Category: Kerala

The hospitality sector has been ravaged by the corona virus pandemic, with booking cancellations at a record high. In an interview while detailing the impact that the outbreak is having on the sector, UDS Hotels CEO Dr.Raja Gopaal Iyer says it’s important for hotels to control the costs going forward. Iyer says the strategy should be to depend more on technology and reduce manpower costs. 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: I am ... Read more

The German Consulate has informed the Kerala government that it is planning to evacuate German tourists on March 28. The plan is to bring all of them to Thiruvananthapuram on March 27, and they have drawn up a list of 151 tourists for this purpose. Kerala Tourism secretary Rani George said, “I would request the help desks in association with the volunteer groups to contact them and find out where they have been in past 14 days in Kerala, whether they have any symptoms or tested negative.” ” If not please coordinate to provide assistance to do the tests. This ... Read more

The state government should extend licenses for another six months without the entrepreneur having to make any payment, including bar licenses which are due for renewal shortly. In an exclusive interview, industry veteran Jose Dominic of CGH Earth Group, says a moratorium needs to be declared in this crisis situation to help the sector. If you don’t give a moratorium for loans then all of the tourism industry will become bankrupt, he says. Excerpts: Q: Corona virus has impacted Kerala’s tourism fortunes to a very large extent. Can we attach a value to the loss incurred to Kerala tourism due ... Read more

Kerala has decided to close its borders and enter a lock-down mode, as Covid-19 cases continue to rise. The lock-down will continue till March 31. Essential services will remain open, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Borders will be closed and the state will intensify monitoring activities. The chief minister announced that all liquor shops in the state will remain closed until further orders. These measures were decided during a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister. Public transport will not be allowed to ply but private vehicles will be allowed. Hospitals and petrol pumps will function. Restaurants will be shut ... Read more

The Passport Seva Kendras located in Aluva, Alappuzha, Kochi, Kottayam and Thrissur will be closed till March 31, in a bid to control the spread of the corona virus. The Kochi regional passport officer has said the Post-office Passport Seva Kendras at Chengannur, Kattappana, Olavakkode, Nenmara and Lakshadweep will also be shut during this period.

Just a few days ago, Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) secretary Manu PV received an emergency call from French Embassy, Pondicherry. The caller briefed Manu about a lady sitting somewhere in a restaurant in Thiruvananthapuram. All the hotels in the vicinity had denied her entry and she was distraught. There was no place that she could go to. So, this was clearly a distress call. Manu immediately knew that this was a question of the sector’s reputation. He told the Embassy that the lady can call him for any help. “I was sure I could arrange accommodation for ... Read more

India should introduce hygiene protocol to tackle epidemics The impact created by the corona virus may last up to a year and the tourism sector may face the biggest financial crisis in its history as a result. In an elaborate interview, ATTOI President Vinod CS says this is the time to take initiative and control the situation to reduce the damage, even as he looks for support from the state and central governments. Excerpts: Q: Corona virus has impacted Kerala’s tourism fortunes to a very large extent. Can we attach a value to the loss incurred to Kerala tourism due ... Read more

The Police Commissionerate in Kochi has launched the ‘Foreigners Outreach Cell’ for providing assistance to foreign nationals who may be facing difficulties due to the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. Foreign nationals can get help in procuring health clearance certificate, medical assistance, accommodation, transport, ticketing and visa by sending a text, audio or video message or a Whatsapp message to 8590202060. As soon as the message reaches COVID-19 police control room at the Police Commissionerate at Kochi, a police officer will contact the foreign national in distress and gets his difficulty resolved. The Police Commissionerate is continuously in touch with district health ... Read more

by Benny Thomas, Director, Holiday Shop The Union government’s new proposal to collect Tax Collected at Source (TCS) from customers, will affect the travel and tourism industry very adversely. There is already a 5% GST on the holiday packages and an additional 5% of TCS will be a heavy burden for the prospective clients. So how deeply will this affect us all? As far as Indian culture is concerned, going on a holiday is not a necessary item like in the European community. If the cost of the tour increases heavily, naturally the prospective clients will postpone or cancel their ... Read more

Kerala’s tourism sector is currently assessing the kind of loss incurred due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation has become worse than initially expected, but the resilient tourism sector in Kerala has bounced back in the past against such difficulties. In an interview EM Najeeb, chairman and managing director of Airtravel Enterprises Group of Companies tells us how the state can recover over the next six months. Excerpts: Q: Can you brief us about the kind of losses that the tourism sector is facing due to the outbreak of the corona virus? A: The corona virus has ... Read more

The corona virus outbreak has hit the tourism sector hard, in an unprecedented manner. In an interview, S Swaminathan , Managing Director of Dravidian Trails Holidays Pvt Ltd., Cochin, Kerala tells us why we can’t have a fixed time-frame for revival of the sector. He feels all stakeholders should spread the positive news about all the precautionary measures taken by the authorities. The authorities should now give the sector the required benefits that will help the tourism entrepreneurs rebuild the business. Excerpts: Q: Corona virus has impacted Kerala’s tourism fortunes to a very large extent. Can we attach a value ... Read more

CKTI President urges govt to take series of steps to revive sector The Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI) has said the state’s tourism sector will witness a loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore this year, due to the severe impact of the corona virus. This calculation was done based on the fact that Kerala generated a sum of Rs 45,000 crore from the tourism sector last year. Hence, the confederation has requested the government to consider offering the state’s tour operators a cumulative sum of Rs 5 crore as Marketing Development Assistance (MDA). CKTI President ... 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

ATTOI executive committee member & CEO of Tourdesigners, VG Jayachandran has urged the government to waive off road tax of tourist vehicles for a period of one year, besides providing interest free or low interest loans to tourism entrepreneurs to rebuild the business. The tourism sector has been hit badly by cancellation of bookings by tourists due to the onslaught of the corona virus pandemic. Several airlines have also cancelled flights to many countries. Jayachandran said a moratorium alone wasn’t sufficient. “It doesn’t mean even a waiver of interest during the period. In this situation, any financial institution will agree ... Read more

The Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI) has written to all the 12 Members of Parliament (MPs) from Kerala, requesting them to take up the woes of the tourism sector in Parliament or related committees. CKTI President EM Najeeb in his letter to the MPs said the tourism industry which has already been facing various challenges, has been hit especially hard by the Covid-19 epidemic. In this context CKTI has requested the Union finance minister and the tourism minister to advise banks to extend moratorium on the repayment of loans and interests from entrepreneurs in the tourism sector for at ... Read more