The city of Venice is enjoying crystal clear waters in its world-famous canals due to a lack of debris from tourists and near-zero boat traffic under Italy’s ongoing coronavirus lockdown. The clear waters are a tiny bright spot in the beleaguered but beautiful city, whose economy has been virtually wiped out since tourists fled the area beginning last month. Since 9 March, the city like the rest of Italy has been a so-called ‘red zone’. That has had a drastic effect on Venice’s normally polluted waters, where speedboats churn up mud, and discarded plastic and other garbage from tourists float in its canals.

As the number of COVID-19 cases confirmed overseas daily have surpassed those within China, the draconian measures that appear to have quelled the outbreak domestically – particularly outside Hubei – are gradually being relaxed. With many provinces having downgraded their emergency response levels, China is slowly – and cautiously – returning to normal life. Apart from dining out, people are also gradually regaining their ability to travel. Many provinces and cities have steadily resumed their public transportation.

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is planning to promote night tour programs in cooperation with local governments to help the tourism industry recover at the earliest possible date, once the pandemic comes to an end. The organization said Korea has a good environment for developing night tours as it is known for its safe streets and 24-hour stores. In mid-February, the KTO began researching the night tour content of each region, with an aim of choosing and announcing 100 recommended programs on April 20. The KTO plans to produce a night tour directory in Korean in mid-April and will also host a night tour international forum in June.

According to a recent letter by Tourism Authority by Thailand, “TAT would like to take this special opportunity to extend our deepest gratitude and appreciation for your constant support in making Thailand a preferred destination for Indians. We have seen a healthy growth and increase in the number of travellers from India to continue with the success. We are committed to making travel and tourism of Thailand the most economically promising, environmentally sustainable and culturally vibrant in the years to come. You will agree that this year has been the most challenging one for the tourism industry. However, as with previous challenges the tourism industry will prove its resilience by not only overcoming the repercussions of the current pandemic but also emerged stronger than it has ever been. COVID-19 has brought us together as one. In a time of crisis there always opportunities and TAT stands with you to explore all that we can do for travellers and friends now and in the future. We are proud to be a part of such a great community of dedicated people who are patient, compassionate and full of hope for a brighter tomorrow. It is as much our mission as it is yours to bring joy to both travellers and to those we work with. The past six decades has truly been historic and enjoyable for us which would not have been possible without your friendship we look forward to continuing this journey with you as we make Amazing Thailand the preferred destination for everyone.”

Switzerland Tourism invites members of India’s travel trade for participate in its exclusive webinar Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city. Zurich is a cosmopolitan city and is abuzz with activities, experiences, and countless events, day and night. The webinar will take place today at 3:00pm and will highlight popular attractions and experiences that can be explored in and around Zurich. Participants get the opportunity to learn about the various products as well as get the latest news and updates from Zurich. Travel partners who attend all the webinars also stand a chance of winning a trip to Switzerland. For more information, please contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com.

According to FAITH, Travel and Tourism industry is hit economically globally and in India due to outbreak of coronavirus with many prospective domestic and foreign tourists cancelling their travel plans. This global pandemic has prompted the Indian government to impose increasingly tough restrictions on travel resulting in further drop in hotel occupancies since the imposition of the ban. It is estimated that as a result of this pandemic, Indian Tourism industry is looking at pan India bankruptcies, closure of businesses and mass unemployment. It is believed that around 70% out of a total estimated workforce of 5.5 crores (direct and indirect) could get unemployed (~ 3.8 crores).  This effect of job losses and layoffs has already begun throughout the country.   A large % of total tourism business activity of India, which is estimated at $ 28 billion+ in forex and upwards of ₹ 2 lakh crores in domestic tourism activity will be at economic risk through the year. Thus, in excess of ₹ 5 lakh crores of direct tourism industry and almost double that of total economic activity is at risk.   In this backdrop, The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), the umbrella body of the industry has written a letter to Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to highlight the devastating economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the tourism industry and seek his intervention in terms of financial relief for the industry to grapple with the situation.   Some of the key industry asks that are highlighted in the letter include  :   Twelve months moratorium on EMIs of principle and interest payments on loans and working capital from Financial Institutions (both banking & non-banking). Double working capital limits and …

A recent report by HVS states, it is always difficult to recover rate degradation once demand picks up. The report also explains, “As per research reports, while India was not impacted significantly by SARS, global demand picked up within a month after the SARS epidemic was contained and travel bans were lifted, but hotels that had reduced rates significantly were not able to push their rates later. The industry could witness a similar revival in demand this time as well; over 90% of domestic hotels in China had resumed operations at the end of February 2020, just 2 months after the first Covid-19 case was reported in the country.”

The meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture was held in New Delhi. The meeting was led by its Chairman the Minister of State ( IC) for Tourism and Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel. The agenda of the meeting was “ Promotion / Development of rural Tourism and home stays and Improvement in Global Benchmarking of tourism sector”. The Ministry of Culture focused on various cultural activities like fairs and festivals. The Members of the committee gave innovative suggestions on promotion of tourism and culture for Incredible India. The Minister highlighted on the need to convene at regular intervals and he also highlighted on the need to give specific suggestions on aspects of roads development so that the diverse parts of India can be accessed by all to appreciate the immense potential of India’s art, heritage, culture and natural sites.

Korea Tourism Organization is excited to host a webinar for the travel trade on 25th March, 2020 at 3pm. For more information and to register, please contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com. The webinar will be a refresher course on South Korea as an overall tourism destination from the Indian customer perspective. It will cover all the basic destination information and highlight the popular places along with ideas on how to create a better South Korea tour product for the Indian consumer. The webinar will cover FIT and leisure travel but will also have valuable inputs for MICE groups. Jong Sool Kwon, Director – Korea Tourism Organization, New Delhi office, says, “As we are all aware of the business slowdown due to the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak globally, I think it is best for the travel industry to utilise this time to better update itself with as much destination knowledge as possible. On that note, I have initiated the South Korea product webinar campaign so that travel agents can benefit themselves and be better prepared once the demand rises again

Major world airlines axed almost all flights on a temporary basis as the worsening coronavirus crisis sparks travel bans, ravages demand and sends shares into freefall, triggering pleas to help carriers survive. IAG, owner of British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia, announced it would slash flight capacity by 75 per cent during April and May owing to the COVID-19 outbreak. Britain’s Virgin Atlantic added that it has decided to park 75 per cent of its total fleet — and in April this will rise as high as 85 per cent. Virgin has reportedly called upon the UK government to inject emergency support totalling 7.5 billion pounds (USD 9.2 billion) to help keep Britain’s aviation industry flying. In Germany, Lufthansa has been forced to scrap around two thirds of its flights in coming weeks as several countries including the United States ban travellers from Europe. “Last week saw a rapid acceleration of the impact of COVID-19 on global aviation and tourism,” Virgin Atlantic warned in a statement. “The situation is deteriorating at pace and the airline has seen several days of negative bookings, driven by a huge volume of cancellations as customers choose to stay at home.” British no-frills carrier EasyJet warned it may have to ground “the majority” of its fleet, urging governments across Europe to help their airlines maintain access to liquidity.