A recent report by HVS states, it is always difficult to recover rate degradation once demand picks up. The report also explains, “As per research reports, while India was not impacted significantly by SARS, global demand picked up within a month after the SARS epidemic was contained and travel bans were lifted, but hotels that had reduced rates significantly were not able to push their rates later. The industry could witness a similar revival in demand this time as well; over 90% of domestic hotels in China had resumed operations at the end of February 2020, just 2 months after the first Covid-19 case was reported in the country.”

The meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture was held in New Delhi. The meeting was led by its Chairman the Minister of State ( IC) for Tourism and Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel. The agenda of the meeting was “ Promotion / Development of rural Tourism and home stays and Improvement in Global Benchmarking of tourism sector”. The Ministry of Culture focused on various cultural activities like fairs and festivals. The Members of the committee gave innovative suggestions on promotion of tourism and culture for Incredible India. The Minister highlighted on the need to convene at regular intervals and he also highlighted on the need to give specific suggestions on aspects of roads development so that the diverse parts of India can be accessed by all to appreciate the immense potential of India’s art, heritage, culture and natural sites.

In a letter to PM Modi, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India, (FHRAI), has requested the following concessions for the industry because of the health pandemic. Firstly, a complete GST holiday for 6 months (Central and State Level). Second deferment for fiscal statutory compliance deadlines such as payment of direct or indirect taxes. Thirdly the deferment for repayment of loans, Bank Emi’s etc for a period of 6 months. Fourthly the reduction of bank interest rate by almost 200 basis points with immediate full transmission for working capital. The Hospitality industry is a labour intensive one and is the biggest employment generator of both direct and in direct jobs, and, therefore, the industry has to take care of a large number of employees. On top of that, the hospitality Industry requires a lot of working capital, which is seriously hit by almost 90% of both larger establishments and budget hotels and restaurants, and to pay taxes such as advance tax and GST. Now, in an event of such a pandemic, we have been managing the system with our own cash reserves. In addition to that, a lot of hoteliers have taken loans to construct and run their establishm·ents, and, in such a state, adhering to the on-time payment of EMI’s or the re-payment of loans seems an onerous task.

Korea Tourism Organization is excited to host a webinar for the travel trade on 25th March, 2020 at 3pm. For more information and to register, please contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com. The webinar will be a refresher course on South Korea as an overall tourism destination from the Indian customer perspective. It will cover all the basic destination information and highlight the popular places along with ideas on how to create a better South Korea tour product for the Indian consumer. The webinar will cover FIT and leisure travel but will also have valuable inputs for MICE groups. Jong Sool Kwon, Director – Korea Tourism Organization, New Delhi office, says, “As we are all aware of the business slowdown due to the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak globally, I think it is best for the travel industry to utilise this time to better update itself with as much destination knowledge as possible. On that note, I have initiated the South Korea product webinar campaign so that travel agents can benefit themselves and be better prepared once the demand rises again

Major world airlines axed almost all flights on a temporary basis as the worsening coronavirus crisis sparks travel bans, ravages demand and sends shares into freefall, triggering pleas to help carriers survive. IAG, owner of British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia, announced it would slash flight capacity by 75 per cent during April and May owing to the COVID-19 outbreak. Britain’s Virgin Atlantic added that it has decided to park 75 per cent of its total fleet — and in April this will rise as high as 85 per cent. Virgin has reportedly called upon the UK government to inject emergency support totalling 7.5 billion pounds (USD 9.2 billion) to help keep Britain’s aviation industry flying. In Germany, Lufthansa has been forced to scrap around two thirds of its flights in coming weeks as several countries including the United States ban travellers from Europe. “Last week saw a rapid acceleration of the impact of COVID-19 on global aviation and tourism,” Virgin Atlantic warned in a statement. “The situation is deteriorating at pace and the airline has seen several days of negative bookings, driven by a huge volume of cancellations as customers choose to stay at home.” British no-frills carrier EasyJet warned it may have to ground “the majority” of its fleet, urging governments across Europe to help their airlines maintain access to liquidity.

Under the UDAN scheme of Government of India, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) flagged off the first-ever thrice-weekly flight from Indore (Madhya Pradesh) to Kishangarh (Ajmer, Rajasthan). In its constant endeavor to connect the unconnected regions, Ministry of Civil Aviation awarded the Indore-Kishangarh route during the UDAN 3 bidding process to Star Air. With the commencement of this route, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has operationalised 268 routes under the UDAN scheme. Under RCS-UDAN, Star Air is already operating direct flights from Belagavi to Indore and will now extend the same route till Rajasthan, “The land of Colours”. The approximate distance between Indore and Kishangarh is around 550 kilometers and people had to spend more than 10 hours to reach Kishangarh from Indore by road. However, with the commencement of flight operations on this route, people can take one-hour flight and travel at ease and visit the famous Nine Planets temple, Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Pushkar Lake, Phool Mahal Palace, Roopangarh Fort, etc. Furthermore, Kishangarh is also known as the Marble City of India and is a big market of red chilies.

