Category: Second Headline

Kerala Tourism has stated that hotels accommodating non-resident Keralites (NRKs) on paid quarantine will have to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) as detailed below: PRE- REQUISITES AND CONDITIONS • The guests willing for paid quarantine should register themselves with the online portal designed for paid quarantine hotel bookings. The details of persons shall also be provided. • The guest should not be having any symptoms at the time of checking in at the hotel • Only family members who have travelled with them would be allowed to share the hotel room. • The guests should be willing to abide ... Read more

All leading industry associations representing the Indian tourism sector have expressed shock over the central government’s position of not addressing any of its concerns in the economic stimulus package, though the sector is in a standstill ravaged by the epidemic. Key industry body, the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), said the Indian tourism industry is deeply taken aback by the fact that none of its concerns have been addressed by the government in its economic stimulus package. “Indian tourism industry has gone into a state of disbelief and shock. It was looking forward to a deep ... Read more

Kerala’s tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran has said that the state’s tourism sector has incurred a loss of Rs 15,000 crore due to the coronavirus induced lockdown. The minister said that a rejuvenation package for tourism in the state has been prepared and will be implemented to attract tourists to the state after the COVID-19 crisis ends. “The state has incurred Rs 15,000 crore loss in tourism sector. We have prepared a project and submitted it to the Chief Minister in this regard. We are planning to bring a rejuvenation package for the tourism sector in the state,” Surendran said. He ... Read more

How many Malayalis have seen the Champakkulam boat race live, after having a grand breakfast at a luxury villa? How many Malayalis have seen the Aranmula kannadi, while being educated on it by experts? Or let’s say how many have actually seen the Thrissur pooram and then retreated into a spa at a five star property? How many have seen a live Kathakali performance while experiencing the hospitality at any of Kerala’s leading resorts? Or let’s ask how many have undergone a panchakarma treatment or stayed in a luxury houseboat for a night? While all these may sound familiar, the ... Read more

India, like the rest of the countries of the world, is fighting the spectre of COVID-19. An immediate fallout of the pandemic has been the unprecedented loss of lives despite the tenacious efforts by the governments. To add to the misery, the global economy is now in shambles, affecting all kinds of businesses and development. More than 100 countries have closed borders, global supply chains are disrupted, while people have lost jobs and their means of livelihood. COVID-19 has severely impacted the tourism industry in India. Flights, trains, and public transport have ceased operations, while hotels and resorts have shut ... 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

Kerala tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran has stated that the government will come up with a new economic proposal in the next few days, listing a clutch of measures to help the industry survive the corona crisis. He said tourism secretary Rani George has submitted a note to the government, which will now be considered for discussion and subsequent ratification. Addressing the various tourism industry stakeholders through a virtual conference on Tuesday, the minister said the note will be discussed with the chief minister and the finance minister. “Tourism is a sector that had generated Rs 45,000 crore last year, moving ... Read more

On Tuesday at around 9.30 am, an Air India flight took off from the Thiruvananthapuram airport carrying with it German and other European nationals, after days of ground work by scores of tourism department officials. “Kerala Tourism is happy that we could be of assistance to tourists to enable them to return home during this crisis,” Kerala Tourism secretary Rani George has said. The Department of Tourism and the Consulate of Germany worked together for the successful repatriation of the 232 tourists. For the last one week, the officials of the department of tourism and the various help desks have ... Read more

With the hospitality sector facing a complete shutdown due to the corona virus pandemic, the Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) is placing a special emphasis on online refresher courses to keep tourism and hospitality employees productive and engaged. ATTOI is looking at the possibility of every job in the industry having a set protocol to follow and a handbook that will list down the processes that need to be adhered to. ATTOI President Vinod CS says such an initiative will help the employees update themselves during this period of inactivity. “Today everyone has access to smart phones and ... Read more

Kerala’s leading hotels and resorts are confident that the current gloomy scenario that has risen out of the corona virus pandemic, will be a temporary phenomenon. The various representatives of the hospitality sector have said that normalcy will return within a few weeks, as governments around the world are trying their best to contain the health hazard. Dr.Raja Gopaal IyerCEOUDS Hotels “We have taken precautionary measures regarding basic hygiene of all their employees and existing guests. Business was going on good as usual. But because of sudden outbreak of COVID19 there have been cancellations. Corporate clients have deferred the original ... Read more

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has unequivocally stated that no tourist coming into Kerala should feel harassed, due to the stringent virus testing measures initiated by the government, in the wake of the corona outbreak. “No one should be forced to leave,” he said while addressing a review meeting on the situation on Saturday. The chief minister has said that all stakeholders should ensure that the inbound tourists don’t face any difficulty. However, as part of the precautionary measures they have to be in isolation at their place of stay. A health department advisory has categorised the tourists as high ... Read more

Tourist destinations in Kerala are all set to go “differently-abled friendly” by 2021, said state tourism minister Kadamapally Surendran, while replying to a question by MLA Veena George. The government has identified around 120 tourist spots across the state in the first phase. Of these, 98 destinations have already been made completely specially-abled friendly “The work on the remaining centres are in progress, all the specially-abled friendly tourist spots will have special parking areas and toilet facilities,” said the minister. Besides this, special tourism packages for the specially-abled were also being implemented under the Responsible Tourism initiative, the minister added. ... Read more

India’s tourism industry will discuss in depth methods to improve personalised travel plan using latest technologies in the industry the world over, as Kochi is set to host the 3rd International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT) beginning on Thursday. Kerala’s Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran will inaugurate the September 26-27 event, where around 500 delegates are set to benefit from half-a-dozen sessions that aim to enrich owners of hotels and resorts, online tourism marketing managers and tour operators with newest ways of bettering business. The two-day meet at Le Meridien will pay special attention on stronger application of artificial intelligence in ... Read more

Ibis Kolkata The GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising representatives of all states and Union Territories, met today in Goa. The GST Council has agreed to lower tax rates imposed on the hotel industry. The 37th meeting of the GST Council has decided to tax hotels with room tariff of Rs 7,500 and above at 18 per cent instead of the earlier 28 per cent. Hotels with tariffs in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 7,500 will have to pay GST at a rate of 12 per cent. Lastly, hotels with tariffs below Rs ... Read more

During India’s 73rd Independence Day today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to travel to at least 15 tourist destinations within India by 2022. He also said that there is a “huge” scope to improve India’s tourism sector in his address to the nation from the Red Fort. The PM also said that India has so much to offer and that if domestic tourism increases it will, by default, attract international tourists. “I know people travel abroad for holidays but can we think of visiting at least 15 tourist destinations across India before 2022, when we mark 75 years of ... Read more