Tag: covid-19

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has written to Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal and Tourism minister Prahlad Singh Patel urging the government to take various steps to protect the travel industry. In his letter IATO President Pronab Sarkar said, “We hope that the tourism industry which is the most affected sector due to Covid -19, will get considerable relief from the government both for survival and revival.” As result of the pandemic, the travel & hospitality industry in India is in dire straits today. There are nil revenues and almost all tourism businesses are running out of ... Read more

Kerala Tourism has assisted the repatriation of 268 tourists, most of them British, who were not able to return home due to the ban on international flights. The tourists have left for London on a British Airways flight, chartered by the British High Commission in India. The deputy high commissioner of Britain in Bengaluru was personally present at Kochi to oversee the repatriation, Kerala Tourism secretary Rani George said in a note. Joint director of Kerala Tourism Raj Kumar and his team in Kochi, and deputy director Biju and his team in Thiruvananthapuram provided the ground support for the repatriation. ... Read more

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the US hospitality sector hard. About 80% of rooms in the US are empty, according to a new study. Hotel occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room were down significantly year-over-year for the week of March 29 through April 4, per a new report from STR, a firm that analyses hospitality industry data. Compared with the week of March 31 to April 6 last year, hotel occupancy was down nearly 70%, with only 21.6% rooms filled. “Data worsened a bit from last week, and certain patterns were extended around occupancy,” Jan Freitag, STR’s ... Read more

The national committee of IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) has urged the entrepreneurs, employees & self-employed stakeholders, to participate in a nationwide e-signature campaign as a follow-up appeal to the Prime Minister of India, to prevent loss of jobs and revenue in the tourism sector. Travel agencies, tour operators, GDS & technology companies, travel & tourism training institutes, tourist guides, home stays and the entire supply chain of travel & tourism businesses in India, should participate in the campaign, IATA said. To participate one can e-sign the appeal online @IAAI, or visit website: iaai.in, IAAI president Biji Eapen said. ... Read more

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), including leaders from the tourism sector, has requested the Kerala chief minister to provide a subsistence allowance of Rs 9,000 for every employee in the sector. In a virtual conference attended by Pinarayi Vijayan, the tourism industry said the moratorium for loans and interests should be extended for a minimum period of one year. A soft loan with low interest rate for the industry to meet the costs for a year, electricity to be charged on actual usage basis for the hospitality sector, GST holiday for the tourism industry for a year and road ... Read more

The calamity that we are facing, is looming large in front of us. There is a virus tsunami that we have to contend with and then there is the economic tsunami related to capital. We have to talk of survival first, before the talk of revival. The tourism sector has been the first hit, the hardest hit and it will take the longest for revival. Therefore, we need survival measures. Special support should be given to the hospitality sector that needs high capital investment, thereby creating large employment. As far as capital is concerned, the RBI governor has announced some ... Read more

Business is not about planning alone. It’s about expectations too. Whatever we plan may receive a setback all of a sudden. That’s what happened to the hospitality industry across the globe during the Covid-19 attack . As we all know, ours is a fragile industry. Natural calamities, seasons, recession, epidemics etc have its own influence on this sector. So expectations play a big role in the hospitality industry. I am talking about the post Corona scenario of Kerala Tourism.We have expectations that the business would again start coming in or there will be a boom within six months or so. ... Read more

The coronavirus crisis can result in 18-20% erosion of nationwide occupancy across the hospitality sector, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has said. The cascading effect of the global coronavirus pandemic is crippling the country’s tourism and hospitality industry at an “astonishing pace”, the industry body noted. Hence, the ICC has recommended setting up of a ‘Travel & Tourism Stabilisation Fund’ with direct benefit transfer to each unit to prevent financial loss and consequent job loss. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) has come down by about 67% annually in the January-March quarter, while for domestic tourists, the figure is lower by nearly ... Read more

They say every crisis brings with it certain opportunities. The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted the travel and tourism sector to an unimaginable extent yet it throws open new possibilities. Once we see the back of this virus, many people would want to travel domestically to places like Kerala to reduce the stress that has piled on, says Anish Kumar P.K, CEO of The Travel Planners, in an interview. Excerpts: Q: What Is the future of travel after Coronavirus? A: The current coronavirus crisis is impacting everyone’s lives. We can no longer go out to the movies, see our friends, and ... Read more

British Airways had decided to temporarily suspend more than 30,000 of its cabin crew and ground staff, following the corona virus outbreak. The airline, which has grounded most of its fleet, has been locked in talks with unions for more than a week. BA boss Alex Cruz told staff that a large majority of employees would be suspended for the next two months. He said the government’s job retention scheme would fund 80% of their wages. Explaining the decision, Cruz said: “We need to act now to protect jobs and ensure that BA comes out the other side of this ... Read more

Amid the corona virus pandemic that has grounded a majority of planes across the world, Qatar Airways Cargo has said it has started 19 weekly flights between Doha and India to get goods such as pharmaceutical products using its passenger aircraft. These flights are scheduled to start from Wednesday. “These flights will be in addition to the cargo carrier’s existing freighter services and have been introduced as a result of strong demand for Indian products such as pharmaceuticals and fresh produce,” a press statement by the airline said. The airline will operate freight-only passenger aircraft to Delhi (3 weekly flights), ... Read more

For travel lovers stuck at home looking for a virtual positive break, Visit Orlando has compiled a list of 20-plus virtual thrills including 360-degree online experiences, new Facebook Live broadcasts, live streamings of special films and YouTube videos. “We recognize that now, more than ever, we all want to escape from reality, even if it’s just for a moment,” said George Aguel, President & CEO of Visit Orlando. “Whether you like floating down a lazy river in one of our resort pools or immersing yourself into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we hope these experiences provide a much-needed break ... Read more

I am sure the impact of the killer virus Covid-19 has created sleepless nights for millions of people around the globe. The most devastated sectors – tourism and travel – are at a standstill. But it is not the time to find fault or beg for financial packages from governments, which are looking only to save millions of lives. Kerala’s tourism industry leaders had sought financial but I felt it was too early and had no backing of data. Many of them were excited when the word “moratorium” without understanding the financial burden which will add up later. I would ... Read more

United Airlines is partnering with New York City to provide free round-trip flights for medical volunteers who want to help in the frontline fight against the COVID-19 crisis. The airline is working closely with the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and a network of medical volunteer organizations, including The Society of Critical Care Medicine, to coordinate travel for doctors, nurses and other medical professionals from across the country to help treat patients, in this time of unprecedented need. “Our healthcare workers are heroes, and they need reinforcements,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This generous partnership ... Read more

Stranded Russian tourists who were scheduled to be evacuated on Saturday from Thiruvananthapuram, were not able to leave India with Russian authorities closing down the airspace. The evacuation by Ural Airlines was scheduled to happen by 2 pm. The Russian Embassy in Delhi, the Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Thiruvananthapuram, Ratheesh C Nair and others are in continuous dialogue with the concerned officials to pave the way for the departure. Most of the stranded Russian tourists are women and youngsters who were camping in Varkala, one of Kerala’s most scenic beaches. A WhatsApp group was created to coordinate ... Read more