Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has announced Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme 2.0 (ECLGS) for the 26 stressed sectors identified by Kamath Committee, which include tourism, aviation, hotels & restaurants. Under ECLGS 2.0, banks would be able to provide collateral-free, fully guaranteed loans to borrowers on capped interest rates. It supports companies with outstanding dues of Rs 50-500 crore as on 29th Feb, and they would be able to borrow up to 20% of their outstanding dues as on 29th Feb, with a loan tenor set at 5 years. Also there will be a one-year moratorium on principal repayment. The scheme will be available till March 31, 2020.

Andaman Association of Tour Operators conducted an awareness meet on COVID-19 SOPs and guidelines under the leadership of M. Vinod, President at hotel Aries Grand on 7th Nov, 2020. Stakeholders from AATO, ACCI, hoteliers, boat owners and adventure sports operators participated in the meet. Chief guest Suneel Anchipaka, DC (SA) mentioned that A&N Administration is making all possible efforts to revive tourism in the Islands following all COVID protocols. He also mentioned that safety of the islanders is paramount and we will have to ensure that all precautionary measures are followed while conducting tourism activities in the Islands.

Satpal Maharaj, Tourism Minister, Uttarakhand, has said that “Our Government is considering bringing culinary art at a front line of the state’s tourism sector. If the hidden treasure of cuisine tourism is explored and implemented efficiently and effectively then within a very short period, the state will place itself as the culinary hub in the global map. Uttarakhand has a repository of polyherbs, spices that are known for its therapeutic use and used by the Rishis and exponents of the Ayurveda for centuries. The treasure trove of immunity-boosting delicacies of Uttarakhand can derive huge benefits from Healthy Cuisine tourism.”

EbixCash has launched the ‘Phir Se Ghoomega India’ campaign and offering value-for-money deals to the consumers looking to travel in the festive season. The offers will be available on its portal, Via.com. “I am excited at the campaign and equally optimistic about its success as we are experiencing a great response post-lockdown,” said Naveen Kundu, MD, Ebixcash Travel Group. The airline partners for this campaign are Vistara, AirAsia and GoAir, and the hotel groups having joined this campaign are Taj Group, Marriott, The Park, Radission Hotels, ITC Hotels, Sterling Holidays and Accor. The cab partners for this campaign are EbixCash Cab – AHA Taxis and EbixCash Gift Card.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Sarnath light and sound show in Varanasi among many other projects through video conference. In his address, he said that tourism is also a part of the development plan of the city and countryside in Varanasi. He also stressed that the connectivity of Varanasi has always been a top priority of the Government. Also, he added that new infrastructure is being constructed so that the people of Kashi and the tourists don’t waste their time in traffic jams.

Sunil C Gupta, EC Member & Chairman-Northern Region, IATO and Director, Travel Bureau, Agra, has said that the Minister of Tourism and Culture needs to review the capping of tourist numbers at the Taj Mahal, since that is creating a chaos and black marketing of tickets. Reacting on reports of tourists not getting tickets at Taj Mahal, he said, “It is very said that we have mismanaged and now there is a cap of 2500 tourists for morning and afternoon. This unnecessary shortage of tickets creates panic, fear, chaos and frustration among tourists. It’s totally unwarranted and impractical. We humbly request our dear tourism minister and DG-ASI to kindly review this as there is no need for any capping. This is sending a wrong a message to tourist and is counter-productive to the efforts of MOT and MOC for revival of tourism.”

Around 34% of Indians are still wary of travel, saying they would not feel comfortable traveling until a vaccine for COVID-19 is available, and the same sentiment is seen worldwide, according to the Amex Trendex, a trend report from American Express. It also revealed that 32% Indians already dreaming about their next holiday and 1 in 2 (50%) Indian adults are interested in receiving a trip in 2021 as a gift this holiday season.  They also marked a strong preference and were willing to pay extra for lodging and hotels that offered private and/or socially distanced amenities, eg: socially distanced spas (49%) and private pools (49%). 45% of Indian respondents said they are saving more money for their next trip as a result of the pandemic.

Alitalia has announced that they will restart the flights from Rome (FCO)-Delhi (DEL)-Rome (ROM) on 2nd March, 2021. The non-stop flights between Rome (FCO) and Delhi (DEL) will resumed and will operate 3 times a week ex Delhi on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and ex-Rome on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  Starting March 27, Alitalia will resume with daily operations.

On 2nd Nov’20 at midnight, Airport Authority of India’s (AAI’s) senior officials exchanged Memorandum of Understanding & handed over Lucknow Airport to Adani Group. A.K Sharma, APD, Lucknow exchanged symbolic key in accordance with concession agreement & future development of the airport.

Tourism Authority of Thailand- New Delhi, organised Loy Krathong Festival at Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi Airport, one of the first physical events hosted by a NTO after COVID struck. The event saw in attendance travel trade stalwarts from the NCR regions networking and enjoying the festivities after a long time.