According to a AP report, the World Health Organization’s Europe director warned that the highly transmissible Covid-19 variant first identified in India is “poised to take hold in the region,” as many countries prepare to ease restrictions and allow more social gatherings and travel across borders. WHO’s European Regional Director, Dr. Hans Kluge said the variant also known as the delta variant, has shown signs of being able to evade some vaccines and warned that many vulnerable populations, particularly those over age 60, remain unprotected. “We have been here before,” warned Dr. Kluge, “Over the course of last summer, cases…
Author: Prasenjit Chakraborty
When we thought that India is gaining upper hand in its fight against Covid-19 at that time the virus is raising its ugly head again in states like Maharashtra, Kerala. This development has resulted in imposing fresh restrictions to contain the spread of new variants of the virus. In Maharashtra, lockdowns were imposed in select areas. Whether it is second wave or not, the damage is done to the tourism industry as people have started cancelling their scheduled visit. Few of my friends and relatives have cancelled their visits to Maharashtra and Goa which were curated carefully over a period.…
Joe Chernov, a renowned marketing leader once said, “Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart.” The Covid-19 pandemic necessitates ‘great marketing’ for the tourism industry. While health and hygiene have always been the essential elements for travel & tourism competitiveness, the pandemic has brought enhanced global spotlight on the importance of these factors. In a normal situation, tourism marketing is undertaken with a relatively high degree of certainty. And planning, setting budget, etc. are routine affairs. But the situation now is completely different. Hence, the marketing process is fraught with challenges and understanding…
flydubai is set to resume operations to Naples in Italy. The three weekly flights to Naples International Airport (NAP) will commence on July 1, and offer passengers from the UAE more options for travel this summer. flydubai will increase the frequency of flights to Naples to a four-weekly service from August 1. From June 2, a quarantine-free travel corridor has been established between Italy and the UAE enabling passengers to travel between the two countries with less restrictions. A negative COVID-19 test result will be required 48 hours before departure from the UAE. On arrival in Italy, all passengers over…
Assam Tourism minister Bimal Borah said the state government would turn the Choulung Siukapha Samanway Kshetra into one of the prominent cultural sites of the Northeast and a place of pride in South East Asia. The foundation stone of the project was laid before 2006 and the semi-complete project was inaugurated by Gogoi in 2015. Visiting the project site on Wednesday, Borah said in a meeting with officials of the kshetra and district administration that the site located in the western outskirts of Jorhat town should be given more prominence in Jorhat’s tourist circuit as Siukapha was towering personality in…
Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group passed away this morning due to a massive cardiac arrest. He was 48. Bhatia is survived by his architect wife, Smriti and two children. Bhatia has led the group’s strategic thrust to create multiple drivers of growth that made a significant and growing contribution to the company and industry at large. Articulating a vision for Bird Group and direction to the consortia of companies, he is credited with bringing in the Amadeus brand to the Indian sub-continent in 1994, which today is the market leader in providing travel technology for travel agents & airlines.…
Downing Street said that data emerging over the coming week will be “crucial” in deciding whether all legal coronavirus restrictions can end as hoped on June 21 amid a continuing rise in the cases of the Delta variant of Covid-19 in parts of the United Kingdom The delay being considered is to enable all over-50s to be fully vaccinated with both doses of a vaccine, found to be most effective against the highly transmissible variant of concern (VOC) first identified in India, and also to leave sufficient time for the jabs to take effect. ‘The Times’ newspaper quoted a Cabinet…
Amusement parks contribute nearly 40% of the total leisure industry turnover which are key drivers of growth among the service sector in India. Approximately, 30-35% of visitors are outstation visitors and thus a major source of tourism. The Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) is a major part of the travel, tourism & hospitality sector as amusement parks in India attracts more than 3 crore visitors annually and growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 17.5% with annual revenue of approximately INR 17 billion, providing direct employment to over 75,000 people. In India, amusement…
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced a separate liquidity window of INR 15,000 crore to mitigate the adverse impact of the second COVID-19 wave on certain contact-intensive sectors, reports Trisha Medhi for YourStory. The window will remain open till March 31, 2022, with tenors of up to three years at the repo rate, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said in Mumbai after a meeting of the monetary policy committee. Announcing the on-tap Liquidity Window for Contact-intensive Sectors, he said that banks can provide support to hotels and restaurants, tourism, aviation support services, and other services under this programme.…
The expansion of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) announced by the government on May 30, will help companies in sectors such as civil aviation, hotels and tour operators, where demand has been severely affected by the intense second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Crisil said on Wednesday. The scheme will also support build-up of healthcare infrastructure, mainly oxygen availability, in Tier 2 and beyond cities, and the hinterland. The scope of the scheme, first announced on May 13, 2020, has been continuously expanded. The latest version will be valid up to September 30, 2021, or till the unutilised…
