The first flight from Belgaum (Karnataka) to Surat (Gujarat) to Kishangarh (Rajasthan) was flagged off on December 21, 2020 by Star Air India under RCS-UDAN. This flag-off marks the inauguration of the 303rd route under the scheme and the 20th UDAN route by the airline. The airline is being provided Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the scheme to keep fares affordable. The airline will operate thrice-weekly flights on the route and will deploy its 50-seater Embraer-145.

After nine months of restriction on the entry of tourists to Meghalaya due to the pandemic, the state re-opened its doors on December 21, 2020. The Tourism Department has issued SOP for all tourists wherein they will need to mandatorily register on ‘The Meghalaya Tourism App’ and generate an e-invite for the proposed itinerary.

With widespread travel ban on the UK introduced overnight, Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said, “While protecting public health is paramount, blanket travel bans cannot be the answer. They have not worked in the past and they will not work now. If a comprehensive and quick turnaround testing regime were in place at airports to test all travellers before they depart, it would ensure only those infected with COVID-19 are isolated. There would be no need for countries to introduce damaging and counterproductive wholesale bans on UK travellers.”

The new ‘Travel Insights with Google’ is Google’s new website that reflects demand trends to sector participants, be they a chain of hotels, a small travel start-up, or a booking  agent. It will help the industry understand pent-up travel demand and leverage insights from these tools for businesses. It is based on user search data. The tool can point to two kinds of time-specific trends: destination insights and hotel insights.

Under the revised MDA Scheme for domestic tourism, financial support will be provided to not just domestic tour operators but any tourism service providers approved by the Ministry of Tourism for promotion of domestic tourism. This can include travel agents, tour operators, tourist transport operators, hoteliers, B&B units, home-stays, motels, guest houses, tented accommodation, standalone restaurants, convention centres and online aggregators. Upper ceiling for this support is Rs 1,35,000 per trip including GST.

Sharing news about a new cruise brand, Jurgen Bailom, President & CEO, Cordelia Cruises, says, “I am excited to share news of the launch of luxury cruise brand Cordelia Cruises with its first ship The Empress that has a capacity of 2,000 individuals. It was earlier owned by Royal Caribbean. We are working on adding a second ship to the line.” Waterways Leisure Tourism had recently bought over the brand Jalesh Cruises.

The Globus family of brands introduced a unique concept to appreciate and get inspired by the heroes of the tourism industry through its industry-first ‘The SuperHeroes Campaign’. It was a fun way to interact and hear the stories, anecdotes, as well as personal motivations of all those who finally link their respective brands with the end customer. Entries were open to all and were submitted over an exclusive social media portal in audio and video formats. The choice of the winners was completely neutral and based on open voting from the industry’s workforce. In an event held virtually, the winners were felicitated with an appreciation certificate and prize vouchers. They were also invited live to give an acceptance speech where they were encouraged to share their personal pursuits and winning experiences. The categories were: SuperHero of the Campaign, Industry Favourite SuperHero and Jury’s Special Mention SuperHero. Varesh Chopra, Regional Director, Globus family of brands – India, Middle East & South Asia, says, “Our aim was to generate and spread cheer and positivity amongst our travel trade partners during the current times. I am confident that we at the Globus family have achieved this. We have got so much appreciation from participants that we may make this an annual event.” The winners are: Prajakta Kaul (Crossworld Holidays, Mumbai, India) – The Superhero Of The Campaign Mithuna Nair (Thomas Cook, Pune, India) – The Industry’s Favorite Superhero Shamara Vandersay (Acorn Travels, Colombo, Srilanka) – The Jury’s Special Mention  Superhero  

The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) is seeking a sector-specific loan restructuring plan from the government. It says that in order to save the industry from imminent collapse, loan extensions should be given to the sector on similar lines as those given under the Prime Minister’s scheme for loans below Rs 25 crore for SMEs and MSMEs.

Confirming the news about the air bubble arrangement between India and Nepal, Narayan Podayal, Delhi Station Master, Nepal Airlines, says, “The air bubble is in place and we are in planning stage regarding the flight frequency and health document requirements. The date for resumption of flight will be announced soon.” Duration of quarantine for passengers is also under discussion.

After conducting a series of webinars for the trade recently, Huzan Fraser Motivala, India Representatives, Tourism Ireland, says, “We look forward to welcoming Indian customers to Ireland when borders re-open. They will discover heart-warming moments and spectacular sights in Ireland. Indians can visit Ireland and UK on a single visa under the British Irish visa scheme.”