In a strategic move, the Karvat Group has taken over the reins of the travel ancillary business, and will hereon steer its business in India with sole proprietorship. Dev Karvat will take on the ownership of the entire group’s operations in India as CEO. He says, “The company’s commitment towards the travel trade is as persistent as ever. We are thankful to the Cover-More Group for enriching our experience with their global expertise. We will be happy to welcome them back to India in the future. We are now focusing on India-centric offerings. I am happy to share the launch of a new venture – Asego.”

In anticipation of Fiji’s borders re-opening to travellers, Fiji has introduced a ‘Care Fiji Commitment’ programme dedicated to enhanced safety, health and hygiene protocols to ensure the utmost safety of travellers to Fiji. Although Fiji’s borders are currently still closed, this programme represents a destination-wide assurance that Fiji is ready to welcome travellers safely back. Due to the country’s quick and effective response to COVID-19, Fiji was able to contain the virus from an early stage. The government’s effective containment measures put in place in March 2020 meant Fiji was able to officially declare itself COVID-contained in June 2020. Now, with the introduction of the Care Fiji Commitment, travellers can be assured that Fiji is a safe destination to enjoy on their next vacation to the islands. “The Care Fiji Commitment is our assurance to travellers that the health and safety of everyone who lives and travels here remains our number one priority,” says Tourism Fiji Acting CEO, Robert Thompson. “With this added layer of confidence in place, Fiji is primed to be an ideal post-pandemic destination – one that is and has remained COVID-19 safe, allows natural social distancing, has a wide variety of islands to choose from, offers mostly boutique resorts with under 50 rooms total, and is known for its wide-open beaches and expansive rainforests.”

One Above has added another feather to its cap and has opened an office in Taiwan – One Above Taiwan. Sharing this update is Rahim Aslam, Director, One Above, who says, “One Above Taiwan is going to be as big as Hong Kong for Indian travellers. Taiwan has the best of culture, shopping, cuisine and entertainment for every Indian traveller. Emily who heads One Above Taiwan comes with immense experience handling the Indian market in Taiwan. Under her guidance, One Above Taiwan will offer unique, high-quality travel, MICE experiences and cruise travel in Taiwan. We look ahead to 2021 with great confidence, optimism and resilience. The pandemic is far from over. However, with the global roll-out of vaccines, international borders re-opening and global economies slowly recovering – we anticipate a more promising year ahead.”

Of all the hiring in 2020, metro cities of New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai accounted for nearly half of the job postings on Indeed. Maximum aspirants for these jobs, however, emerged  from Jalandhar, Chandigarh, New Delhi, and Lucknow. This was an interesting departure from the top cities in 2019 where job seekers looked for hospitality and tourism jobs, namely popular tourism hubs before the pandemic set in such as Goa, Panchkula, Chandigarh, Guwahati and Delhi.

Giving fresh boost to tourism and adventure sports, the Union Ministry of Tourism & Culture Prahlad Singh Patel visited Kargil on the occasion on National Tourism Day on January 25, 2021 to inaugurate the National Event of Adventure Tourism (NEAT Kargil 2021). He also announced a branch of the Indian Institute of Skiing & Mountaineering (IISM) in Kargil to encourage the local youth to take up adventure.

A recent entrant in the cloud-based hotel management software domain, StreetGooser, will now launch GYPZE.com – a booking platform dedicated to experiential stays – on 14 February, 2021. It will offer booking options for under-the-radar luxury boutique home stays, villas and resorts. John Varghese, CEO and Founder, GYPZE.com, says, “All travellers have to do is choose from a select array of homestays, villas and resorts across the globe. Our bouquet of offerings include quality, secure and safe accommodation in off-trail often secret locations, known only to the discerning traveller. An added advantage is that GYPZE.com can be accessed on your mobile too.” GYPZE.com vets each property to see if it meets the company’s stringent quality standards. As per Varghese, boutique properties offering experiential stays face unique challenges – lack of online exposure, absence of a platform that focuses on experiential stays and one which highlights the USPs of each property. Without the marketing muscle of chain hotels, off-beat hideaways have to pay higher commissions to booking engines and travel agents yet have very little customer support.

Sharing his expectations from the Union Budget, Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India), says, “I look forward to Government support on soft loans to finance working capital, incentivisng tourism spends by providing income tax concessions, payment of overdue SEIS benefits, easing of indirect taxes and waiving off TCS to help aid recovery.”

Russian authorities have said that flights between Moscow and the capitals of India and three other countries including Qatar, Finland and Vietnam that were suspended since the early weeks of the pandemic, will restart from January 27, 2021, after certain epidemiological criteria were met. These routes will have several flights per week.

The International Air Transport Association and Etihad Airways have announced a partnership to launch the IATA Travel Pass for the airline’s guests. The IATA Travel Pass is a mobile app to help passengers manage their travel in line with government requirements for COVID-19 tests or vaccines. IATA Travel Pass will initially be offered to Etihad’s guests on selected flights from Abu Dhabi in Q1 of 2021.

Manipur is planning to develop war tourism in the state by preserving the historic Koirengei in Imphal, which is an old airfield in the northeast state. The British had built nine airfields in the state, all of which played some role in the war. N Biren Singh, CM of Manipur, says, “As Manipur is now on War Tourism Map with numerous British and Japanese tourists flowing in to visit the war memorial sites, it is important to develop these sites.”