Cordelia Cruises has announced that it will sail its maiden voyage on 2nd September 2021, from Dubai to Mumbai via Oman. Their maiden cruise was cancelled due to deadly second wave, however, the team is upbeat and cautiously optimistic that they can travel freely again. “The second wave led to the cancellation of our initial sailing plans but we were equipped to handle such exigencies. Our team is in touch with guests who have booked with us, and we are regularly checking on the status of their health and vaccination. Safety is the most crucial word in travel today” said…
Author: Prasenjit Chakraborty
Priority Pass, a leading global airport lounge programme, has announced it will add over 150 new luxury airport lounges across the world in 2021. Alongside 100 new premium dining and relaxation experiences and railway and sea port lounges, this represents 20% growth for the network. This announcement comes at the same time that evidence mounts that travel is set to return, with encouraging growth in domestic travel in the US, China and Russia, as well as recent announcements around the relaxing of border closures for vaccinated travellers – with premium experiences more in demand than ever. Priority Pass has already…
Himachal Pradesh government has made negative RT-PCR reports mandatory for tourists entering the state. Tourists entering the state will now have to carry a negative Covid report, which is not more than 72 hours old. The government added that people, who will produce vaccine certificates (both one or two), will be allowed to enter the state. The negative Covid report rule, however, is not for locals. A few days after the Himachal Pradesh government had relaxed Covid-19 related restrictions, a massive tourist influx resulted in midway holdups on national highways and unprecedented traffic jams. Parking lots, too, were packed to…
The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) has urged for immediate national coordination among states for revival of the tourism sector after the pandemic. During a virtual meeting held with the tourism secretaries of all states and Union territories, FAITH urged the states for a coordinated support for waiver of statutory obligations of power, utilities, parking, inter-state tax tariffs, state goods and service tax waiver and industry status, it said in a statement. The apex industry body requested for standardised harmonised travel protocols, quarantine-free travel among vaccinated, and open spaces for F&B (food and beverages), among others.…
COVID19 has given us an opportunity to rethink & reinvest to be future-ready in a more resilient way said G.Kishan Reddy, Union Cabinet Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) while speaking at the second edition of Travel, Tourism & Hospitality e-Conclave organised by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry). He also said that tourism is not just seeing a destination. “It has emerged as one of the fundamental pillars of economic development and employment generation,” said Reddy. Talking on employment, he said that in 2019 the sector provided 40 million jobs which…
SriLankan Airlines the National Carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of the oneworld alliance announced the commencement of direct flights between Sri Lanka and Russia. The inaugural flight was ceremonially greeted with a water salute at Domodedovo Airport (DME) in Moscow. The airline is resuming flights to the Russian capital after a break of 6 years, between Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport (DME). Accordingly, SriLankan would operate its flights to Russia every Friday using an Airbus A330 configured for 269 economy and 28 business class seats. The frequency of operation will be once a week,…
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) organised an immersive virtual tour to Singapore recently for the stakeholders of Indian travel trade. The virtual familiarisation trip aimed to create a differentiated and immersive experience for the travel trade fraternity in India, and to reimagine and evolve their definition of travel. It offered to the participants fun and diverse experiences, ranging from a wildlife tour up close with animals to a mixology masterclass. The tour kicked off with a virtual in-flight experience of landing in Singapore on Singapore Airlines, which was a much-welcomed throwback to the days of pre-pandemic travel. The agents went…
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) decided to reopen the gates of the 12th century Jagannath Temple to devotees from August 16. The administration said that devotees will have to be fully vaccinated or present a negative RT-PCR report not older than 96 hours. However, SJTA chief administrator Krishan Kumar said that devotees from the rest of the country will be allowed to visit the temple after August 23. The temple will remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays and devotees will be allowed to visit the temple 7 am to 8 pm on weekdays. The move comes after Odisha allowed…
IndiGo has announced a 3-day special sale offering all-inclusive fares starting from INR 915 on its domestic and international connections, to mark its fifteen successful years of flying. The offer is valid from August 04- 06, 2021 and will be applicable on travel between September 01, 2021 till March 26, 2022. Additionally, the 6E add-ons including Fast Forward, 6E Flex, 6E Bagport are being offered at INR 315 while the Car Rental service will start at INR 315. Commenting on this, Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo, said, “It is a momentous occasion for us as we celebrate 15 fulfilling…
The United Arab Emirates will lift a ban on transit passenger traffic from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and other countries from August 5, the country’s National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority (NCEMA) said. The UAE, a major international travel hub, has banned passengers from many South Asian and African countries for several months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The department said on Twitter that passengers travelling from countries where flights had been suspended would be able to transit through its airports from Thursday as long as they present negative PCR tests taken 72 hours prior to departure. Final destination approval would…
