Tag: covid-19 crisis

The Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) has charged tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar for allowing COVID-19 positive tourists into Goa. A press statement issued by GPCC general secretary Amarnath Panjikar said tourists have been allowed entry into the state illegally.  “The tourism minister is solely responsible for COVID-19 positive tourists coming to Goa with bogus addresses,” Panjikar said. “The irresponsible act of the tourism minister to open the doors of Goa has now resulted in additional pressure being put on the health workers as well as the police force in tracing these COVID-19 infected tourists,” he alleged. He stated that many ... Read more

Thailand’s medical tourism and wellness programs will go ahead despite the controversy swirling around two Covid-19 cases this week – in Bangkok and in Rayong. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says the Ministry of Public Health will announce a list of hospitals that pass its criteria next week, and the first group of medical tourists will be allowed to land in Thailand within the next 2 weeks. He says the program will be operated under strict guidelines, including ensuring general patients are safe and visitors are not allowed to enter public areas. The visitors, ... Read more

Helge Braun, who has coordinated Germany’s fight against the pandemic from the start, said the government is considering limiting travel in and out of areas that see a sudden, unexplained surge in Covid-19 cases. “Our measures are appropriate to prevent a second big wave,” Braun told The Associated Press (AP) during an interview at the Chancellery in Berlin. “But this requires us to stay the course, not get careless in our measures, and maintain our respect for the virus.” Germans have watched in horror as cases in the United States, Brazil and elsewhere surged long after Germany flattened its own curve ... Read more

In an effort to restrict the spread of the coronavirus during travel, the Indian Railways has rolled out a prototype of what it calls the first ‘Post COVID Coach’. The new railway coach is designed to reduce the odds of someone getting infected by the virus  during a train journey, by adding hands-free amenities to reduce surface contact.  It has been designed at the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, Punjab. “Sustaining the ruthless fight against Covid-19, Indian Railways’ production unit, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, has developed a Post Covid Coach to fight Covid 19. This post Covid coach has design ... Read more

Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy has said that the administration is contemplating reopening the Union Territory for tourists from August 1. He said that he would write to the Union Tourism Minister to ease the lockdown and open up tourism, to revive the economy. “The Puducherry administration managed to contain the spread of COIVID 19 due to the coordinated efforts of all sections of people. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the Union Territory is 65% and the death 1.5% of the total number of cases,” he said. The Tourism Ministry should facilitate foreign and domestic tourists to visit Puducherry so ... Read more

Hawaii has decided to delay reopening its tourism sector for another month. It will now open on September 1. The move comes in the wake of the rising Coronavirus cases in the Aloha State. It was earlier decided to allow tourists into Hawaii from August 1. Hawaii Governor David Ige stated that all travellers who enter the state, even those who have tested negative for coronavirus, will be undergoing a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The previous plan was to allow tourists, who have tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of entering Hawaii, to bypass the mandatory 14-day quarantine starting from ... Read more

Etihad has added more destinations to its hand baggage only ‘Deal Fare’ which allows travellers to purchase lower fares in economy class if no checked baggage is required. Throughout July and August 2020, the Deal Fare will be introduced on routes including Belarus, Greece, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Serbia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Turkey. Initially, it was only available on flights between Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Azerbaijan. Robin Kamark, chief commercial officer, Etihad said, “Following its success within the GCC region, we are excited to include more destinations that ... Read more

Madhya Pradesh’s bio-diversity, tiger reserves and national parks have made it a fascinating travel destination. The Ministry of Tourism presented a webinar on ‘Wild Wonders of Madhya Pradesh’ under Dekho Apna Desh webinar series, providing an immersive virtual safari experience of the state, which is also known as the heart of Incredible India. The webinar was moderated by Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism and was presented by Suyash Keshari, a young wildlife filmmaker who was born and brought up in Madhya Pradesh and worked extensively on its wildlife. Madhya Pradesh is an amalgamation of natural wildlife, history ... Read more

Many leading companies in the travel and tourism industries were ranked high on the Disability Equality Index’s (DEI) list for their level of disability workplace inclusion. According to the DEI’s ‘Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion list’, major brands in the aviation, cruise, hotel and theme park industries all scored a perfect 100 in this year’s rankings. Airlines such as American, Delta, Southwest and United all finished at the top of the list, while Royal Caribbean International was the only cruise line to reach a perfect score, Travel Pulse reported. As for the hospitality industry, Choice Hotels International and Marriott International both ... Read more

Qatar Airways, on Wednesday, became the first airline to resume operations to Velana International Airport (VIA) after Maldives reopened borders. According to the airline, the scheduled flights will connect via Hamad International Airport located in Doha, Qatar, with European and American destinations including London, Copenhagen, Stockholm and New York. Daily flights from Doha to Male’ will depart at 0205hrs and arrive at 0905hrs, while flights from Male’ to Doha will take off at 2000hrs and land at 2245hrs. “We are excited to resume scheduled flights to the very popular tourist destination of Malé, Maldives. We are even more delighted to ... Read more

With many tourists putting a halt on travelling, the economy in the state of Nebraska has been affected. During crane season, boardwalks and pathways surrounding Rowe Sanctuary are normally packed, but due to COVID-19 this year, they haven’t seen the number of visitors they normally would, Nebraska TV reports. “Well during crane season, you’d normally see 25 to 30 thousand through the door in six weeks,” said the Director for the Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary Bill Taddicken. As COVID-19 swept the nation, Taddicken said they were barely open for one week before having to shut down. “It’s been a ... Read more

Emirates feels it’s time to get the big birds back up in the skies, resuming services to London and Paris on Wednesday. The A380s, also known as Superjumbos, have been grounded since March. The Dubai based carrier will deploy its A380 on its daily Amsterdam service, and add a second daily A380 service to London Heathrow starting from August 1. This announcement follows the Emirates A380’s return to the skies on Wednesday with EK001 to London Heathrow, which took off from Dubai International airport at 0745hrs and EK073 at 0820hrs to Paris. The airline said Emirates flight EK073 received a ... Read more

More than one lakh employees in Kerala’s travel and tourism sector have lost their jobs during this pandemic, says Sheik Ismail, vice-president of Concord Exotic Voyages. Many of them have turned to selling fish and vegetables to survive. He says though the industry has many associations and leaders, they have failed to raise funds for their needy colleagues. Some of them are selfish and request things for their own benefit and not for the entire industry, he says. Excerpts from an interview: Q: Kerala’s travel and tourism sector has been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. The state is hugely dependent ... Read more

Hungary will introduce international travel restrictions and tighten its border controls from today, as an effort to prevent a new wave of the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, Gergely Gulyás has announced. Gulyás has stressed that Hungary must prevent the virus from being imported from abroad, clarifying that there will not be any additional restrictive rules within the country, reports SchengenVisaInfo.com. “Hungary is today among the safest countries in Europe. But given new outbreaks around the world, the government is putting the health and safety of Hungarians foremost and is doing everything possible to prevent the ... Read more

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) is gearing up to set up branches across the island that will improve the services extended.  Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairperson Kimarli Fernando said that plans are afoot to have SLTDA branches in each of the provinces so that the needs and requirements of tourists are well looked after, Mirror Business has reported. “In the past, provinces worked separately, but now we are looking at an ‘all of the country’ approach for tourism. For this we are working closely with the provinces and the relevant authorities.  So far, the support extended for ... Read more