Speaking at the Arabian Travel Market that concluded its in-person element on May 19, Taleb Rifai, Chairman, International Tourism and Investment Conference (ITIC) and former Secretary General, UNWTO, said, “Governments must come together. They must work together. There is no sense in any country working on its own anymore.” The virtual element of ATM will take place from May 24-26.

A 150-bed oxygenated COVID-19 treatment centre – COV-AID@BLR – has opened at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. Patients will be treated free of cost at the facility, however, the cost for medicines and tests would have to be borne by them apart from self-arranged ambulance service. COV-AID@BLR is open for the public and employees from the BLR Airport ecosystem.

With the country reeling under the havoc caused by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, tour operators in Kerala have come to the rescue. Amidst shortage of oxygen, ambulances and other medical supplies, these tour operators in the state are now converting their buses and vans into ambulances fitted with oxygen cylinders, many offering the service free of charge.

The Jharkhand government has announced that all passengers flying into the state will have to mandatorily home-quarantine for seven days and also register themselves on jharkhandtravel.nic.in. Passengers also need to get an RT-PCR test done on arrival if not already carrying a negative RT-PCR report issued within 72 hours of arrival.

On the occasion of International Museum Day, the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi launched its audio-visual guide App, making it possible for museum lovers to visit the Indian modern art exhibited at the museum virtually. Available on both Google and Apple application stores, the App allows users to listen to narrations and take museum tours that are a mix of rich imagery, videos and voice. A web version of the App is also available. The NGMA App and tours are free for all users. 

Abu Dhabi, which currently requires travellers to quarantine for 10 days unless they are from a green-list country, will end quarantine for all international arrivals starting from July 1, according to Gulf News. The emirate is also looking at extending the green list to cover a majority of the markets that it is tapping into and hopefully, by the 1st of July, everybody will be allowed to travel to Abu Dhabi, Gulf News adds.

TK Jose, CEO of Jose Travels, has been re-elected as Chairman for the Madhya Pradesh chapter of TAFI for the term 2021-2023. The election was conducted through an electronic voting process owing to the pandemic. “We will collectively work for the betterment of our chapter and will take up various issues faced by our travel fraternity with the concerned department or airline,” Jose said.

The World Committee on Tourism Ethics, an independent body under the aegis of the UNWTO, met recently to assess the implications health certificates might have on tourism ethics. The Committee has recommended that COVID-19 certificates for international travel must be free, universally available and non-discriminatory. They must also be limited in time and use, it says.

At FITUR, the international Spanish tourism trade fair in Madrid from May 19-23, UNWTO will ensure sustainability, innovation and responsibility are a central part of the conversation. The hybrid event will celebrate the diversity of the award-winning ideas for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and the people behind them.

In its recently-updated guidelines, Ministry of Civil Aviation has advised airline operators to accept only those passengers who are carrying a negative RT-PCR test report with QR code for boarding international flights departing from lndia May 22 onwards. This will ensure minimum physical contact and smooth movement of passengers.