The Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), Government of Goa has started work on getting all its tourism stakeholders under the organised sector. It has outsourced this to Goa Electronics that will do data collection of all tourism stakeholders right from travel agents, tourist guides, taxi drivers as well as hotel owners and bring them on a single platform. Revati Mujumdar, CEO and Executive Director, Goa Electronics, says, “Part of the framework or data structure for collation is already happening. A majority of stakeholders have been brought onto the database.” She also spoke about working on product personalisation for every tourist entering Goa using Artificial Intelligence, but that is a few years down the line. Goa Electronics is associated with GTDC for developing and maintaining its website, its app and the state-owned online hotel bookings.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released criteria for the use of COVID-19 testing in the travel process. Should governments choose to introduce COVID-19 testing for travellers arriving from countries considered as high risk, testing must deliver results fast, be able to be conducted at scale, and operate to very high rates of accuracy. Additionally, testing must be cost-effective and not create an economic or logistical barrier to travel.

The Karnataka tourism department has launched Caravan tourism, an initiative under which tourists can book a fully-equipped vehicle which can take them places, and also serve as a bed for night stay. The service is being provided by a start-up called Campervan Camps. People can visit their website to book services, available in various packages. In the first phase, the state will allow Caravan tourism in Hampi, Gokarna, Badami, Kudremukh, Sakaleshpura, Beluru, Halebidu, Sakrebailu, and Kodagu (Coorg). The government, on its part, is providing parking facilities at various tourist spots and Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (KSTDC) hotels. Each caravan has seats that convert into beds, allowing four people to sleep in one car. The vehicles are equipped with a shower, a modern toilet, smart television and a music system. They also have a kitchenette that includes a refrigerator, freezer and microwave. The caravan bus has 1,400-watt solar panels on its roof and is fully solar-powered. It uses solar energy for heating and cooling. The toilet is designed to incinerate human waste and disposes only bio ash, thus reducing the use of water and other resources to decompose the waste.

NITI Aayog’ CEO Amitabh Kant has said that systematic tourism promotion campaigns will be important in the near future for the growth of Indian tourism industry. He also said that a domestic-focused Incredible India 2.0 campaign that showcases what the nation offers to Indians could be the post-pandemic plan for the tourism sector.

Celebrating 20 years of operations, Happy Tours will conduct a live webinar on Slovenia on June 25, 2020 at 3pm (IST).  Happy Tours has offices in Slovenia, Croatia, London and Athens and a dedicated team based in Pune. Happy Tours is a inbound European tour operator for both MICE and leisure groups throughout Europe. It also owns a hotel near Plitvice Lakes – Hotel Lyra www.lyraplitvice.com in Croatia and has its own coaches. To register, contact Jaspreet Kaur on ‪9650196532‬ or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com.  

The Jim Corbett National Park based in Uttarakhand has reopened for eco tourism with strict guidelines in place after a duration of 2 and half months when it was closed during nationwide lockdown. Tourists can visit the Dhela, Jhirna, Bijrani and Pakhro zone for now.

The Lords Hotels and Resorts have resumed operations with heightened precautionary measures and new SOPs in place.

China Eastern airlines has announced its joining forces with Hainan Communication Investment Holdings, Sanya Development Holdings, Juenyao Airlines and Ctrip to form a new airline despite COVID-19 scars. The new airline will be called Sanya International Airlines and will be based in the island city of Hainan which is often terms as ‘Hawaii of China’. China Eastern will hold majority shares in the airline with 51 per cent stake.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation, has said that a he wants to see Indian Civil Aviation emerge stronger from this pandemic, especially with India having a strong domestic civil aviation system where the number of passengers travelling and with an intent to travel is very high. “Indian aviation would be one of the three largest international markets in a few years, and I would like to see our carriers including private sector to reclaim the space in international civil aviation, which regrettably we have not been able to claim,” he said.    

The Uttarakhand government has decided that the Char Dham Yatra for pilgrims from outside the state will start after June 30. Till then only locals from Uttarakhand districts where temples are located will be allowed to visit the shrines with a cap on the number of devotees allowed per day at the constituent shrines of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath as per the guidelines and standard operating procedure (SOP) released by the state. Pilgrims will be allowed to visit the shrines between 7 am to 7 pm after taking a mandatory free of cost token from counters set up at the shrines.