Paul Benavente, governor of the Cusco region said. Guides will lead tours of only seven visitors, and people will be required to wear masks. The July reopening is linked to a lifting of national confinement measures in place since March 16, online news agency MercoPress ... Read more

The MC Road in Kerala is one of the crucial pathways that lead to many tourist destinations including eco-tourism centres, waterfalls, popular resorts and religious destinations. However, it has also been accident prone. The Kerala government has now decided to take steps to make it accident free. It has initiated a new Rs 147 crore project aimed at safety, on this 80km stretch. The safe corridor demonstration on MC Road is part of the ongoing World Bank-aided Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) that was commissioned by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The busy two-lane, two-way corridor spread over Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and ... Read more

Two more repatriation flights to Goa will leave from Dubai on June 21 and 25 respectively, Air India has announced. Special flights that will depart Dubai at 12 noon will arrive at the Dabolim airport in Goa at 4.40pm. The flights are being operated as part of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate stranded Indians from the UAE, said a spokesperson of Air India. Both flights will be ferrying 149 passengers each and priority will be given to those registered for repatriation with the Indian missions in the UAE, said Gulf News in a report. The first direct repatriation flight to Goa ... Read more

Medical testimonials are going to be a must to fly to Kerala from June 20. All passengers have to carry certificates stating that they are Covid-19 free, for the flights to get operational clearance. The policy applies to government sponsored Vande Bharat Mission and chartered flights equally, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said at a news briefing on Wednesday. Significantly, the chief minister said the state would have no issues in providing no-objection certificates to special flights comprising wholly of passengers who had tested positive at the port of departure. Kerala would receive them and treat them in State-run or commandeered ... Read more

The Mexican Caribbean has begun to gradually reopen itself to tourists from June 8, and is on track to have 75% of hotel rooms ready by July 1, according to the Travel Market Report. The region currently has about 45% of inventory reopened, according to a Quintana Roo Tourism Board virtual conference last week. The Quintana Roo Tourism Board handles the marketing for 12 destinations under the umbrella of the Mexican Caribbean and the Grand Costa Maya, including Cancun, Riviera Maya, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Isla Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, and Costa Mujeres. The region is using a “traffic light system,” said Dario ... Read more

Cafes and restaurants are reopening across France and travel to other European countries is being allowed, with French President Emmanuel Macron lifting a number of coronavirus restrictions. More than 29,400 people have died of coronavirus in France, and the country has had 194,000 confirmed cases – although the number of new cases has slowed markedly in recent days. President Macron first imposed a strict lockdown on March 17. These remained in place until May 11, when the country began to cautiously ease restrictions. In a televised address Macron said France had won its “first victory” but he warned the virus ... Read more

Kerala’s stock as an important ayurvedic destination has been growing even during the lockdown period induced by the coronavirus pandemic. Ayurveda and related treatments have been essential components of Kerala tourism, making the state a popular tourist spot for travellers across the globe. But with the advent of Covid-19, the travel sector was hit hard, and the industry came to a standstill. With the passage of time and with lockdown restrictions eased, domestic tourism has started to take some shape and the state’s handling of the pandemic is expected to build confidence among travellers. Ayurveda is the extra dimension that ... Read more

The Delhi government has allowed resto-bars, hotels and clubs to sell their stock of beer expiring this month to liquor shops, in a bid to minimise their financial losses. There are around 950 hotels, clubs and resto-bars in Delhi which have an excise license, however, they have not been allowed to open since March 25, when the first nationwide lockdown was announced. They will continue to remain closed in the city till June 30. According to the Excise Act, the resto-bars, hotels, and clubs can only sell liquor to their customers. “In wake of the extraordinary situation emerging out of ... Read more

England is creating the world’s longest coastal path – a hiking route, that will run along the entire length of the English coastline. At 2,800 miles long, the England Coast Path will be the longest coastal walking route on the planet when it’s finished. It is likely to be completed in the next two years. The route will link up some already existing stretches of seaside paths (like the South West Coast Path, which runs from Minehead in Devon through Cornwall to Poole in Dorset), improve others and in some places create brand new routes for hikers. The plan is to attract tourists to the country’s pretty coastline, something ... Read more

Is India a golfing country? Can golf tourism be developed here, as an additional revenue stream? Do we have enough golf facilities in the country? These questions were deliberated at length under the Dekho Apna Desh webinar series, organised by the Ministry of Tourism. The session was moderated by Rupinder Brar, ADG, Ministry of Tourism and presented by Rajan Seghal, Co-founder Passionals; Amish Desai, Director, Beleast Travels P Ltd and Arun Iyer, Managing Director, My Golf Tour. All three panellists have decades of experience and hold badges of specialisation in various areas of travel and tourism industry, besides being avid ... Read more

SeaWorld Entertainment, one of the world’s leading theme park and entertainment companies, has announced a phased reopening of SeaWorld San Antonio on Friday, June 19.The reopening of the park will include enhanced health and safety protocols for cleaning and sanitizing, physical distancing, face covering requirements, and temperature screening. A new online reservation system will also help manage capacity so that guests can enjoy a safe and fun experience while maintaining physical distancing. The phased reopening plan was approved by the State of Texas.”We thank Governor Abbott, Representative Cortez, and San Antonio Mayor Nirenberg for their support of tourism in Texas ... Read more

Qatar Airways will soon announce special offers including arranging stay at hotels for quarantine purposes. “Qatar Airways will soon announce special offers that will include price of tickets and stay at 5, 4 or 3 star hotels for the purposes of quarantine,” Salam Al Shawa, Senior Vice President Marketing & Corporate Communications for Qatar Airways said in tweet. The returning passenger can fly Qatar Airways or any other airline, but will have to make the hotel booking directly with Discover Qatar for a stay at an approved quarantine hotel. They can’t book a hotel directly. The assistant foreign minister and ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism’s Dekho Apna Desh webinar series showcased Chhattisgarh, in an effort to highlight India’s rich diversity. The 30th session of the Dekho Apna Desh webinar series held on June 9, was moderated by Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General , Ministry of Tourism.  P. Anbalagan, Secretary (Tourism & Culture), Government of Chhattisgarh, set the background for the session with his introductory remarks. The session was presented by Jaspreet Singh Bhatia, Founder, Icecubes Holidays, Jeet Singh Arya, Founder, Unexplored Bastar and Thommen Jose, author & blogger. Chhattisgarh, carved out of Madhya Pradesh, came into being on November 1, 2000, ... Read more

Feeling intense travel pangs but can’t pack your bags yet? Choose the next best option. Watch our travel movie recommendations and let your memories take their blissful flight again. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) Want to explore Italy from your couch? Under the Tuscan Sun may be what you need then. The movie is about a writer, who buys a villa in Italy’s Tuscany in order to escape from her routine city life. Directed by Audrey Wells, the movie stars Diane Lane, Raoul Bova, Sandra Oh and Lindsay Duncan. The beauty of Tuscany instantly draws you to the film, and ... Read more