Ravi Gosain, MD, Erco Travels, has said that with moratorium limit ending on 31st August, many travel companies must shut down. “Situation is very unfavourable for tourism industry. On 31st August, moratorium is ending, and most of the people, whether employees or employers took a moratorium and were expecting that something will roll out. However, things haven’t improved. From September onwards, I don’t think companies of any size are able to pay a single bill. Hence, this will be a huge setback. Hence, I am sure there will be many bankruptcies after this moratorium has ended,” he shared.

Kaushal Bhuva, Founder, World of Vacations, believes that Thailand is a wonderful self-drive destination. “Firstly, Thailand is one of the best places to enjoy vacation. It is a beautiful and hospitable destination. Thailand is really popular among first-time international travellers, and a wonderful self-drive destination for Indians,” he said.

Almost 97% of Indian golfers rated Thailand as one of the best golfing destinations, according to a survey conducted by Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) New Delhi Office & Sports & Leisure Worldwide (SLW), on ‘Golfing in Thailand’ with Golfers in India during 10-27 July 2020. It also revealed that majority of golfers, almost 88% are planning to travel abroad to play golf post COVID-19 and 92% kept safety as their prime concern for the outbound travel.

FAITH and its cause partner AIRDA, have requested the negative travel advisory from the USA to India to be addressed. FAITH Associations have requested the tourism minister to urgently take it up with Minister of External Affairs, for him to take up with his American counterpart for an immediate revision. The United States of America recently released a travel advisory, which rated level 4 for India (as on 23rd Aug 2020). On a scale of 1-4 this is the highest level of risk rating, carrying with it the advice of ‘do not travel’. As stated, reasons for the same, apart from restrictive COVID-19 protocols, the rating highlights terrorism, crimes against women and insurgency among others as concerns. The associations under FAITH have claimed that USA is the most important long-haul source market for India for most segments of travel. As India has begun the process of opening up its air corridors, such an advisory for India is detrimental to kickstarting all leisure, business & mice tourists from the USA. Additionally, travel advisory as such from the United States of America tends to send a wrong signal for the rest of the developed countries as they start opening up their international air travel. This advisory appears to have been last updated on 6th August 2020. The favourable revision of the travel advisory would be a big boost in beginning the process of creating a positive sentiment for travel, which will slowly put in motion revival for the inbound tourism industry

Claiming that the hospitality and tourism industry has taken a hard hit during the COVID-19 crisis, JK Mohanty, CMD, Swosti Group; Chairman, HRAO and Hony. Secretary, HAI, has said that state government needs to play a greater role in attracting investments from the private sector by providing attractive incentives for a period of at least 3 – 5 years to make Odisha an attractive destination competing with other neighbouring states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, etc. “Around five thousand additional number of hotel rooms in different star category should be set up to compete with the hotel infrastructure of the other states of India. We, therefore recommend that the Government should allow 30% capital investment subsidy up to a maximum limit of Rs.25 crores and 5% interest subsidy up to 11 years on repayment of term loans. If the subsidy is given only for 3 years, many hotels will come up as required,” he added.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated a safety audit of all the airports affected by the monsoons and of airlines in a phased manner, starting with Air India and SpiceJet, in the wake of the recent crash in Kozhikode. The aviation body said in a statement, “DGCA has started the safety audit of airlines and 12 airports affected by the monsoon, as of now. Audit of airlines to be done in a phased manner, beginning with Air India and Spice Jet.”

CAPA India in its webinar on ‘Financing Indian Aviation in the Post COVID-19 era’ projected that Indian carriers will require additional funding of INR 200-250 Billion in FYY2021 to bridge the gap between revenue and expenditure. According to CAPA India, the aviation industry in the country needs massive recapitalisation and urgently. Delays will further diminish the already compromised chances of survival. Industry and government collaboration is essential for survival and revival. Industry cannot navigate the crisis alone.

Riaz Munshi, Managing Director, N Chirag Travels, says “There are lot of unexplored resorts and islands, which Indian travellers can explore and the trade can promote. When the outbound leisure travel resumes, I would urge everyone to explore new products in Thailand. TAT is always proactive in promoting tourism and I am sure this time also they will come up with lucrative offers to attract Indian travellers. Let’s hope for the best and soon we will come back strongly.”

The occupancy in hotels in July across major Indian cities was 45.4% higher than in June (occupancy of 20.8%), according to H2O report released by HVS ANAROCK. However, the as compared to occupancy in 2019 July, it was a decline of 67.1%.

Ashok Pathirage, Chairman, SriLankan Airlines, has said that as Sri Lanka plans to reopen its borders, SriLankan Airlines, is expected to play a pivotal role in the country’s economic recovery. In addition, they will be focused on their expansion goals for 2020, with plans to add destinations such as Sydney, Incheon and Chengdu to its network in the coming months. “However, the Airline’s primary focus will be reconnecting with and consolidating its position in key markets such as India, China, the United Kingdom and other major destinations,” said Pathirage.