Category: News

The State and Central governments should support the tourism sector by offering moratorium on loan repayments for a period of 24 months, says Prasad Manjali, Director of Contour Group of Hotels & Resorts. They could also look at supporting salary payments of the hospitality and tourism employees, notes Manjali, who is also the Managing Director & CEO of Citrine Hospitality Ventures. He says the cost of property maintenance including basic salaries of staff, lease payments, generator fuel expenses and electricity was tough to deal with. The staff panicked as they realised that the pandemic had created instability, he says in ... Read more

Covid-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented crisis in the tourism ecosystem, however the crisis presents an opportunity to rethink the tourism ecosystem for a more sustainable and resilient future. Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, has said that the pandemic  opened new opportunities for development getting all the stakeholders together to fight against this situation. “We have been able to open all the monuments, hotels and soon we will be able to open the banquet halls in half capacity. We have been able to revive the air travel to a certain extent and we will continue ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) for ensuring women empowerment in the tourism industry. Through this initiative FLO & TAAI would lay emphasis on personal and hospitality skills, a more flexible work balance and greater options for entrepreneurship with significantly lower capital. Speaking on the occasion Prahlad Singh Patel said that, “Women in our country are excelling in different fields. We have the best of women doctors, pilots, scientists and businesswomen. Women have also excelled in various adventure related activities and sports ... Read more

The President of the Wayanad Tourism Organisation (WTO), K R  Vancheeswaran, says that since properties in Wayanad are largely MSMEs, the chances of them closing down are very high.The quick buck makers are bound to close down, while the more serious and resilient ones will weather the storm and get back on their feet, he says. There are many fly-by-night operators who have already shut shop, Vancheeswaran, says in an exclusive interview, which is part of our mini-series Wayanad Matters. This being a glamour industry there are many who can’t even openly state their plight, for it will affect their pride. ... Read more

Bangkok tourist destination Khao San Road is usually heaving with people on weekends, its cheap beer bars, tattoo parlours, street vendors, hostels and buzzing nightlife drawing budget travellers and tour groups alike. On a recent Saturday evening, the street was deserted except for a few dozen locals who wandered past boarded up shops, ignoring restaurant staff calling out meal and drink deals, news agency Reuters reports in its industry feature. Khao San Road clearly shows the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Bangkok, the world’s most visited city for four consecutive years before a ban on international travel. “I have ... Read more

Emirates will operate repatriation flights to Bengaluru, Kochi, Delhi, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram till August 31. These special flights will facilitate travel for Indian citizens in the UAE wishing to return home, and for UAE residents who are currently in India. Only Indian citizens stranded in the UAE will be allowed to fly from Dubai to the five Indian destinations. All flights will be operated with the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER and can be booked on emirates.com or via travel agents. Passengers must meet all the entry requirements of the destination to be allowed to board the flights. Flights will be available for UAE nationals ... Read more

A new in-depth data dashboard highlighting the recovery of travel demand across flights and hotels, as well as revealing the shifting intentions of travellers through online travel searches, has been launched by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The one-stop data shop or Interactive COVID-19 Travel Demand Recovery Dashboard was developed by WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, with support from McKinsey & Company. This unique tool provides users with easy access to qualitative and quantitative travel data at the global and regional level as well as for 33 major countries around the world, by ... Read more

Passengers will have to pay Rs 10 extra for their air travel from September 1 as the Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to revise the rates of aviation security fee (ASF) for domestic and international passengers. According to officials, the ASF for domestic flyers will be increased by Rs 10 to Rs 160 while the international passengers will have to pay $5.2 instead of the current $4.85. The ASF is used to fund the security arrangement at airports across the country. The ASF was hiked last year to Rs 150 from Rs 130, and international passengers were charged $4.85 ... Read more

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started a special safety audit of all Indian airlines, two weeks after the plane crash in Kerala’s Kozhikode in which 18 people were killed, a senior official of the aviation regulator said on Thursday. “It will be a complete FOQA (Flight Operations Quality Assurance) audit,” he said. The FOQA is the process of obtaining and analysing all kinds of data from flights to improve the safety and efficiency of future flight operations, PTI reports. “All Indian airlines will undergo the special safety audit that has begun. In the first phase, we are ... Read more

The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) has urged the Indian government to initiate direct flights between Thiruvananthapuram and various European cities, to rekindle interest among European guests to visit the state of Kerala. ATTOI President Vinod CS has said that starting air travel services to cities like Frankfurt, London, Zurich and Dublin will help to rejuvenate the tourism sector in Kerala, especially in the post-COVID scenario. “The greater connectivity to Europe will help European travellers to visit us more often, thus contributing more foreign exchange earnings for the state,” he said. “I hope the Central government can expedite ... Read more

Chandy’s Windy Woods, Munnar, has been awarded by TripAdvisor, as the “first among the best 25 luxury hotels in India” and also as the “9th among top 25 hotels in Asia”. It also has been ranked “17th among world’s top 25 hotels”. Chandy’s Windy Woods, Munnar, has always been a “classic choice” for family vacations, honey mooning, destination weddings and corporate events, the hotel management said in a statement. “We believe our success mantra to be our quality service, hospitality, food and of course the breath-taking view of the tea plantation from every room,” the statement added. “We are humbled by this ... Read more

Kerala’s Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran has termed the Central Government decision to lease out the Thiruvananthapuram Airport to Adani Enterprises as a “big scam”. “This is daylight robbery. Despite our requests, the airport has been leased to the Adani group, which is a large conglomerate,” the minister said. Adani has won the rights to operate the airport for 50 years. The Kerala government has been opposing privatisation of the Thiruvananthapuram airport for a long time. The state had even expressed willingness to create a separate company to run the airport. The minister termed the privatization move as unacceptable citing that ... Read more

Thailand’s tourism ministry aims to introduce its “Safe and Sealed” tourism plan in Phuket by October 1, while operators in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai are teaming up as a northern hub for long-stay travellers, Bangkok Post has reported. Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the ministry will join a meeting with Public Health, Interior, Foreign and Transport ministries on August 27 about the plan to open the country to tourists from low-risk cities or provinces who seek an excursion to Thailand. After a plan is developed, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) must approve it before launching the scheme. ... Read more

India is negotiating with 13 countries, including Australia, Japan and Singapore, to establish separate bilateral air bubble arrangements for international flight operations, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said. Under a bilateral air bubble pact, airlines of both the countries can operate international flights with certain restrictions. Puri said on Twitter air bubbles have also been proposed with our neighbours Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan. Since July, India has established such bubbles with the following countries – the US, the UK, France, Germany, the UAE, Qatar and the Maldives. “We are now taking these efforts forward & ... Read more

Effective August 21, Etihad Airways will operate a series of special passenger flights from Abu Dhabi to Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai. The flights can be booked through Hala Travel Management, Etihad’s travel management arm, by calling +971 2 511 7777, or via email at support@htm.ae . Flights must be booked at least 24 hours in advance. The mandatory documentation required will be collected and processed by Hala travel consultants.  Travellers leaving Abu Dhabi to India are required to show a negative COVID-19 PCR test result from a government accredited medical facility, received within 96 hours prior to departure. This negative result certificate will exempt ... Read more