Tag: covid-19

The corona virus crisis will hit the hospitality sector harder than 9/11 and the great economic recession combined, Marriott International Arne Sorenson has said. “What we’re seeing is dramatically worse than what we saw in those two prior crises,” Sorenson told CNBC. In those two instances, the worst quarterly declines in global revenue that Marriott experienced was around 25%, Sorenson said. “We’re now seeing revenue down 75% plus, probably I suspect nearing a 90% decline in the United States. And obviously at those levels there just isn’t any business in hotels,” said Sorenson, who suspended his salary for the year. ... Read more

The Indian hospitality sector will suffer losses of over Rs 600 crore this year, a research report prepared by a hospitality consultancy firm has said. The branded hotel chain together with the standalone hotel segment is facing losses of over Rs 150 crore. The alternative accommodation segment, dominated by bed and baths (B&B), guest houses and small lodges, is likely to make losses of over ₹420-470 crore, the report by Hotelivate said. Layoffs of ‘casual staff’ or ‘contracted staff’ is likely, the research noted. This will amount to a weak Q4 FY20 and a weaker Q1 FY21. According to the ... Read more

Ultimate Outdoor Entertainment (UOE) is helping cooped up communities and families find ways to entertain themselves outside while maintaining safe social distances during this difficult time. They are providing Drive-In Movies that come directly to customers’ locations. “We were looking forward to releasing a full summer program of drive-in movies this year, but now UOE is more focused on the current issues at hand – helping communities find safe entertainment alternatives while helping our employees get work. We aim to continue supporting our office staff and dozens of audio-visual technicians across the country by providing a useful community activity during ... Read more

Ali Waheed, Tourism Minister of the Maldives – “We have to be positive to prevail, and we prevail”

Airplane manufacturer Boeing has said it would halt production at its Washington state factory for two weeks due to the accelerating spread of the corona virus in the region. Boeing plans to reduce production this week and will suspend all operations on March 25 for 14 days. During this period, the company will be conducting deep cleaning activities at impacted sites. Employees will continue to work from home if they can, and those who can’t will receive paid leave for 10 days. “Critical distribution operations in support of airline, government, and maintenance, repair and overhaul customers will continue,” Boeing said ... Read more

Wild Florida’s Drive-thru Safari Park will remain open as it operates in compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations for social distancing. In the drive-thru safari park, guests can ride in their own car and identify more than 100 native and exotic animals from the comfort and safety of their own car. This experience is hands-free, as guests can book online, check-in and ride through without any human contact. Regarding other opportunities in the attraction, Wild Florida will temporarily suspend all of its air-boat tours and animal encounters while also closing ... Read more

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the deadline for filing returns of goods and services tax (GST) for the months of March, April and May has been extended to June 30. The last date for filing belated income tax returns for FY18-19 has also been extended to the same date. But the move to extend the GST filing deadline cannot in any way provide sufficient relief to some of the hardest hit sectors in the economy, most notably the travel and tourism segment. The tourism sector had asked for a GST holiday for a period of 12 months, ... Read more

Private vehicles of employees working at the Bengaluru airport were obstructed on Tuesday while they were traveling to their workplace. Buses were also prevented from going to the airport with employees. Hari Marar, MD & CEO of the Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said these employees perform tasks that are critical for the functioning of the airport, including security, airlines, immigration, customs, fire services, air traffic control and technology support. In support of the Government’s decision to bring the situation under control, the airport will remain closed to passengers from March 24, 2359 hours IST, to March 31, 2359 hours ... 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 Ministry of Civil Aviation has said that all domestic commercial airlines will cease operations from the midnight of March 24. Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destination before 11.59 pm. The decision will not apply to cargo airlines. The government has not decided when to restart operations. India had already stopped international flights into the country. Airlines around the world are taking measures to curtail flights in a bid to control the spread of the virus. With flight schedules in disarray, airlines are expected to bear massive losses. Most carriers have requested their respective ... Read more

Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, has offered to convert Mahindra Holiday Resorts as temporary health care facilities. “Going by various reports from epidemiologists, it is highly likely that India is already in stage-3 of transmission. Cases could rise exponentially with millions of casualties, putting a huge strain on medical infrastructure,” Mahindra said in a series of tweets. He further said, “A lockdown over the next few weeks will help flatten the curve and moderate the peak pressure on medical care. However, we need to create scores of temporary hospitals and we have a scarcity of ventilators.” Mahindra plans to make ... 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.

Sejoe Jose, Chairman, IATO (Kerala Chapter) – “We have asked the Centre for subsidies to pay salaries to employees in the travel and tourism sector, especially to those earning less than Rs 25,000. The banks should provide moratorium to loans provided and dates for payment of GST and taxes should be given an extension of 90 days. A 50% refund of TDS paid should be considered to bring down the cash flow problem. The state should prepare a master plan along with industry players to set a short term and long term plan for the growth of the tourism sector. ... Read more

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