Malaysia’s coronavirus recovery council on Tuesday said it has recommended a full reopening of borders as early as March 1 without mandatory quarantine for travellers, as part of plans to accelerate economic recovery. The Southeast Asian nation has shut its borders since March 2020 and froze the entry of foreign workers to try to contain novel coronavirus outbreaks. The recommendation comes as neighbours waive quarantine requirements to attract vaccinated tourists, including Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore. 

Since The Sigmund Project’s launch in June 2021, it has seen surprising growth receiving over 18,000 unique visitors to the site from over 108 countries. Developed by travel and tourism industry expert Alan Elliott Merschen, The Sigmund Project is a not-for-profit online platform, open to anyone who has a great idea to advance the global tourism industry; from small entrepreneurs to large multinational companies, from accommodation providers to the transportation sector, from universities to startups. 

Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has formed seven committees intending to involve more members in leadership roles in TAFI’s activities. The Educational & Communication Committee that produces TAFI fortnightly has tied up with Marriott Hotels and is encouraging its members to sign up for Marriott Hotels Excellence programme. Sensitive and Sustainable Tourism is another thrust area for TAFI, said Ajay Prakash, president, TAFI. The committee is organizing a session on  Sustainable Tourism for its members and training will be imparted to the frontline staff to improve their competence in day-to-day operations. 

Ministry of Tourism has recognised the immense potential of Rural Tourism and has been actively working on promotion and development of this niche area of tourism. The Ministry of Tourism has accordingly formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Development of Rural Tourism in India- An initiative towards Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, which has been circulated to concerned Central Ministries, all State Governments/UT Administrations and Industry Stakeholders. 

As predicted by ForwardKeys’ Forecast data, this year, the number of Russian outbound travel is expected to increase by 64% when compared to 2021, and 96% when compared to 2020. Regarding when we can expect it to recover to 2019 levels, Nan Dai, China Market Expert at ForwardKeys says: “Looking at the current pattern and pace for bookings, it is expected to recover to 2019 levels approximately in three to four years.” 

As the Travel & Tourism sector begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, its contribution to the global economy could reach $8.6 trillion this year, according to a study by the World Travel and Tourism Council. Prior to the pandemic, the Travel & Tourism sector generated nearly $9.2 trillion to the global economy in 2019. However, in 2020, the pandemic killed the sector, causing a massive 49.1% drop, representing a loss of nearly $4.5 trillion. 

Nearly 6 million passengers have sailed on cruise ships since the cruise industry’s restart last year. In addition, 16 new ships will set sail this year include five liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered vessels and nine expedition ships. In addition, more than 75 percent of oceangoing capacity is already back in service—and nearly 100 percent is expected back in operation by August 2022. Best of all, travel advisors and passengers will likely see a full cruise industry recovery in 2023. 

Speaking about budget Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy expressed gratitude to PM and FM for the Atmanirbhar Bharat Ka Budget and said, “As India celebrates 75 years of independence with Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, we are entering Amrit Kaal and this budget presents a blueprint for India at 100. Vikas (Development) and Virasat (Heritage) go hand-in-hand and this is evident from the fact that this year’s budgetary allocations for Tourism and Culture Ministries have been significantly higher.” 

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and five tourism industry associations in Singapore have announced the launch of the Safe Itinerary Guide and “Experience Singapore!” Compendium, which provides safe travel guidelines and itineraries for the tourism sector as Singapore prepares to welcome more international travellers. These two resources aim to help the industry design and deliver innovative experiences that are in line with new traveller demands, and are the result of private-public partnerships between STB and the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS), Association of Singapore Attractions (ASA), Singapore Association of Conventions & Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS), Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) and Society of Tourist Guides Singapore (STGS). The Safe Itinerary Guide provides strategies to help tourism businesses better understand their consumers, so that they can personalise travel itineraries based on traveller profiles. It also outlines how businesses can design safe and engaging visitor journeys, while highlighting key capabilities such as data analytics and design thinking, which are needed to respond to future challenges. For example, tourism businesses are encouraged to explore cross-sector partnerships with healthcare providers to give travellers added assurance during their travels, or gamify their offerings to keep travellers engaged. The “Experience Singapore!” Compendium consists of tourism and lifestyle offerings for leisure and business travellers across various price points and interests. For example, visitors looking to satisfy their wanderlust can take part in an aviation experiential workshop or explore landscapes around the world with a virtual reality flight simulator. Art enthusiasts can interact with art pieces by renowned artists through augmented reality while those seeking a more exclusive experience can take part in back-of-house tours. Some of theseexperiences have already been incorporated by the providers into …

Secretary Tourism, Arvind Singh had called for a virtual meeting with the Associations and industry stakeholders to discuss and develop “India Vision @ 2047” for the tourism industry. Ajay Prakash, TAFI President gave his inputs and suggested that generating 100 million tourists would require a new mindset among all stakeholders – from luxury hotels and tour operators to the taxi drivers, guides and all other segments of the trade.