Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is gearing to come up with a Recovery Plan to sustain the industry for the days to come, revealed an official statement from the tourism board. “We are conducting an online survey to assess the data of the tourism industry to make recommendations to the Government on possible support and relief packages to overcome the crisis brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak,” it stated. The release further stated, “We have now zero active cases in major tourists’ destinations including Kathmandu and Pokhara and no deaths in the country from COVID till now. With the destinations opening after the containment of the Virus, the travellers of tomorrow will be looking for destinations with better Hygiene and Sanitation. As such, to prepare Nepal as the newly defined Normal Destination, we have prepared a separate Hygiene and Sanitation Protocol/code of conduct for different sectors of the tourism industry, which we will soon upload/ distribute. These protocols will have to be mandatorily followed in order to re-open the respective businesses.” “The global pandemic COVID-19 has put a huge threat everywhere and the tourism sector is no exception. In fact, one of the most hit sectors by the terrorizing disease spread is Tourism. Following the enforcement of the lockdown since 06:00 am, March 24, Nepal Tourism Board is going extra miles to address several problems brought by the alarming spread of the virus. The Tourism and Crisis Management Communication Cell, formed under the Board to address the rampant issue, initiated the #StrandedInNepal campaign and helped rescue over 1,721 tourists stranded in different parts of Nepal. We introduced a crisis hotline number and a crisis email to respond to various queries and …

Isabel Oliver, Secretary of State for Tourism, Spain, recently chaired a meeting of the Tourism Sector Commission, in which it was agreed to coordinate a single health protocol against COVID-19 to prepare for the reopening of the tourism sector once its containment measures have been eased. “Security is going to be fundamental in the new normality that awaits us. There is no certainty about when we can restart tourism, but we must reopen in safe sanitary conditions for those who visit us and for workers, residents and the environment,” she explained. This homogeneous protocol will include the requirements that each subsector or tourist activity must comply with in terms of hygiene and sanitary security. It will work in the field of concertation of economic and social agents to prepare this protocol and with the participation of the Institute for Spanish Tourist Quality (ICTE). At the meeting, the Secretary of State has conveyed to the Spanish Autonomous Communities the intention of developing a campaign to stimulate national tourism once the evolution of the pandemic allows it. Later, a promotion and marketing plan will be developed in international markets.

Ashwani Lohani, Chairman, APTDC, has said that this is the time to commission a good study on domestic tourism, which details the action plan for the way forward to boost domestic tourism. Speaking at the second Digital Conclave by TravTalk, Lohani said, “Now is the time to commission a good study on domestic tourism, which is not too long but only 25-30 pages of action points. Then make all the states and stakeholders start following that. A lot of small things must be done. Collectively, they become very big and they impact the state. For energising domestic tourism, we need to have a very aggressive campaign, which can create that desire in the hearts of people to explore their own country.”

In a bid to analyse the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on staff salaries across the industry, TravTalk has initiated the ‘Travel and Tourism Salary Survey 2020’. The 2-minute survey is anonymous can be taken by clicking on https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3WP3JHM. Share your inputs without having to reveal your name or email. The survey would gauge how every sector is dealing with the crisis and possibly trigger discussions on best employment practices in the industry.

Taking a step further in the virtual engagement sphere, the Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB) has announced that it is preparing to conduct a virtual familiarisation tour for travel agents soon. Sharing this information is Florian Sengstschmid, CEO, Azerbaijan Tourism Board, who via a Zoom interview said, “We will conduct our first virtual familiarisation trip for the Indian travel agents in May 2020. We will select a few key partners and invite them to be part of this tour. It will be in real time and highlight the attractions of Azerbaijan, just like a regular fam trip with agents visiting our key attractions, hotels, etc. with the possibility of asking questions and interacting with us the way it is on a fam.” ATB is also preparing to launch 20 virtual experiences in Baku soon on its Salam Baku website.

Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO, South Asia, Middle East & North Africa, Americas, VFS Global, during the 2nd TravTalk Digital Conclave, said that VFS Global had processed over 32 million visas in 2019. “Out of this data, India contributes a major share as it is among the top three source markets for us. In fact, India is also the fastest-growing outbound market for us,” he said. Also sharing his view on the revival of the industry in the post-COVID era, he said that travel agents needed to come together and stimulate demand across the country.

Going by a recent report from JLL, more than 60 per cent of organised hotels in India have already shut and several others are operational with single-digit occupancies. The report also estimates that at least 30 per cent of hotel and hospitality industry revenue could be impacted if the situation doesn’t improve by the end of June 2020. Industry estimates indicate that in India, branded and organised hotels annual revenue is INR 38,000 crore (US$ 5 bn). Corporate businesses will be left with less money to spend on travel, lodging and entertainment. Behavioural changes will lead to reduction in socialising, which in turn will impact F&B in hotels. All this will impact GOPs and further reduce yields to hotel owners.

According to ‘Hotel Sentiment Survey 2020 (Impact of COVID-19)’ by Horwath HTL, demand in the wedding segment is likely to recover to pre-COVID levels once the outbreak is over. The survey was conducted among the industry to understand the depth of the crisis, the mitigating measures applied to limit the fallout and the areas requiring supportive measures. The assessment reveals that while 64 per cent of the respondents had agreed to the wedding segment’s recovery, 27 per cent believe that it may even be better than the pre-COVID levels. Less than 10 per cent felt that the segment was unlikely to recover to such levels.

Under the newly updated forecasts from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the most likely scenario for international visitor arrivals into South Asia in 2020 is that visitor numbers are likely to reduce by 31% year-on-year. That effectively takes visitor volume back to levels last seen in 2012. At this stage, growth is expected to resume in 2021, returning to forecast levels by 2023. Much of course, depends on how quickly and completely the COVID-19 pandemic is contained and controlled. South Asia is also expected to suffer a loss of US$13.3 billion.

The Tourism Office of Spain invites the travel trade to learn more about the destination through its webinar titled ‘The Spanish Travel Experience’ on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at 1500 hrs. To participate, please contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call 9650196532. Spain is famous for its tapas, flamenco, fiestas and endless beaches, but it is so much more. A country with four official languages, home to 15 UNESCO World Heritage cities, and diverse gastronomy and landscapes, Spain is also home to the most extraordinary architecture and a perfect wedding destination. Its cities are as diverse as the landscapes, but one thing that never changes is the Spanish lifestyle. But all this can wait. #SpainWillWait until the global crisis of COVID-19 is over.