A total of six regions from South Korea will be showcased at the first virtual Korea Travel Expo which is to be held from June 22-24, 2021. The regions, represented by their RTOs, are Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Gyeonggi, Jeju and Gyeongsangbuk-do, revealed Young-Geul Choi, Director, Korea Tourism Organization. Register at www.koreatravelexpo.com, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com, or call +91 9650196532.

A recent IATA Air Passenger Market Analysis reveals that improvement in early bookings for June-August travel period indicate a revival of demand for the summer season. Although passengers continue to book close to the travel date, nevertheless, the improvement in two months’ forward travel bookings compared to the same period in 2019 is robust, (-72% vs -66%).

Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog, has said that Maharashtra’s Aurangabad needs both an international airport as well as a state-of-the-art convention centre to boost tourism in the region. Kant announced this at his recent two-day visit to Aurangabad Industrial City (AURIC), and added that while other newer cities took time to establish, Aurangabad already has ready infrastructure.

A recent Tweet by Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) suggests that an RT-PCR report is no longer required to enter the state. Tourists are, however, requested to enter their particulars on http://covid19epass.hp.gov.on before entering Himachal. HPTDC is also offering a 30% discount on bookings at all its hotels.

In all likelihood, the Adani Group may come out with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for its airport business that is owned Adani Enterprises as Adani Airports Holdings. The airport business may become an entity separate from the holding Adani Enterprises. Before the launch, the Group is looking to raise $500 million on a private placement basis.

In the latest hearing of the Oyo Insolvency case before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), the Tribunal has allowed the intervention of Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) on behalf of hotels. The FHRAI has intervened on behalf of its member hotels that are operational creditors who are suffering hugely on account of non-payments of debt by Oyo. FHRAI members have filed claims before the IRP of around Rs93 crore and the Association expects more hotels to submit their claims before the next hearing on June 21, 2021.

Liz Ortiguera, the CEO of PATA, has said that travel recovery is being driven by a complex range of factors, from varying market policies regarding virus control and containment to local citizens’ sentiments on vaccine take-up. “In the travel industry, a ‘duty of care’-based approach in delivering services and products will support a more sustainable recovery,” she explains.

CAPA Advisory, in its Airline Outlook FY2022, has said that there will be strategic consolidation in the Indian airline sector once the COVID umbrella has lifted. If there is no consolidation (although such a scenario appears unlikely) and if the privatisation of Air India does not proceed, then the Indian aviation sector may emerge from COVID with more airlines than it went in with.

Sharing his view on the RBI’s decision to open an ‘on-tap liquidity window for contact-intensive sectors’, aggregating ₹15,000 crore till March 31, 2022 for the tourism sector, Aditya Agarwal, CFO, Cleartrip, has said, “This measure helps alleviate the stress in the sector, provides much-needed support to industry participants, and allows the industry to be well prepared to meet customer needs.”

Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL) has received the final credit sanction for Rs3,725 crore from the State Bank of India (SBI) for the development of Noida International Airport (NIA). Zurich Airport International AG (ZAIA) is the main shareholder of YIAPL and is injecting Rs2,005 crore into the development of NIA.