After a long time Ganga water has become good for achaman (ritual sipping). The cause behind cleaner Ganga water is a 500% decrease in total dissolved solid, industrial effluent, sewage from hotels and lodges, and lack of human activities as no pilgrims have been visiting Haridwar and Rishikesh.

Rubbishing rumours that all tourism activity in Kerala has been banned till November 2020, Baby Mathew Somatheeram, President, Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), has said that the situation in Kerala is expected to become normal by the end of the second phase of the lockdown. “The state is now making all preparations to receive tourists once the country becomes COVID-free. Kerala Tourism is drawing up ambitious plans to attract domestic tourists in a big way.” KTM denies reports that all tourism activity in Kerala has been banned till October – November this year in view of COVID-19 outbreak, asserting that the State Government has not come out with any such instruction. “Certain quarters are spreading this false propaganda by misinterpreting the positive suggestion made by State Finance Minister Dr TM Thomas Isaac that efforts to revive tourism in the state should start now itself. It is significant that the Finance Minister has also noted that the experience of the foreign tourists, who have recovered from COVID-19 by receiving effective treatment in Kerala itself will boost the state’s tourism prospects in the coming days,” he added.

World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in its annual Economic Impact Report (EIR), shows how big a part travel and tourism played in driving the economy in the region last year, based on which the findings reveal how vital the sector will be for the region’s economic recovery from COVID-19. It shows the sector supporting one in 10 (330 million) jobs, making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs. Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC, says, “WTTC’s 2019 Economic Impact Report (EIR) shows how intrinsic Travel & Tourism was last year to the economy in Asia-Pacific, making it the fastest growing region in the world in terms of its contribution to GDP, supporting more than 182 million jobs or 9.6% of the total number of people employed.”

With the nationwide lockdown extended to May 3, DGCA, under the directive of Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), has instructed all airlines to refund passengers full amount collected (without levying cancellation charge) within a period of three weeks from the date of request of cancellation of ticket. This applies to all tickets booked between March 25 and April 14 (referred to as the first lockdown period) for travel between March 25 and May 3, 2020, for both domestic and international air travel. The refund, however, applies only to those payments received by the airline during the first lockdown period.

After the resounding success of its maiden Digital Conclave in early April, TravTalk is all geared up to host the conclave’s second edition tomorrow, April 21, from 10 am to 1:30 pm. Divided into three one-hour sessions, the virtual summit will have eminent speakers from state tourism boards, Indian tour operators’ associations, airlines, hotels, as well as visa and technology service providers among others, who will deliberate on the next steps in domestic tourism and India as a global source market. For more details, you can contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 and jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com. Speakers will include Ashwani Lohani (APTDC), PP Khanna (ADTOI), Kerrie Hannaford (Accor), Arjun Sharma (Select Group), Ankur Bhatia (Bird Group), Sanjay Kumar (IndiGo), Vinay Malhotra (VFS Global), Sandeep Dwivedi (ITQ) and KD Singh (TravelBullz).

People in Turkey are turning to a traditional fragrance that has taken on a new relevance amid the coronavirus pandemic: kolonya. Meaning ‘cologne’, it is a symbol of Turkish hospitality. But unlike other natural scents, this ethanol-based concoction’s high alcohol content can kill more than 80% of germs.

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli performed a solo Easter concert from an empty Milan Cathedral streamed live to millions around the world in lockdown. The ‘Music for Hope’ performance, streamed on YouTube has been watched more than 22 million times so far. Accompanied by an organist, Bocelli sang four songs.

Lions in South Africa’s Kruger National Park have been taking advantage of the lockdown. A pride was seen sleeping on a road which would normally be busy with tourists. Kruger, like other wildlife parks, has been shut since 25 March.

Three big trade bodies got on a joint call recently with MoCA along with five Indian and international airlines to discuss travel agent woes and underline urgent issues specially the deposits put in by agents into the low-cost airlines, which effectively is the agent’s advance. On call were representatives of Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Travel Agents Association Of India (TAAI) speaking with Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary of Aviation, MoCA. The airlines that were part of the call included representatives of Indigo, SpiceJet, Vistara, GoAir, AirAsia. Kharola gave both parties a platform to present their urgent issues. Consequent to the discussion, he strongly requested the airlines to look into the issues presented by the agents, and to revert within a short span of time with a solution. MoCA has also requested the airlines to come back within in 24 hours on the agent money in Float accounts as advance to be refunded in cash of group deposits and cancellations. MoCA also requested the airlines to co-operate. Rajat Bagaria, Joint Secretary, TAFI National, who was part of the call says, “We had already started booking seats from April 15 onwards as they were very urgent cases like people wanting to return home. One client’s father had passed away in Kolkata so he had to take the first flight out even though he could not attend the funeral. There are so many reasons why people have to go back including maternity issues.”  

Korea Tourism Organization invites members of the trade to sign up for its webinar that will be conducted at 3pm today. This online seminar will showcase South Korea as a tourist destination, highlighting student travel from India. It will also cover some basic information and throw light on the popular places that are perfect for not just FIT and leisure segments but students as well. Participants will also be able to get ideas on how to create a better South Korea tour product. Jong Sool Kwon, Director – Korea Tourism Organization, New Delhi office, says, “The idea behind initiating these webinars is to take the opportunity of this slow business period and enhance the product knowledge of the travel agents about South Korea. As soon as the market revives from this slowdown, the travel agents will be well prepared to propose a new destination to their clients and South Korea will be the first choice for them.” For more information registration, contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com.