Category: News

Costa Rica’s government will halt reopening the country’s economy due to an increase in the number of coronavirus cases over recent days, a senior official said on Friday. The Central American nation which has already lost 100,000 jobs due to the pandemic, and this decision will hit the economy hard. “These are not numbers to think that nothing is wrong and that we can continue with the reopening,” Health Minister Daniel Salas said during a news conference. Over the last 24 hours, Costa Rica has registered a record 119 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to ... Read more

Denmark will further open its borders to countries with an “acceptable level” of coronavirus infections, softening travel restrictions that were set until August 31. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that the government will set criteria that will allow travel to and from certain countries. There are however no details or explanation yet regarding what the “objective criteria” are. “It will make it easier to continuously open (borders) for entry and exit and still have control over the situation at home,” Frederiksen said. On June 15, Denmark began reopening its borders to tourists from Germany, Norway and Iceland. It also allows ... Read more

Monaco is slowly opening up its tourist points to travellers, after reopening its borders on June 15. Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state, country, and microstate on the French Riviera in Western Europe. The Tourist and Convention Authority’s information points, located on Boulevard des Moulins and at the train station, are once again welcoming visitors to the Principality. To respect social distancing measures implemented by the Prince’s Government, tourists will be able to consult digital brochures online and via QR Codes. The French Riviera, which includes the Principality of Monaco, Nice and the Alpes-Maritimes region, along ... Read more

Israel has said that travellers coming in from Greece will not have to partake in the 14-day Covid-19 quarantine. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakisis to discuss reopening tourism between the two countries, setting August 1 as the date to open the borders.  “We are thrilled that we have been able to set a date for resuming international tourism, beginning with Greece,” said Asaf Zamir, Isreal’s Minister of Tourism. “This is an important development for the citizens of our two countries and a critical step in restoring the travel industry around the globe, helping to position us ... Read more

Jamaica, which reopened its borders to international travellers on June 15, is looking to scale up tourism back to pre-coronavirus levels. Like many Caribbean islands, Jamaica’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, accounting for 35% of GDP and 120,000 jobs. The country’s tourism sector saw record breaking growth in 2019, but hopes of repeating that this year was put on hold when the coronavirus pandemic halted travel globally, Travel Market Report said. As the country once again begins to welcome visitors, it’s with a rigorous and thorough set of protocols in place to protect workers and guests. Jamaica’s Director of ... Read more

Aruba has announced that the country will welcome tourists from the Caribbean (with the exception of Dominican Republic and Haiti), Europe, and Canada from July 1. Visitors from the United States will be allowed from July 10. Official opening dates for other markets, including South America and Central America are yet to be determined. The decision to reopen borders, which were closed due to COVID-19 restrictions in early-March, was made in conjunction with the Department of Health, taking into consideration the ongoing guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States. “The safety ... Read more

Raj Gopaal Iyer, CEO of UDS Group of Hotels, believes Kerala should have the right marketing strategies to showcase medical and leisure tourism. The state government should come up with a proper agenda/plan to submit before the Central government, thereby helping employees retain their jobs, he says. But the biggest problem he believes is the poor air connectivity to Thiruvananthapuram, with tourists ending up spending more on airfare than accommodation. Excerpts: Q: When we spoke a few weeks ago, the coronavirus crisis was on its ascendency. But now we are in a phase where the virus is spreading at an ... Read more

Earlier this week, Garuda Indonesia had announced that its flight attendants will forego wearing face masks, thereby attempting to go in a completely different direction to that of every other airline in the world. However, on Friday, the flag carrier said it is scrapping the plan. Garuda’s boss Irfan Setiaputra had previously announced that the airline was considering face shields as an alternative to masks to ensure that customers could see the facial expressions of the cabin crew. On Friday, however, Irfan said face shields “will not replace face masks but will complement them instead”. “We are evaluating the most ... Read more

Cambodia has imposed one of the toughest entry requirements of any country in the world, by imposing a hefty amount as Covid-19 fees. In its latest bulletin, the Foreign Office of Cambodia (FCO) has stated that foreign travellers must pay a $3,000 deposit as “COVID-19 service charges” at the airport upon their arrival. This “coronavirus deposit” can be paid in cash or by credit card. The FCO further said that after deductions have been made for services, the remaining deposit will be returned. But those deductions may be costly, especially if another passenger on the same flight happens to test positive for ... Read more

Machu Picchu, the jewel of Peruvian tourism, is all set to reopen in July. But there will be restrictions on the number of visitors. Given the need for social distancing and other measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, only 675 visitors will be allowed in each day – one-quarter the usual number, Jean Paul Benavente, governor of the Cusco region said. Guides will lead tours of only seven visitors, and people will be required to wear masks. The July reopening is linked to a lifting of national confinement measures in place since March 16, online news agency MercoPress ... Read more

Foreigners returned to Iceland this week, after a hiatus imposed by the Covid-19 outbreak, in a welcome sign for an island nation whose economy is reliant on tourism. The visitors receive free coronavirus tests directly upon arrival. “We are very pleased with how well it has gone so far,” Jonlaug Heimisdottir, the health official who is overseeing the programme, told Bloomberg in a telephone interview. If the test is negative, visitors are free to enjoy Iceland with no restrictions. As of this coming weekend, they could head straight from the airport to the steaming waters of the Blue Lagoon, just ... Read more

The Uttar Pradesh government is all set to upgrade facilities at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) in order to attract more tourists in the coming years. One gate would be constructed at the junction point of Pilibhit-Basti national highway, the second one would be near Mustafabad forest guest house and the third on the Pilibhit-Mahof forest range road, IANS said in a report. After repairs of tourist huts at Chuka are completed, UP tourism and PTR officials would finalize 3-4 picturesque sites around the place to develop into tourist destinations with state-of-the-art facilities. This venture would ensure compliance of National Tiger ... Read more

Kenya is set to make a major change in the way it markets its tourism products, by shifting from the traditional television and print media to digital and social media. Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) on Thursday hosted a webinar that brought together sectoral players to discuss the importance and gains that would be accrued, by utilising the digital space to market destinations, according to a report by The Star. Players said the use of social media marketing is overdue and has been reinforced by how COVID-19 has disrupted the tourism industry in the last three months. Betty Radier, chief executive ... Read more

The MC Road in Kerala is one of the crucial pathways that lead to many tourist destinations including eco-tourism centres, waterfalls, popular resorts and religious destinations. However, it has also been accident prone. The Kerala government has now decided to take steps to make it accident free. It has initiated a new Rs 147 crore project aimed at safety, on this 80km stretch. The safe corridor demonstration on MC Road is part of the ongoing World Bank-aided Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) that was commissioned by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The busy two-lane, two-way corridor spread over Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and ... Read more

According to a study by HES-SO Valais institute, Swiss tourism could lose up to CHF8.7 billion ($9.2 billion) in 2020, pushing almost a quarter of businesses to the brink of bankruptcy. “The effects in the short term are already terrible,” says Véronique Kanel, spokesperson for Swiss Tourism, the organisation responsible for promoting Switzerland’s tourism industry. “And the forecasts for summer remain very cautious, with an occupancy rate of 24% for the hotel sector and 42% for other holiday accommodation.” The impact is expected to vary from region to region across the country, according to a report by Swiss Info. Deserted ... Read more