Category: India

After over two months of closure due to the coronavirus lockdown, monuments and tourist attractions in Rajasthan have reopened. But there hasn’t been any footfalls yet. Tourism stakeholders have welcomed the government decision to allow reopening of these places but are also concerned as the pandemic continues to rage. “On the first day of reopening, we organised a cultural performance by folk artistes at 32 monuments in the state including in capital city. It was to mark the reopening of the monuments,” Prakash Chandra Sharma, Director, Department of Archaeology and Museum, told PTI. He said that domestic tourists mostly visit ... Read more

Madhya Pradesh, the central Indian state, is ready to welcome tourists back again after the relaxation of lockdown measures. Madhya Pradesh Tourism has shared a photo of luxury caravans on its Instagram page to invite tourists who would be interested in exploring the state without compromising on social distancing norms. “Rent a homely caravan with Madhya Pradesh (MP) tourism and go on to explore the Heart of India. This well-equipped vehicle ensures a chamber for the driver and you can enjoy a safe ride in your own bubbled space. A journey via caravan is all the more comforting and also ... Read more

In accordance with relaxations in lockdown conditions as announced by the West Bengal government, Sinclairs Burdwan is reopening its property from June 5. The rooms, suite and the restaurant will start functioning from that date, but the bar will remain closed till further notice. The swimming pool also will not be operational. At Sinclairs Burdwan, high standards of cleanliness will be  maintained with special emphasis on hand washing hygiene to sanitising of guestrooms and common areas, the hotel said in a press release on Tuesday.  Sinclairs Burdwan is spread over approximately 4 acres of land and in view of its ... Read more

International passenger flights to and from India will not resume immediately, as the ban imposed by various countries on the entry of foreigners need to be addressed first, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said. Domestic services were suspended in India due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown and resumed after a gap of two months on May 25. Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country. “Numerous citizens have been approaching us to restart international flights. Several factors need to be addressed. Many international destinations are not allowing incoming passenger traffic, except for their own citizens or ... Read more

Hospitality firm Oyo is trying to assuage the hurt of its furloughed employees, by offering them employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) worth around Rs 130 crore. An internal e-mail from its founder Ritesh Agarwal said the move is part of the company’s efforts to minimise the disruption experienced by these employees, news agency PTI said. On April 8, Agarwal had said in a letter that the company will place a certain number of employees on furloughs or temporary leaves, globally. In an internal town hall note to the impacted employees, Agarwal on Monday said that while he hoped that the ... Read more

The Dekho Apna Desh series, promoted by the Ministry of Tourism, talks about how India is best seen on a bicycle. Over to the cycling duo of Tejaswini Gopalaswamy and Gurdeep Ramakrishna, who run Unventured Expeditions: Having travelled to various parts of India and across different parts of the world, one of the things that makes us interested about India is that every 200 kms food, culture, the way the people speak or their way of life changes. That’s what inspires us to get out and travel and we have chosen the humble bicycle as the means to get around and explore India. So, I ... Read more

MakeMyTrip has said it is laying off 350 employees, as its business continues to suffer on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said that it was not clear when travelling will become a way of life again. The decision was announced by MakeMyTrip CEO Deep Kalra in the form of letter to the employees. “As we revisited some of our strategic imperatives to be able to sustain our business in the long term, it is evident that the pandemic has changed the context and viability of some of our business lines in its current form. Keeping this in mind ... Read more

The Central government has dropped two tourism projects worth Rs 154 crore, proposed by Kerala, under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. The proposed projects included the Sivagiri pilgrimage circuit and a spiritual circuit linking 133 places of worship right across Kerala. The Union Ministry of Tourism has not cited any reason for dropping the ₹69.47-crore Sree Narayana Guru spiritual circuit and the ₹85.23-crore spiritual circuit, in its letter to the Kerala Tourism secretary. The two projects were initially approved under Swadesh Darshan — as part of integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits — in 2014-15. State Minister for Tourism Kadakampally Surendran ... Read more

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday announced phase-wise resumption of economic activities in areas outside Covid-19 containment zones. The guidelines will come into play from June 1 and would be effective till June 30. Hotels, malls and restaurants to open Activities to be allowed from June 8 as part of Phase 1 plan: Religious places of worship for public, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services. Shopping malls to be allowed to open from June 8. Health Ministry would issue SOPs for the above activities, in consultation with the Central Ministries/ Departments concerned and other stakeholders, for ensuring social distancing and to ... Read more

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) warned on Friday that swarms of locusts could pose serious danger to flights during take-off and landing. “Generally, locusts are found at lower levels and therefore pose a threat to aircraft in the critical landing and take-off phase of the flight,” the aviation regulator noted in its circular. “Almost all air intake ports of the aircraft will be prone to ingestion in large numbers, if the aircraft flies through a swarm.” The circular said that though a single locust is small in size, the pilot’s forward vision can be impeded if large numbers ... Read more

The Karnataka government on Thursday said it has asked for restrictions on the number of flights from five states, namely Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. There is no ban on flights from these states, the government clarified. In a press release late on Thursday evening, the government said, “The state government has requested the Civil Aviation Ministry to reduce the number of flights, emanating from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to Karnataka, in view of the high number of Covid-19 cases prevalent there.” The minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, J C Madhuswamy, has ... Read more

A joint forum of Air India employees and staff unions has sought from the Central government a Rs 50,000 crore financial package for the national carrier, stating that the airline is a necessity for the country. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Joint Forum said that Air India is a “necessity” for the country, especially in times of crises, and a financial package will not only help the flag carrier but also the entire aviation sector and the economy. “We thank you for the financial package of Rs 20 lakh crores to boost industry and the economy. ... Read more

Representatives from the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) met Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Wednesday, to apprise him of the acute distress faced by the industry. The delegation urged the minister for financial support to tour operators so that they are not forced to close down their business, IATO said in a statement. The tour operators are not in a position to pay salaries to their staff since there is no business and they are under acute financial stress, it added. IATO has also asked for special collateral free and interest free long-term loans (5-10 years) to ... Read more

From today, flights will resume from Kolkata. Due to cyclone ‘Amphan’ that killed more than 80 people in the state, leaving thousands homeless last week, West Bengal government had decided not to restart domestic flight services from Monday. Almost all the other prominent cities in India have restarted airline operations. Passengers who are flying to Kolkata need to follow a host of guidelines issued by Mamata Banerjee-led government. From self-declaration to 14-day mandatory quarantine, here are the new rules for air travellers in West Bengal. Passengers must wear face covers or mask at the airport. Social distancing norms should be ... Read more

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has urged mall owners across the country to waive off rentals during the lock-down period and renegotiate commercial terms going forward. NRAI has written to mall owners to urgently resolve commercial concerns of food and beverage retailers, whose business has been hit very hard by the pandemic. “The mandated lock-down has forced us to shut shop and prevent the malls to allow entry to our guests, staff or suppliers. This is a clear case of force majeure and therefore all charges of rentals or common area maintenance for the duration of the lock-down ... Read more