Positioned as a Boutique Experiential hotel featuring 72 well-styled rooms, with an all-Day Diner and a Far Eastern rooftop speciality restaurant & a Café with spacious meetings & event venues, The Hideaway, will also become Leisure Hotels group’s first ever property in NCR region. Vibhas Prasad, Director, Leisure Hotels group said, “We are pleased to open The Hideaway, Greater Noida, a hotel that offers experiential business travel in the heart of the city, and in close proximity to Exhibition Centre and Business & Industrial Hub of Greater Noida. The opening of another business hotel is a significant moment for the group. From well-appointed rooms to the multi-cuisine dining options, all aspects of the hotel have been honed to offer guests unparalleled experiences with our familiar, warm & personalised services.”

Airports Council International (ACI) World has emphasised that the COVID-19 outbreak is a systemic crisis affecting the entire global aviation sector impacting particularly heavily on airports and airlines. The sector is in dire need of support to avoid collapse. ACI World Director General Angela Gittens– responding to a letter from SkyTeam CEO and Managing Director Kristin Colville – reassured her that ACI shares the concern about the unprecedented impact the COVID-19 outbreak is having on the entire aviation eco-system. As regards alleviation measures for the industry, ACI World believes a global suspension of the 80/20 rule for a limited period would be appropriate to protect connecting traffic at hub airports and help safeguard connectivity worldwide. It is a fast-moving situation so ACI supports temporary global suspension of the 80/20 rule until 30 June 2020. Flexible assessment on the need to further extend the waiver will be based on data-driven evidence. Airport operators are currently experiencing unprecedented declines in aircraft movements and passenger traffic which significantly hinders their ability to meet their operating costs and their fixed capital expense costs. The financial sustainability of the airport industry is under threat. As such, suspending the collection of charges or granting blanket discounts would make this situation for airport operators even worse. “As an industry, we must come together to meet this unprecedented challenge,” ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said. “Many airports around the World, in particular in Asia and now Europe, face problems of liquidity which raises issues of operational & business continuity. “The situation is set to worsen in the coming weeks and, while we support relief measures, these must be considered on a non discriminatory basis for all affected …

The Lufthansa Group carrier Austrian Airlines will temporarily suspend scheduled flight operations as of Thursday, 19 March 2020. Austrian Airlines is thus reacting to the entry restrictions imposed by many countries in response to the massive spread of the coronavirus. For the time being, the last flight with flight number OS 066 will land in Vienna from Chicago at 8:20 a.m. on 19 March. Until then, flight operations are to be reduced in a controlled and structured manner in order to bring all passengers and crews home if possible. Initially Austrian Airlines will cancel all flights until March 28th 2020, and passengers who have booked a flight with Austrian Airlines during this period will be rebooked on other airlines if possible. In addition, Lufthansa Group airlines will further reduce their short- and long-haul schedule. The cancellations, which will be published as early as tomorrow, March 17th, will lead to a sharp decline in long-haul service especially in the Middle East, Africa and Central and South America. Overall, the Lufthansa Group’s seating capacity on long-haul routes will be reduced by up to 90 per cent. A total of 1,300 weekly connections were originally planned for summer 2020. Within Europe the flight schedule will also be further reduced. Starting tomorrow, around 20 percent of the originally planned seating capacity will still be offered. Originally, some 11,700 weekly short-haul flights were planned for summer 2020 with Lufthansa Group airlines. The additional cancellations will be published over the next few days and passengers will be informed accordingly. Despite the large-scale cancellations, Lufthansa, Eurowings and Austrian Airlines have scheduled more than 20 special flights with over 6,000 guests on short notice to fly cruise passengers …

Given the extraordinary circumstances caused by the worldwide Coronavirus crisis, Brussels Airlines has decided to temporarily suspend its flight operations from 21 March 2020. Between now and then, Brussels Airlines’ flight operations will be reduced gradually in a controlled and structured manner in order to bring passengers and crews home. The decision of Brussels Airlines to temporarily suspend all its flights between 21 March and 20 April has also been taken following the measures imposed by different authorities, such as the negative travel advice of the Belgian authorities, which Brussels Airlines fully understands, and the increasing number of national authorities in Europe and beyond who no longer allow flights to their territory. As of today, 17 March, the airline will gradually reduce its flight schedule until 20 March. From 21 March until 19 April included, all flights will be suspended. A continued and extended goodwill policy for customers is in place, offering them the opportunity to reschedule their flights to a later date. All intercontinental departures to Africa, will as of tomorrow 17 March be postponed to the afternoon, for connectivity reasons with the short haul network. The Belgian carrier will continue to keep a minimal capacity on standby base for repatriation flights should this be required. Brussels Airlines CEO Dieter Vranckx: “We will continuously monitor the situation and communicate accordingly, planning a restart of our operations on 20 April to welcome our guests on board again. As a responsible company, we need to take the decision to temporarily cease our operations. It will allow us to reduce the negative financial impact on our company. “ The spread of the coronavirus and associated flight bans and other measures restricting air …