Category: India

Apart from the health hazards and causalities, one of the worst effects of the pandemic is that it has isolated many people and forced them to confine to their homes for safety reasons. Family functions, get together with friends and team outings have always helped people connect with family, peers, and colleagues. This has taken a serious blow and a feeling of isolation has overshadowed lives. Christmas and New Year are round the corner and it is time to work on your holiday plans, modify them to make sure you and your loved ones stay safe. The safety of your ... Read more

Leading tourism associations have come forward to congratulate the Kerala state government’s decision to open the Tourism sector for the tourists. Association of Tourism Trade Organizations India (ATTOI) President Vinod CS and Secretary Manu PV said they would like to congratulate the State Government, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Secretary Rani George and all the officials of the tourism department for taking this great initiative. Confederation of Accredited Tour Operators (CATO) President Mr Sanjeev Kumar said he would like to congratulate the state government for taking such a step when the tourism sector most needed it. As per the announcement ... Read more

The Uttarakhand tourism department will provide discount coupons to tourists who check in to hotels and homestays across the state. This pilot project, aimed at improving tourism in the picturesque Himalayan state, comes with a ‘Tourist Incentive Coupon’ worth Rs 1,000, Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj has said. The offer, which will come into effect in the next few days, will be applicable to tourists who make e-bookings for a three-day stay in hotels or homestays in the state, Conde Nast Traveller reports. “The tourists will be given the discount coupon while registering themselves on the government portal under tourist category. ... Read more

Tourism industry body IATO has urged the government to provide immediate relief to the tourism sector, which has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the tour operators have been forced to lay off their staff, many have sent staff on furlough and those who are remaining are getting less than 30%, the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) said in a statement. In light of this, IATO has sought various relief measures from the government. This includes one-time financial grant of the gross salaries amount paid to the staff of tour operators on the basis of the ... Read more

NotOnMap, a social initiative for the marginalized across rural India and StayFlexi, the world’s first flexible and autonomous hospitality company based out of California have come together for their social initiative NotOnMart for rural India. NotOnMart in essence is a small scale community-led initiative that aims to scale up the coordination of micro-sized businesses. The project can turn out to be a major promoting factor for rural tourism, as it supports rural craftsmen. With this initiative, NotOnMap plans to support the livelihood of farmers and craftsmen of rural pockets by connecting them directly to the end-consumer through a tech-enabled platform ... Read more

Hotel aggregator Oyo has decided to extend the furlough period of its Indian employees, by six more months. The furlough period was initially expected to conclude by the end of August. The Gurugram-headquartered company has also introduced a voluntary separation option for those employees who want to move on. Under its voluntary separation plan, Oyo India has also granted restricted stock units to all its employees. Staff who opt for the voluntary separation program are being given a choice to cancel a small portion – around 25% – of their unvested restricted stock units or RSUs and get additional cash ... Read more

Air India has been allowed to conduct ground handling operations at US airports. The airline has called the move as an opportunity for the future. The development has overturned a US Department of Transportation`s July 2019 order whereby Air India`s right to self-handle at US airports was suspended.   An Air India spokesperson said the airline was not affected due to this restriction by the US Department of Transportation to self handle at the US airports as it did not conduct any self-handling of its flights in the US. “However, the relaxation will give us an opportunity to self handle at ... Read more

The Karnataka Tourism Society is inviting membership from travel, tourism and hospitality stakeholders, to revive the industry and create value. The Society is aimed at promoting tourism in the state of Karnataka and to drive the interests of all persons engaged in activities connected with tourism. Tourism contributes 14.8% towards the State’s GDP and supports over 16 million jobs. Karnataka has immense potential to become a world-class destination and the state is trying to support the efforts of the tourism department to globally market it. The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators ... Read more

Telangana is planning to construct a memorial tourism site at former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s village exhibiting his life and struggles. Rao’s native village is Vangara in Warangal.  State tourism minister V Srinivas Goud visited Vangara and revealed the plan for the development of the village as a tourism spot. He said, “The village would be recognised globally to mark the centenary celebrations of late Narasimha Rao.” To continue educating and inspiring the country and its younger generations of  Rao’s personality, the building where he lived will be developed into a museum which will have a photo gallery exhibiting ... Read more

Indians travelling home from UAE no longer need to register with the local consulate, the Consulate General of India in Dubai said in a statement. The registration was required for those traveling on the repatriation flights introduced from May under the Vande Bharat Mission. But “since a number of flights are operational by both UAE and Indian carriers along with flights operated by Air India/Air India Express from Dubai/Sharjah, tickets for which are available online, the process of registration at the website of the Indian Consulate, has been abolished with immediate effect,” the statement said. UAE was among the first ... Read more

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has reviewed the various activities for promoting adventure tourism in India, in the wake of the Covid situation. The Indian government is keen on promoting adventure tourism in the country. Representatives of the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, National Institute of Water Sports, Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering, Indian Mountaineering Foundation and Adventure Tour Operators Association of India participated in the meeting.  During the meeting, Patel was briefed that during 2019-20, the National Institute of Water Sports ( NIWS) held 192 water sports training courses for around four thousand trainees. Patel said ... Read more

Marriott International has curated a selection of handpicked staycation offers across their hotels in India. Guests can book now and indulge in a peaceful getaway until December 31, 2020.  Ensuring maximum flexibility and savings, guest packages will be tailor made, to each unique holiday need and preference. These staycations come with the added benefits of a complimentary pick up and drop, room upgrade on check-in and free stay for kids. That’s not all, select hotels will also let guests indulge in special evenings curated by our chefs or avail of in-room movie experiences, topped with snacks and beverages. Marriott Bonvoy ... Read more

The tourism industry in Goa is banking on drive-in visitors after the mandatory COVID-19 test for domestic travellers at state borders, railway stations and the airport here was lifted as part of easing of lockdown restrictions. Goa Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Nikhil Desai said, initially, the sector will have to depend on drive-in tourists as there is very little response to flights and trains, PTI has reported. ‘Since borders are now open and tourists are allowed to enter Goa without COVID-19 testing, those from neighbouring states are expected to drive into the state in their own vehicles,’ he said. ... Read more

Companies in about half-a-dozen sectors, including hospitality, aviation, travel and tourism, are likely to seek the benefit of one-time loan restructuring which will kick in from September, bankers have said. There may not be a rush for restructuring from corporates as only those sectors which are having cash flow problems are likely to go in for loan recast to avoid the tag of ‘restructured account’, a PTI report said quoting bankers. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) are already covered under the ongoing restructuring scheme which was tweaked earlier this month to cover those impacted by COVID-19 crisis, PTI said. ... Read more

The direct air connectivity between Kochi and Europe, a long-cherished demand of the NRIs and business community, came true on Friday with Air India commencing services in the London-Kochi sector. The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) welcomed the AI 1186 aircraft with a water salute as a mark of gratitude, according to a PTI report. In a statement, CIAL said as part of promoting direct connectivity to Europe, it has decided to waive the entire landing fee of airlines operating direct European services to Kochi. The decision will give instant advantage to the national carrier as it schedules direct London-Kochi flight ... Read more