Commenting on how bringing tourism under the Concurrent List will help the industry, Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, VP, FHRAI says, “We had been asking the government for this since decades. What happens now is that we have one minister dedicated to this sector. There are certain laws and policies that will be formulated by the Centre and those will have to be liable on all the states. This means things will be regulated and everything will get streamlined. A sector such as tourism which has been a state matter until now will now be brought under the Centre.”

Tourism ADG Rupinder Brar has announced that the country will have a uniform national travel guidelines soon, stating that demand for balancing internal travel has been raised by private industry stakeholders. “The Ministry is working on this and directions will be given to states in this regard. The Ministry is also in dialogue with Ministry of Health and is working on systems that can assure safety to reopen destinations for international travel.”

Using microblogging service as a platform, the DGCA has issued an advisory to passengers travelling to international destinations. It said that these passengers are requested to check the airfare preferably from the website of the concerned airline directly because the meta search engines at times do not reflect the actual point to point fare and do make combinations of multiple airlines and end up with an exaggerated figure.

VisitBritain along with British Educational Travel Association will conduct a Youth Travel Workshop 2021 from 19-20 October 2021. This virtual event is aimed at youth, student and educational travel professionals who are buying and selling products, programmes, itineraries and services, specifically aimed at the inbound UK youth, student and educational travel market. Registrations are open now. The event will be split into two half-day sessions.

Gujarat Tourism recently conducted a physical roadshow for travel agents and tour operators of Telangana. It was also attended by Chairman of Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation, Uppalla Srinivas Gupta who stressed the need to promote tourism ties between the two states. Sai Rupa Datta, Assistant Director, India Tourism, was also present at the event.

DDP Digital Conclave brings you an opportunity to learn from some of the brightest, most experienced minds in the hospitality sector strategies that will truly help bring business back. Speakers at the hour-long session titled ‘The Post Pandemic Reset’ are Abinash Manghani (WelcomHeritage), Alok Sharma (Shycocan Corporation) and Vineet Wadhwa (Fio Restaurants). To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

With the coronavirus situation improving, Cordelia cruises are all set to resume sailing operations from September 2021.  While their maiden cruise was cancelled by the deadly second wave, the team is upbeat and cautiously optimistic that they can travel freely again. “The second wave led to the cancellation of our initial sailing plans but we were equipped to handle such exigencies. Our team is in touch with guests who have booked with us, and we are regularly checking on the status of their health and vaccination. Safety is the most crucial word in travel today” says Jurgen Bailom, CEO & President for Waterways Leisure Tourism who also added that the response from the guests to the new itineraries has been encouraging. The timeline is also in sync with that of the international cruise industry which is making a comeback in a phased manner. Most cruise liners are commencing sailings with a few ships on certain routes as per the permissions received. It is expected that most of them will start operations between July and August 2021 on specific routes and gradually become fully functional by 2021 end. Cordelia has implemented all the standard protocols for its crew members and guests.  This includes fully vaccinated crew, daily health checks for crew members, hourly sanitization of facilities, air-filtration and aocial distancing norms, limited guests as per the official mandate by the government, special services team in charge of the safety and health of senior citizens and children, and pre-requisite of tests and vaccination before boarding for guests being worked out apart from comprehensive pre travel checks. Cordelia promises sailing to some of the best Indian and international destinations like Goa, Diu, Lakshadweep, …

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) took its Indian travel partners on an immersive virtual tour of Singapore that is filled with fun experiences, ranging from a wildlife tour up close with animals to a mixology masterclass. The SingapoReimagine Virtual Experiences Familiarisation Day aimed to create a differentiated and immersive experience for the travel trade fraternity in India, and to reimagine and evolve their definition of travel. The event was held on the 27th July for travel agents from the South and West region and then on 31st July for travel agents from North and East India. The tour kicked off with a virtual in-flight experience of landing in Singapore on Singapore Airlines, which was a much-welcomed throwback to the days of pre-pandemic travel. The agents went on to enjoy edutainment tours that were conducted by Wildlife Reserves Singapore, getting up close virtually with the animals at the Singapore Zoo, and a virtual stroll down by the Singapore River, one that was livened up by games, quizzes and nuggets of trivia by Monster Tours. Guests were treated to a curated Singapore-themed lunch with a sumptuous spread delivered to their homes. They also toured the Brass Lion Distillery, a full-fledged working distillery known for its special Singapore dry gin. The highlight of this session was a cocktail making masterclass conducted by the Distillery’s brand ambassador and mixologist, Kino Soh, complete with specially-curated cocktail hampers delivered to the agents so that they could try their hand at mixing the drinks during the session. Said Akhil Verma, Director – Brand Solutions, Tripoto Travels, “This SingapoReimagine event was brilliantly put together and showcased how technology will pave the path for travellers in the new age. The …

ibis India has announced a new offering perfect for pet parents in need of a getaway. The hotel brand’s latest pet-friendly policy will help pet parents to enjoy their stay at ibis hotels, with their pets. To make these stays hassle-free, a number of welcome amenities such as food bowls, puppy pads, and plenty of treats are available on request. A pet-friendly in-room menu is also available.

Effective 2 August, 2021, Spain has re-opened its borders for tourism for fully vaccinated travellers originating from India. The last dose of the vaccine should be received 14 days prior to the departure date. Turespaña has introduced a microsite called ‘TRAVELSAFE’ within its official web site. and aims to aid international travellers with information on travel restrictions which is updated regularly.