MOT’s decision to put up signage in Chinese language at major destinations is part of a plan to attract 20 million foreign tourists by 2020. The sites which will be covered include Nalanda, Rajgir, Vaishali, Kesharia and Vikramshila in Patna circle, Sarnath, Chaukhandi and Kidhinagar under Sarnath circle, Sravasti and Kapilavastu in Lucknow circle and Sanchi, Bhashut and Satdhara under Bhopal circle. Source: PTI

A sprawling storm in the central US could wreak travel havoc in the days before Thanksgiving.  Snow, rain and even thunderstorms are possible across the region. There is the potential for heavy snow and winterlike travel conditions with substantial delays to spread from eastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico to parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan as Thanksgiving travel surges. Blizzard conditions are also possible in the Upper Midwest as the storm strengthens. A blizzard means heavy snow with winds of at least 35 mph and less than 1/4 mile visibility. A separate storm could also bring coastal rain and mountain snow to the Pacific Northwest both on the Thanksgiving Day.

Venice, the capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region has declared a state of emergency after a massive a 1.8-metre flood devastated the tourist hotspot and killed at least two people. An estimated 85 per cent of the city is underwater, sparking concerns over damage to ancient mosaics and artworks. Saint Mark’s Square was submerged by more than one metre of water, while the adjacent Saint Mark’s Basilica was flooded for only the sixth time in 1200 years – sparking fears for millions of dollars’ worth of artwork. The city’s Mayor has blamed climate change for the ‘dramatic situation’.

Passengers travelling to and from northern New South Wales (NSW) and Sydney are being advised to check in with their airlines as smoke from bushfires threatens flights and airport operations. As rising wind stokes bushfires burning across the state, Qantas has been forced to cancel about 10 services between Sydney and the northern NSW towns of Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour. Flights along the east coast have been cancelled and airports are reporting low visibility from smoke as bushfires rage through northern NSW. Virgin Australia has cancelled its Alliance Airlines-operated flights from Sydney and Brisbane to the northern NSW town of Port Macquarie.

Cambodia is banning elephant rides at Angkor Wat, the country’s most popular tourist attraction. For touring the temple complex, animals were used daily to transport visitors around the area, which welcomes more than 2.6 million tourists a year. In 2016, a female elephant named Sambo collapsed and died after ferrying tourists around Angkor during intense heat. Shortly thereafter, a petition collected over 185,000 signatures to ban elephant riding at Angkor. Apparently, the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor (APSARA) and the Region of Siem Reap took the public pressure and is now gradually transferring the remaining elephants out of Angkor by early 2020 in conjunction with the Elephant Management Association. In April 2019, Madrid banned wild-animal circuses, and just a few days ago, Paris also banned wild animals in circuses, effective in 2020. England is also banning the use of wild animals in circuses, starting in 2020.

Foreign Tourist Arrivals in October 2019 were 9,44,233 as compared to 8,90,223 in October 2018 registering a growth of 6.1%, revealed recent figures by Ministry of Tourism. FTAs during the period January- October 2019 were 85,77,687 as compared to 83,53,909 in January- October 2018 registering a growth of 2.7%.

Passengers carried by domestic airlines during Jan-Oct 2019 were 1182.06 lakhs as against 1146.37 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering annual growth of 3.11% and monthly growth of 3.98%, revealed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The passenger load factor in the month of October trend compared to previous month primarily due to the onset of tourist season.

Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata are the preferred destination cities for medical tourists arriving in India. Nearly 27 % of India’s medical tourists head to Maharashtra, out of which 80% go to Mumbai, reveals the report India Building Best Practices in Healthcare Services Globally 2019-20 by FICCI. Chennai attracts nearly 15% of the incoming foreign patients while Kerala handles around 5% to 7%. 

Meenakshi Sharma, Director General, Tourism, updated the industry stakeholders on the initiatives of Ministry of Tourism (MOT) at the 8th Update and Outlook Meeting organised by PATA India Chapter. Speaking at the event, she revealed that the Incredible India Tourism Facilitator Certification (IITFC) Programme will finally be launched in the first week of January 2020, and the registrations for the same would begin in the last week of December 2019. She said, “The Tourism Facilitator scheme came up last year as a thought process and had the approval of the authorities. We are ready to launch the scheme and hopefully by first week of January it will be out. Registrations would begin in last week of December 2019.”

LATAM Airlines Group and DELTA has recently announced strategic partnership where Delta will make a public offer to acquire 20% of LATAM Group at US$16 per ADR. Delta will buy 14 Airbus A350 aircrafts from the LATAM Group: 4 currently owned by the LATAM Group, and 10 with orders placed by LATAM to be delivered from 2020 on. Delta will secure US$350 million to support the creation of this alliance.