Tag: covid-19 pandemic

Private airline Vistara is likely to start flight operations between India and the UK, Germany and France under the bilateral air bubble arrangements that have been signed with these countries, news agency PTI has said. Earlier this month, India and the UK signed a bilateral air pact, under which the airlines of both the countries can operate international flights with certain restrictions. India had signed similar bilateral pacts with Germany and France in July. Vistara got its second B787-9 wide-body aircraft on Saturday. It received its first B787-9 aircraft in February. “Vistara has already got the slots at the Heathrow ... Read more

Singaporeans will be given $320 million in “tourism credits” to spend domestically as part of a campaign to prop up local businesses, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced on Monday. The credits will be called SingapoRediscovers Vouchers, named as part of the $45 million campaign launched last month to drive local spending at Singapore’s eateries, shops, hotels and leisure attractions, Straits Times has reported. Heng, who is also Finance Minister, noted in his ministerial statement that foreign visitor arrivals have dried up due to travel restrictions. “Many Singaporeans love to travel but are unable to do so now. Local consumption ... Read more

The Fern Hotels & Resortshas opened a new property called The Fern Royal Farm Resort in Anjar-Kutch, Gujarat, in a move that could give confidence to others in the hospitality industry. This is the 20th hotel which the company is managing in the state. Overall, the company’s count has extended to 76 hotels across the country and in Nepal and Seychelles. Suhail Kannampilly, the CEO of the company said, “We are growing from strength to strength in Gujarat. This is our 20th property in the state and we are expecting to open a few more hotels in Gujarat over the coming months”. The Fern Royal Farm Resort, ... Read more

Air passenger numbers in Europe are expected to drop by 60% in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, the global aviation industry has said. Although air traffic in Europe has increased in recent months since its low point in April, flights remain “more than 50% below the same period in 2019″—a drop of around 705 million passenger journeys, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said. “The near-term outlook for recovery in Europe remains highly uncertain with respect to the second wave of the pandemic and the broader global economic impact it could have,” IATA said in a statement. IATA ... Read more

COVID 19 has changed the world order and the Travel and Tourism industry has been the worst hit. In order to usher in the new normal and build trust in travellers to travel again World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has come out with a global standard. WTTC has curated a ” SAFE TRAVELS STAMP ” as the new symbol of Trust for Travel and Tourism industry. Association of Tourism Trade Organizations, India (ATTOI) has partnered with WTTC for India, to promote and propagate this trust with tourism businesses in India. The World Travel & Tourism Council represents the Travel ... Read more

Madhya Pradesh Tourism has launched its new campaign ‘#IntezaarKhatamHua’ to build confidence and trust amongst travellers and to keep the audience engaged during monsoon by featuring major monsoon tourism attractions. As part of the campaign, travel influencers will visit various destinations of Madhya Pradesh as per the travel itinerary designed to promote the places during monsoon. The itinerary starting from Bhopal will cover Amargarh falls, Bhimbetka, Tawa, Madai, Pchmarhi, Tamia, Patalkot, Pachmarhi and from Indore the destinations covered will be Indore, Patalpani, Choral Dam, Jam Gate, Vanchu Point, Janapav, Mandu, Maheshwar, Omkareshwar and Sailani. The influencers will travel to these ... Read more

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has announced that a dedicated fund will be constituted for people to contribute towards the development of his government’s ambitious Ram Van Gaman tourism circuit project. “Chhattisgarh is ‘nanihal‘ (maternal place) of Lord Ram. He had also spent most of his time in Chhattisgarh during his exile from Ayodhya,” Baghel said. “To keep the memories linked to Lord Ram and Mata Kashulayaa live, the state government has undertaken the Ram Van Gaman Tourism Circuit project and began its speedy implementation,” Baghel said. “In order to give an opportunity to the people of the state to ... Read more

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has announced that from Monday, e-passes will be approved for anyone who needs it. At present e-passes can be applied only for important purposes like medical emergencies, deaths and weddings. However, the state government has said the relaxation applies only for those wanting e-passes for inter-district travel within Tamil Nadu, while for those coming in from other states and countries, the existing norms will continue to apply. The Chief Minister said that he has ordered the authorities to approve e-pass applications immediately for those who are applying with their phone numbers and details ... Read more

Startups in Europe’s travel sector have levelled allegations of anti-competitive behaviour against Google. The search engine giant has a near complete grip on the search market in Europe, with a regional market share in excess of 90%, according to Statcounter. Industry sources say a majority of travel bookings start as a Google search — giving the tech giant huge leverage over the coronavirus hit sector, TechCrunch has reported. More than half a dozen travel startups in Germany are united in a shared complaint that Google is abusing its search dominance in a number of ways they argue are negatively impacting their businesses. Complaints ... Read more

Around 50 Air India pilots have received termination letters and have sought the intervention of the management on the issue of “illegal termination” of pilots from service. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), in a letter to Rajiv Bansal, Air India’s Chairman and Managing Director, said that around 50 pilots have received illegal termination letters from the Personnel Department in blatant violation of company’s operation manual and service rules. “What’s happening? Around 50 of our pilots have been terminated overnight unceremoniously without proper procedure being followed. A rude shock for those who served the nation in this pandemic putting the ... Read more

The Ladakh, Leh and Kargil regions will be developed and declared as a carbon neutral region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day speech on Saturday. While the concept of carbon neutral villages have been looked at in India in the past and some villages in Kerala and Manipur have adopted it, this will be the first large region to be carbon neutral. “Just like Sikkim has positioned itself as an organic state, the Ladakh, Kargil and Leh region is moving in the direction of becoming carbon neutral. This will be achieved with participation from local people,” PM ... Read more

The US Department of Homeland Security has said that a COVID-19 ban on non-essential travel through border crossings with Canada and Mexico was being extended until September 21. The reciprocal travel ban aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus was first imposed in March and has been extended several times since then, AFP has reported. “We continue to work with our Canadian and Mexican partners to slow the spread of #COVID19,” acting US Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said on Twitter. “Accordingly, we have agreed to extend the limitation of non-essential travel at our shared land ports of entry through ... Read more

Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will resume its India operations, under the air bubble arrangement between the UK and Indian government. The carrier plans to operate three flights a week from Delhi to London Heathrow, starting from September 2, and four flights a week from Mumbai to London, September 17 onwards. Both the destinations will offer connections to New York JFK and will operate on 787-9 Dreamliner. Virgin Atlantic will operate temporarily from Terminal 2 at Heathrow. Alex McEwan, commercial manager India, Virgin Atlantic said, “This year marks 20 years of flying between the UK and India and we are ... Read more

The Singapore Tourism Board has partnered with Tripoto to launch a microsite within the latter’s website in an effort to keep Singapore in the minds of the Indian audience. The microsite is a one-stop guide for Indian travellers with content that encourages them to ‘Rediscover Now, Travel Later’. One of the key content features of the microsite is the ‘Singapore@home’ which invites the audience to explore the virtual experiences of some of the best attractions of Singapore and tourist offerings. There is also a collection of edutainment series ‘Try this at home, Tips from Singapore’ which features various Singaporean personalities ... Read more

Penghu, the archipelago to the west of Taiwan’s main island, received more visitors in July than during the six previous months combined. As the impact of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) in Taiwan lessens while overseas travel remains difficult, more Taiwanese are traveling around the country, often heading for small islands such as Green Island and Orchid Island in the south-eastern county of Taitung. Holidaymakers are also headed in the other direction, traveling by ship or plane to Penghu County, in the middle of the Taiwan Strait, Channel News Asia (CNA) has reported. The islands welcomed 290,000 visitors in July compared to 182,860 ... Read more