Category: Kerala

The Russian tourists stranded in India will fly out of the country from Thiruvananthapuram on April 8. The evacuation by Ural Airlines will happen tomorrow at 1.35 pm. The Russian Embassy in Delhi, the Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Thiruvananthapuram, Ratheesh C Nair and others were in continuous dialogue with the concerned officials regarding repatriation of Russian citizens. 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 the efforts and service of a Russian psychologist was made available to ... 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

Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) is inviting all the stakeholders of the entire tourism industry in Kerala to a scheduled virtual meeting on Tuesday. The virtual conference on April 7, to be hosted on Zoom, will start at 12.20 pm IST. Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampalli Surendran will also join the meeting. For joining the online session you have to download the Zoom software from your Google Playstore. You can use your laptop/desktop/smartphone for this purpose. Make sure you have a microphone, camera and uninterrupted internet connection and your surrounding must be quiet while attending the session. Join Zoom ... 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

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

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

New York is one of the largest metropolitan cities in the world, with a population of more than half of that of Kerala. The US city had enough time to combat the corona virus but it couldn’t handle the health crisis the way Kerala managed, though the south Indian state was affected pretty early by the rampaging pandemic. The Covid-19 virus first came to Kerala through a medical student who came from Wuhan, and that happened a full one month before the virus hit New York. Yet, New York couldn’t handle the virus like Kerala did. And that’s a testimony ... Read more

Kerala’s healthcare system has always enjoyed an exalted status on India’s tourism map. Medical tourism and ayurveda have been two stellar hotspots attached to the Kerala tourism brand and it’s probably fair to say that the state’s fame as a healthcare destination has gone beyond national boundaries. In yet another story that showcases Kerala’s distinct medical advantage, the Government Medical College (GMC) Ernakulam has been able to treat a British tourist and cure him of the dreaded corona virus. Brian Neil, a 57-year-old British national, who was admitted with severe COVID-19 pneumonia symptoms on March 15 has been discharged from ... Read more

The corona virus pandemic will change the tourism sector forever. It will change the way the sector will do its business, maintain its hygiene and treats its guests. In an interview, Hycinth Hotels Manager S K Sinha says considerable damage has been done to the morale of the employees and that’s probably more difficult to measure than the actual loss in monetary terms. Excerpts: Q: The hospitality industry is going through probably its worst ever phase in history. Did you think that the crisis would end up having such a devastating effect on the industry? A: Definitely no. This pandemic ... Read more

Firstly, the coronavirus outbreak is a human tragedy, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. It is also having a growing impact on the global economy and the impact would depend on how long the epidemic lasts. Travel and tourism industry has been hit economically due to outbreak of coronavirus with many prospective domestic and foreign tourists cancelling their travel plans. This global pandemic has prompted the Indian government to impose increasingly tough restrictions on travel resulting in further drop in hotel occupancies since the imposition of the ban. Here I would like to emphasize on a few points how the ... 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

There is an imminent need for pricing to be cut down for the houseboat industry to survive. Pricing should be kept under check till at least December. In an interview, Sreekumar, Director of Sree Tours, Kumarakom, says certification should be provided to all boats depending on the hygiene standards. The government should look to provide a year-long tax holiday for tour packages, he adds. Excerpts: Q: The houseboat industry is going through probably its worst ever phase. Did you think that the crisis would end up having such a devastating effect on the industry? A: Yes, it’s going to be ... Read more

The tourism sector is about to undergo a transformation. There is bound to be significant restructuring especially in the hospitality sector and wage correction is expected at the top managerial levels. In an exclusive interview, Sajan Joseph, CEO and Co – Founder at BreakOut Hotels tells us the importance of keeping cash reserves. Liquidity is so important to tide over such a crisis, he feels. Excerpts: Q: The hospitality industry is going through probably its worst ever phase in history. Did you think that the crisis would end up having such a devastating effect on the industry? A: Who would ... Read more

Kerala Tourism has suggested, on its Instagram handle, five books to read about the state during the lock-down. ‘The God of Small Things’ (Arundhati Roy), ‘Small Town Sea’ (Anees Salim), ‘Where the Rain is Born’ (ed. Anita Nair), ‘Ivory Throne: Chronicles of The House of Travancore’ (Manu Pillai) and the ‘Litanies of Dutch Battery’ (NS Madhavan) are the books listed. All the five books explore the soul of Kerala. For all of you locked down at home, these wonderfully written books will take you right where you want to be – in the midst of nature.

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