Tag: covid-19 crisis

Hong Kong’s tourism industry is desperately urging the government to set-up “travel bubbles” with neighbouring regions as a lifeline, warning the hard-hit sector will need an extended period to recover from the near-total shutdown brought on by the pandemic. The creation of travel corridors between countries, which jointly agree to drop quarantine requirements, is something the Hong Kong government has suggested could take place with destinations that have done well in containing Covid-19. But it’s not clear when such a bubble might be formed between Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland’s Guangdong province, South China Morning Post reported. A travel group, ... Read more

In Chile’s port city of Valparaiso, people are perhaps facing more ups and downs than almost anywhere else, as the city’s funiculars have been turned off. With no tourists in town because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the city’s unique public transport system has ground to a halt. A lack of ticket sales to fund their operation has led officials to close these urban lifts, which typically whisk travellers and residents through the steep, hilly terrain of Valparaiso. This means residents are having to tackle the city’s unforgiving terrain on foot. The unique cable car funiculars are designed to make travel ... Read more

There is a saying that greater are the chances of Arabs learning Malayalam, than Malayalis learning Arabic, in the UAE. If there is one Indian state that has been able to pull its weight during lockdown, as far as the Gulf countries are concerned, it is Kerala. Sensing the strong demand, India has announced 44 more repatriation flights from the UAE to Kerala. These flights will operate from June 19 to 30. Population-wise and in terms of the number of stranded Indians registered to fly back home from the UAE, Malayalis outnumber Indian expats from other states. The readiness of ... Read more

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation (BMOT) has been hosting a series of virtual sales missions in the US and Canada during the entire time of quarantine in an effort to continue promoting the islands. BMOT brought together all of its international partners in the US and Canada for two days of virtual meetings hosted by Director General, Joy Jibrilu.   “While grappling with the effects of COVID-19, all travel was put on hold,” said Director General Jibrilu. “But we remain committed to providing our travel suppliers, travel agent communities, key meeting planners and destination wedding planners, flying ambassadors, boating community and all of ... Read more

An animal rights organisation has apprised the Union Tourism Ministry that humans can contract tuberculosis from elephants, glanders from horses, and camel pox and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome from camels. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has knocked on the doors of Minister of Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel urging him to ban the use of animals in tourist spots as it could lead to spread of zoonotic diseases and pose a threat to public health. In a letter to Patel, PETA India CEO Manilal Valliyate drew attention to another imminent zoonotic threat and said, “We are letting ... Read more

Recovery and resilience were the central themes as the members of the World Tourism Organization’s Regional Commission for Africa (CAF) met to reflect today’s extraordinary circumstances. The meeting held virtually, brought together ministers of tourism from across the region with representatives of the African Union, the West African Monetary Union and even from the private sector, to plot a united course towards a stronger and better tourism industry. The meeting enjoyed the virtual presence of 140 participants from 30 countries, including 24 Ministers of Tourism. They were joined by representatives of 10 international organizations and by members of the UNWTO ... Read more

Next time you travel to Tamil Nadu, names of many places in the state may look a bit different.  The state government has issued a notification as per the recommendation of an expert committee for changing the names of 1,018 places, in accordance with how they are exactly pronounced in Tamil. The district collectors will now take steps for changing the names of these places through the local bodies concerned. The announcement in this regard was made way back in December 2018. But the official release, came only on Wednesday evening. So, Coimbatore is now Koyampuththoor, Vellore is Veeloor and ... Read more

Only 30 hotels have applied to the Goa Tourism Department for permission to reopen, as the state prepares itself to restart tourism. “We have received around 30 applications from various hotels as of now. We will scrutinise these and after the government takes a call, we will allow them to open,” Director (Tourism) Menino D’Souza has said. The number of applications is low, considering the state is home to several hundreds of hotels and home stays. The state’s hospitality sector has seen many people lose their jobs due to the pandemic, and many of the hotels are not in any ... Read more

Hotels in Darjeeling, probably Bengal’s top tourist destination, have decided to down their shutters indefinitely from July 1. Though the West Bengal government has allowed the reopening of hotels and restaurants from June 8, the Darjeeling Hotel Owners’ Association says it is not feasible to operate with only a few tourists arriving due to the pandemic. The decision may affect the livelihood of 10,000 families associated with the industry in the hill station and its outskirts. There are 380 hotels in Darjeeling town and its outskirts that accommodate nearly 4.5 lakh tourists every year. “We do not see any tourist ... Read more

To ensure that visitors feel safe while eating out, restaurants need to take several measures to make them feel comfortable and at ease, post lockdown. Towards this the Ministry of Tourism has laid out procedures to be followed by   restaurants and dining facilities in other accommodation units. Restaurants in containment zones shall remain closed. Only those outside containment zones will be allowed to open. Takeaways to be encouraged, instead of dine-In. Persons above 65 years of age, persons with comorbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years are advised to stay at home, except for essential and ... Read more

Sagara Beach Resort, Kovalam, will be open to guests from today. The popular beach resort was closed in line with the directions from the government, in order to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Sagara’s managing director, R Sisupalan, said it was meaningless to shut business activities for a long time. “So, we have decided to move slowly. We will promote ayurveda to boost immunity of our guests,” he said. Sagara Beach Resort is adjacent to the Light House at the southern end of Kovalam Beach. It overlooks and shares the Light House beach, the southernmost and most popular ... Read more

“Every rising sun brings us closer to when we can see each other again,” states a new video released by Dubai Tourism. The one-minute video, runs you through the various strategies implemented in Dubai during the last three months, ranging from curfews, the sterilisation of roads, and enforcing social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19. “We will welcome you with open doors. We will make your journey extraordinary. We said we needed a moment, and it will only be a moment more. We will see you soon,” said Dubai Tourism in the video. There are reports that Dubai could ... Read more

When will Chinese tourists return? That’s the question foremost on the minds of south-east and far-east destinations. Asian tourism has been ravaged by the pandemic and Chinese tourists, regarded as the largest spenders in the region, hold the key to recovery. According to South China Morning Post, clues can be gleaned from observing how movement resumes within the Middle Kingdom, and the early signs are positive. On May 28, The Economist reported that some 115 million Chinese tourists travelled during the Labour Day holiday, from May 1 to 5, “a healthy 60% of last year’s number”. Travel data platform ForwardKeys ... Read more

With lockdowns beginning to ease, many countries are starting to think about how to restart tourism, a vital economic engine. Even so, international tourist numbers could fall by up to 80% in 2020, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). But, in a normal pre-coronavirus year, which were the most visited destinations? France is the world’s number one destination for international tourists, according to the most recent figures from UNWTO. Almost 90 million people visited the country in 2018. Spain isn’t far behind, with over 82 million visitors. The United States, China and Italy complete the top five. ... Read more

The coronavirus pandemic may have affected plenty of events and festivities this year, but the Salzburg Festival announced on Tuesday that it would go ahead with it in August. The festival, showcasing the finest classical music and opera production, will be a shorter event than usual. The plan was to have an expansive celebration of its centennial, with more than 200 performances over 44 days. Now it has been curtailed to 90 performances over 30 days. Seven opera productions have been reduced to two. “The world usually looks to us for artistic reasons,” Helga Rabl-Stadler, the festival’s president, said. “This ... Read more