StreetGooser, a cloud-based accommodation management system with 4,000 hotels in its kitty, has signed an MoU with HATS – a consortium of homestays and tourism promoters which has, under its belt, a thousand homestays across Kerala. Shakthivelu M, Managing Director and Co-founder of StreetGooser, says, “We, at StreetGooser, have provided our Property Management System for free to members of HATS as there is an innate synergy between our two organizations.” John Varghese N, CEO and Founder of StreetGooser adds, “StreetGooser will hold webinars to educate and integrate homestay owners into the system. Our cutting-edge technology helps home owners to run their business efficiently and smoothly, giving them the tools to hike occupancy rates and revenue.” “Homestays have their own USPs,” says MP Sivadathan, Director Kerala HATS & Member, State Tourism Advisory Committee. “Homestays offer tourists secure and affordable accommodation, personalized service, the opportunity to interact with hosts who have local know-how and relish cuisine that is fresh, seasonal and organic,” he adds. However, home stays often have challenges, especially when located in off-trail areas. Boosting occupancy and revenue becomes difficult in the absence of an online presence. “Another spin-off of the partnership is that homestays that are unique and experiential will be showcased on GypZe.com, giving them greater visibility,” says  Hema Manghnani, Vice-President Business Development. “GypZe is a flagship venture of StreetGooser and a one-of-a-kind online travel companion and guide,” she explains. “It is essentially a booking platform dedicated to experiential stays.”

As part of Tourism New Zealand’s virtual road trip series, the region to be covered this month is Auckland. The webinar is scheduled for February 18, 2021 at 11am, and will be similar to what it did with Christchurch, West Coast, Nelson Tasman, Queenstown and Wellington wherein pre-recorded video content shared by the New Zealand product operators will be shared. Auckland is New Zealand’s most populous city and is a multi-cultural hub of food, music, arts and culture. To experience this road trip, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

The Utah Office of Tourism has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a destination member. Vicki Varela, Managing Director, Utah Office of Tourism, says, “From The Mighty 5 national parks to The Greatest Snow on Earth, our unparalleled outdoor recreation depends on the thoughtful stewardship of our natural resources. Our Red Emerald Strategic Plan strives to continue powerful branding, promote responsible visitation, and help preserve our world-class quality of life for future generations. We are proud to join the Global Sustainable Tourism Council in establishing Utah as an industry leader in responsible visitation to ensure our treasured places remain forever mighty.” GSTC encourages destinations pursuing sustainability practices in development and management of tourism, to join as GSTC members and apply the GSTC Destination Criteria, which eventually can lead to achieving certification by a GSTC-Accredited Certification Body.        

After being completely ignored in the latest Union Budget 2021, the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has written to the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing disappointment and has sought his meeting. The apex hospitality association has conveyed dismay and disappointment on the gross neglect shown to the hospitality sector in the Budget. The FHRAI has stated its disbelief on the 19 per cent retrenchment in the budget allocation for the Ministry of Tourism at a time when the sector is facing the worst crisis for tourism. In the absence of a sector-specific stimulus package, at least 30 to 40 per cent restaurants and 20 to 30 per cent hotels in the country are facing imminent shut down of business, resulting into millions of job losses. “We are really disheartened to see that tourism and hospitality – the biggest casualty of the COVID19 pandemic have been continuously ignored by the Government ever since the pandemic hit the country. It did not even find a mention in the Budget presented by the Finance Minister. The FHRAI has been vociferously advocating for some real relief measures to help the sector come out of the biggest crisis. Despite our numerous representations over the last ten months and multiple meetings with the highest echelons in the Government, the Hospitality sector has been blatantly ignored. The Prime Minister has always been a strong proponent of India’s tourism potential. We are hoping that he will understand and offer a remedy for the industry’s concerns for which we have sought a meeting with him,” says Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice President, FHRAI.

In an unprecedented airline-citizen partnership, the travel trade and the hotel industry in Jaisalmer came together and helped reinstate SpiceJet flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad to the Golden City starting 12 February, 2021. Ritika Modi, Regional President, UNIGLOBE Travel South Asia and Manvendra Singh Shekhawat, MD, Suryagarh and Founder of I Love Jaisalmer, played a key role. They reached out to Shilpa Bhatia, CCO, SpiceJet, and proposed that the stakeholders share airline losses on the routes. After the agreement for the same, SpiceJet and the Government have now reinstated the flight.

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism revealed that to fund the various schemes implemented by MoT during FY2021-22, the Ministry of Finance has earmarked Rs. 2026.77 cr in the Union Budget 2021-22, which is 61% higher than the revised estimates of 2020-21. He added out of this, Rs 950 cr will be used for tourism infrastructure and Rs 670 cr on promotional activities. The rest of the allocation would be used for funding other schemes like capacity building for service providers, champion service sector scheme etc and to meet the establishment expenditure of the Ministry.

With a special package of Rs 300 crore received from Centre to celebrate its independence from Portuguese rule, Goa government now may have to part with some of it for tourism. Nilesh Shah, President of Travel & Tourism Association of Goa, says “We hope 50 per cent of this fund is allocated to tourism.” There is no clarity on when the funds would be disbursed and if they would come for any specific purpose.

Arunachal Pradesh deputy CM Chowna Mein has asked the department of tourism to simplify the process of obtaining Inner Line and Protected Area Permits for tourists willing to visit the state. He said, “This will increase tourist inflow and make the state more traveller-friendly. A large number of tourists want to visit Arunachal but many are reluctant because of the complexity one has to go through in obtaining these permits.”

Etihad Airways has become the first airline in the world with all its operating pilots and cabin crew vaccinated to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and give its passengers peace of mind. In January 2021, Etihad was awarded Diamond status for ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness and sanitisation in the inaugural ‘APEX Health Safety, powered by SimpliFlying’ audit. The airline’s vaccination initiative has consolidated Etihad’s position as an industry leader in its response to the pandemic and in keeping its employees and travellers safe. Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “We proactively made the vaccine available to all our employees to not only help combat the effects of COVID-19 but to make travellers feel confident and reassured the next time they fly with us. We are the only airline in the world to make COVID-19 testing mandatory for every passenger and crew member before every flight and now, we’re the first airline in the world with 100% vaccinated crew on board. “I chose very early on to be vaccinated to demonstrate my own support of the national vaccination programme and to encourage everyone at Etihad who was eligible for the vaccine, to receive it as soon as possible. I would like to thank the entire Etihad family for everything they have done to help us reach this milestone – I am truly humbled.” This achievement was made possible through Etihad’s ‘Protected Together’ employee vaccination initiative which was formally launched in January this year. Building on the UAE’s Choose to Vaccinate campaign, Protected Together is about helping staff take proactive, personal steps towards protecting themselves against COVID-19.

Interglobe Aviation, that runs IndiGo, has paid SEBI Rs 2.10 cr under the consent mechanism of the regulator in the case of alleged violations of listing norms and lapses of corporate governance. The company however, SEBI said, has not admitted or denied any violation on its part. Indigo came under the scanner after the regulator received a complaint from Rakesh Gangwal, co-promoter of firm in 2019, alleging corporate governance lapses against his partner Rahul Bhatia.