Tag: covid-19 pandemic

A new in-depth data dashboard highlighting the recovery of travel demand across flights and hotels, as well as revealing the shifting intentions of travellers through online travel searches, has been launched by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The one-stop data shop or Interactive COVID-19 Travel Demand Recovery Dashboard was developed by WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, with support from McKinsey & Company. This unique tool provides users with easy access to qualitative and quantitative travel data at the global and regional level as well as for 33 major countries around the world, by ... Read more

Passengers will have to pay Rs 10 extra for their air travel from September 1 as the Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to revise the rates of aviation security fee (ASF) for domestic and international passengers. According to officials, the ASF for domestic flyers will be increased by Rs 10 to Rs 160 while the international passengers will have to pay $5.2 instead of the current $4.85. The ASF is used to fund the security arrangement at airports across the country. The ASF was hiked last year to Rs 150 from Rs 130, and international passengers were charged $4.85 ... Read more

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started a special safety audit of all Indian airlines, two weeks after the plane crash in Kerala’s Kozhikode in which 18 people were killed, a senior official of the aviation regulator said on Thursday. “It will be a complete FOQA (Flight Operations Quality Assurance) audit,” he said. The FOQA is the process of obtaining and analysing all kinds of data from flights to improve the safety and efficiency of future flight operations, PTI reports. “All Indian airlines will undergo the special safety audit that has begun. In the first phase, we are ... Read more

The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) has urged the Indian government to initiate direct flights between Thiruvananthapuram and various European cities, to rekindle interest among European guests to visit the state of Kerala. ATTOI President Vinod CS has said that starting air travel services to cities like Frankfurt, London, Zurich and Dublin will help to rejuvenate the tourism sector in Kerala, especially in the post-COVID scenario. “The greater connectivity to Europe will help European travellers to visit us more often, thus contributing more foreign exchange earnings for the state,” he said. “I hope the Central government can expedite ... Read more

Chandy’s Windy Woods, Munnar, has been awarded by TripAdvisor, as the “first among the best 25 luxury hotels in India” and also as the “9th among top 25 hotels in Asia”. It also has been ranked “17th among world’s top 25 hotels”. Chandy’s Windy Woods, Munnar, has always been a “classic choice” for family vacations, honey mooning, destination weddings and corporate events, the hotel management said in a statement. “We believe our success mantra to be our quality service, hospitality, food and of course the breath-taking view of the tea plantation from every room,” the statement added. “We are humbled by this ... Read more

Kerala’s Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran has termed the Central Government decision to lease out the Thiruvananthapuram Airport to Adani Enterprises as a “big scam”. “This is daylight robbery. Despite our requests, the airport has been leased to the Adani group, which is a large conglomerate,” the minister said. Adani has won the rights to operate the airport for 50 years. The Kerala government has been opposing privatisation of the Thiruvananthapuram airport for a long time. The state had even expressed willingness to create a separate company to run the airport. The minister termed the privatization move as unacceptable citing that ... Read more

The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the proposal for leasing out three airports, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram, to Adani Enterprises that won these in an auction last year. Billionaire Gautam Adani-led private developer had emerged as the successful bidder in a global competitive bidding conducted by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).  The AAI will get an upfront amount of Rs 1,070 crore from handing over the airports to the private developer, said Union minister Prakash Javadekar. “The upfront amount of Rs 1,070 crore that will come to AAI will be used for developing airports in smaller airports. The other benefit ... Read more

Thailand’s tourism ministry aims to introduce its “Safe and Sealed” tourism plan in Phuket by October 1, while operators in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai are teaming up as a northern hub for long-stay travellers, Bangkok Post has reported. Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the ministry will join a meeting with Public Health, Interior, Foreign and Transport ministries on August 27 about the plan to open the country to tourists from low-risk cities or provinces who seek an excursion to Thailand. After a plan is developed, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) must approve it before launching the scheme. ... Read more

India is negotiating with 13 countries, including Australia, Japan and Singapore, to establish separate bilateral air bubble arrangements for international flight operations, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said. Under a bilateral air bubble pact, airlines of both the countries can operate international flights with certain restrictions. Puri said on Twitter air bubbles have also been proposed with our neighbours Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan. Since July, India has established such bubbles with the following countries – the US, the UK, France, Germany, the UAE, Qatar and the Maldives. “We are now taking these efforts forward & ... Read more

Effective August 21, Etihad Airways will operate a series of special passenger flights from Abu Dhabi to Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai. The flights can be booked through Hala Travel Management, Etihad’s travel management arm, by calling +971 2 511 7777, or via email at support@htm.ae . Flights must be booked at least 24 hours in advance. The mandatory documentation required will be collected and processed by Hala travel consultants.  Travellers leaving Abu Dhabi to India are required to show a negative COVID-19 PCR test result from a government accredited medical facility, received within 96 hours prior to departure. This negative result certificate will exempt ... Read more

The cost of the restrictions on travel introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is there for all to see. Between January and May, the sudden and rapid fall in tourist arrivals cost an estimated $320 billion. That’s three times greater than the impact of the Great Recession of 2007-2009 on our sector – and this is just for the first five months of the year,UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili has said. The re-opening of borders to tourism is a welcome relief to millions who depend on our sector. But this alone is not enough, especially in view of recent announcements and ... Read more

KTM President Baby Mathew Somatheeram has said the state government’s announcement to support the tourism sector with a financial package, should have come earlier. “I am happy that such a move has happened at least now, though there has been some delay. It should have happened earlier. For months, KTM has been trying to ask the government for this support. Every month we have been following up,” he said. Still, many things are yet to be announced, he added. For example, support for the houseboat sector. KTM had met with the chief minister and tourism minister, finance minister, industries minister ... Read more

The Kerala government will shortly announce a relief package aimed at homestays and houseboats, CKTI President EM Najeeb has said. CKTI President EM Najeeb said he has personally met the minister to congratulate him for the relief package announced. “The government’s relief package is a morale booster for the entire Kerala tourism industry. The industry will stand united and support the government,” he said. “The minister has assured me that shortly the government will announce a relief package for homestays, houseboats and guides,” Najeeb said. “Kerala’s tourism sector will get rejuvenated by this move. Considering that the Union government has ... Read more

Kerala Tourism has announced a Rs 455 crore loan scheme to support the sector which has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, in a move that’s bound to bring substantial relief to the industry. The scheme known as the Chief Minister’s Special Tourism Loan Fund will benefit both entrepreneurs and employees of the sector who are struggling to keep themselves afloat. As per the scheme announced by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, 2,500 large scale entrepreneurs in the sector can avail working capital loans from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. Besides that,  2,500 small scale tourism entrepreneurs can avail ... Read more

Leading tourism associations have come forward to congratulate the Kerala state government’s decision to announce a financial package worth Rs 455 crore, which will be used to provide loans to entrepreneurs and employees in the industry. ATTOI President Vinod CS said he would like to congratulate the State Government, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Secretary Rani George and all the officials of the tourism department for putting together this package. “This is will be highly beneficial for the sector,” he said. “Covid-19 has destroyed the sector. Many had lost their jobs and entrepreneurs didn’t have a clue on how to ... Read more