While the tourism industry was disappointed with the sector not being mentioned in the stimulus package announced by the finance minister, Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary – Tourism, Government of India, has said that the new definition of MSME, which has removed the differentiation between manufacturing and services sector MSMEs, shall benefit tourism as 70-80% of the sector falls under MSME. “Throughout my tenure, I have been hearing from the industry that 70-80 per cent of the stakeholders in tourism fall under the MSME category. The biggest announcement under Atmanirbhar Bharat programme was pertaining to the MSMEs. Hence, we have clarified to the industry that the biggest announcements are there for them as well. The fact that the differentiation of definition between the manufacturing and the services sector MSME, which has been removed and the caps which have been changed for the services sector MSMEs, like tourism sector MSMEs, shall bring benefits. It’s not just the benefits which have been given, but it also further expands the scope of the tourism industry, to be part of the MSME definition and to take the benefits, which are due under the MSME category of Atmanirbhar Bharat announcements. I believe that the industry has started understanding that because they are now bringing out 1-2 difficult areas wherein the tourism industry may not get the kind of benefits it has been expecting. We are bringing up those difficulties to the appropriate authorities to see if we can resolve them, so that more benefits reach out to the MSME tourism industry,” he said.

The 4th TravTalk Digital Conclave is all set to be held tomorrow, Tuesday, 9th June, with a focus on re-engineering tourism and establishing confidence among travellers. To register, please send an email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +9650196532. The three sessions between 10:00 am and 1:30 pm will cover subjects such as a practical vision for the future, managing customer experience, and reducing fears & establishing confidence.

The One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme led by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has announced its new vision for global tourism– growing better, stronger, and balancing the needs of people, planet and prosperity. The One Planet Vision for the responsible recovery of the tourism sector builds on the UNWTO Global Guidelines to Restart Tourism, with the aim to emerge stronger and more sustainable from the COVID-19 crisis. Sustainability must no longer be a niche part of tourism but must be the new norm for every part of the tourism sector, the document states. The programme is structured around six lines of action, namely public health, social inclusion, biodiversity conservation, climate action, circular economy and governance & finance.

The Empowered Group 6 (EG 6) constituted by Government of India and chaired by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, held a meeting with business leaders from the aviation industry and Ministry of Civil Aviation to discuss possibilities for strengthening operations and augmenting the recovery of the aviation sector under the new normal. The meeting was also attended by Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), which covers the functioning of banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and the National Pension System; and representatives of airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir, AirAsia, Vistara and Air India.

WTTC has unveiled the second phase of measures to rebuild global consumer confidence to encourage the return of travelling. The latest protocols are designed to enable sectors such as tour operators and convention centres, meetings and events to thrive once again. The extended measures follow the ‘Safe Travels’ guidelines that were launched by WTTC on May 12. Detailed discussions took place with key stakeholders and organisations to ensure maximum buy-in, alignment and practical implementation, to set clear expectations of what travellers may experience in the ‘new normal’. Those relating to airports and airlines have been devised following close consultation with WTTC Members IATA and Airports Council International (ACI), to rebuild trust and provide reassurance that airports and airlines will offer safe environments in which to fly once travel restrictions are relaxed.

The world is slowly opening up again, new research from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) indicates, with destinations cautiously easing travel restrictions introduced in response to COVID-19. As the United Nations specialised agency releases its Global Guidelines for Reopening Tourism, signalling a transition into gearing up for stronger and better recovery, 3% of all global destinations have now taken steps to ease travel restrictions. However, UNWTO notes that 100% of all destinations worldwide continue to have some form of COVID-19-related travel restrictions in place and stresses the need for vigilance, responsibility and international cooperation as the world slowly opens up again.

Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has requested the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to reduce the entrance fee for foreign nationals at ASI monuments, charging them the same as it would charge the nationals of SAARC countries. This, it requests, should be extended till March 31, 2022 and will help inbound tour operators reduce the package cost. The move will also help spread the message to the international travel community that India is more than willing and ready to welcome foreign tourists. The reduced fee and in turn a reduction in the package cost would enable inbound tour operators to start selling trips to India as soon as the country opens for international tourism.

IndiGo has said that it will keep adding new aircraft to its fleet even though it can’t give any firm guidance on future capacity growth because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline, the world’s biggest customer for Airbus SE’s best-selling A320neo jets, plans to return its entire fleet of 120 older, fuel-guzzling planes to lessors in the next two years, CEO Ronojoy Dutta said in a conference call with analysts and investors after the carrier reported fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday. “Almost all or close to all” of those aircraft will be replaced by new jets, Dutta said, without giving a time frame for that to happen. “We are in active discussions with Airbus — we will take a large number. It will all depend on the revenue picture and the pricing we get and so forth, but we will take a large number,” he added. IndiGo, which had earlier expected capacity to increase 20 per cent in the year ending March 2021, refrained from giving any guidance as it declared quarterly financial results. It posted a loss of Rs 8.7 billion for the fourth quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of 5.9 billion rupees in the same period a year earlier.  

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is moving quickly to draft strategy to support the Royal Thai Government’s third phase of easing business activities and restrictions after its most recent announcement on June 1, which is effective immediately. The relaxation helps some tourism-related businesses while other venue operators must wait and continue to follow guidelines issued by the Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health. Moreover, all international flights to Thailand are still banned until 30 June, 2020, due to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT)’s announcement. TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said, “TAT is working actively with our tourism partners and other industry partners to monitor and identify opportunities.  TAT has formulated a strategy to support domestic tourism first and learn from experience, so that Thai tourists feel confident about their first travel choices around the Kingdom after the situation of the COVID-19 eases.” To begin with (phase one) TAT has identified basic truths of the new reality moving forward: To restart, the tourism industry must be under disease control measures until a vaccine is developed to prevent this disease. This will affect and change all behaviour and patterns of traditional travel and tourism activities starting from the aviation experience. Phase two and three begin once operational level products are functioning and a proper reduced carrying capacity is established so phase two can commence after international flights are allowed again. 

In the first phase of ‘unlock’ across the country, Jairam Thakur, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, has declared that all temples, restaurants and hotels in the state will reopen after June 8. The catch, however, is that these places will be open only for those from within the state and not for those coming from outside Himachal.  Claiming that tourism in the state has been severely hit owing to the extended lockdown, the chief minister added that now they shall reopen the state for business, a large section of which depends on tourism for its livelihood. Citing the hospitality sector, he said that reopening of hotels is necessary.