With Qatar now open for tourism to fully vaccinated travellers, Discover Qatar, the destination management division of Qatar Airways, has partnered with Qatar Airways Holidays and launched specially curated packages to welcome international travellers visiting friends and family in Qatar for a much-awaited reunion. As part of the conditions of entry, the State of Qatar has mandated that all tourist arrivals must have a confirmed hotel reservation. To help meet this requirement, Discover Qatar in partnership with Qatar Airways Holidays is offering exclusive deals with significant savings on a range of hotels that will enhance the customer’s family and friends’ experience, helping them make new memories as they reunite in Qatar. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are very proud to be playing our part in the reopening of our country to visitors in the safest way possible and supporting the next step in the development of Qatar’s tourism industry. Surrounded by crystal waters and a unique biodiverse ecosystem, Qatar has so much to offer when it comes to rediscovering nature, stellar architecture and offering a world that is inspired by modernism and traditions alike. “The city and desert tours will allow our passengers to enjoy every step of their journey with us, and we hope many get to experience Qatar’s renowned hospitality, culture and heritage, and the vibrant city of Doha through Discover Qatar’s exclusive packages.” The ‘Family and Friends’ packages start at QAR 1,721 per person and are available for a five, seven, or ten-night stay at leading, luxury hotels in Qatar such as the Hilton Doha, Hilton Salwa Beach Resort, the Ritz-Carton Doha, Mondrian Doha, the Westin Doha Hotel & Spa …

SriLankan Airlines the National Carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of the Oneworld alliance resumes flights to the Russian capital, Moscow. SriLankan’s new service will operate a weekly scheduled flight between Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport (DME) from 30th July 2021. Accordingly, SriLankan would commence its flights to Russia every Friday using an Airbus A330 configured for 269 economy and 28 business class seats. The frequency of operation will be once a week, having a flight time of around 08 hours and 25 minutes. Flight UL533 will depart Colombo at 22:20 hrs., landing at Moscow Domodedovo Airport at 04:30 hrs., with the return leg UL534 leaving Moscow at 19:15 hrs. the next day and landing back into Colombo at 06:05 hrs. on Sunday. SriLankan Airlines Chairman, Ashok Pathirage said, “The resumption of services connecting Colombo and Moscow is a link that will not only facilitate travel but will be the impetus for building closer bilateral business connections between the two countries. We believe flying back to Moscow would create a window of opportunity for both countries and travellers could experience the historic heritage of the people of Sri Lanka and Russia.” SriLankan Airlines flew to 20 countries and 37 destinations before the pandemic and has gradually rebuilt its network following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with plans to increase the number progressively. “This is a significant air link for SriLankan Airlines as we connect to the largest country in the world which is also known as one of the greatest cultural and historic destinations. This operation would offer a new and easy travel path in connecting the Russian Federation and surrounding countries. We are eagerly awaiting …

Heritance Aarah and Adaaran Resorts, situated in the luscious paradise atolls in the Maldives, take pride in announcing that 90% of its ground staff at the resorts is vaccinated with both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This is in line with the heightened health and safety practices adhered to as part of Aitken Spence Hotels. The Aitken Spence Group believes that the well-being of its guests and associates is of paramount importance. Collectively, the hospitality brand has taken stringent measures to enact elevated precautionary operational protocols that address heightened health and safety, to give their guests peace of mind regarding future stays. These protocols are based on international and local health and safety guidelines and have been enhanced by in-house experts to provide guests with a safe environment. Susith Jayawickrama, Managing Director, Aitken Spence Hotels Group said, “As we continue to combat the challenges posed by the surprising intruder that has unsettled the world – COVID-19, we are inspired to make our resorts a safe haven for our guests. This optimism is carried through at all our hotels and resorts, as we welcome you back, with open arms and heartfelt smiles.”

In building back better of our industry, SITE India invites the global incentive industry to collaborate to SITE India Incentive Summit 2021- (Virtual) on 29th -30th July 2021. The incentive travel industry is now more attuned to new realities through its relentless efforts in adapting to change. SITE India leans itself into this shift in mindset and behaviour to embark on this Incentive Summit. SITE India Incentive Summit – Virtual is the flagship event for us which showcases the pivotal elements of Incentive Travel through Education and the most essential element to do business – Networking. The objective of the event is to kickstart preparation for the upcoming reopening in India and overseas along with meeting with leading brands to rekindle relationships. This 1st edition of the Incentive summit will have the following: Education: Power-packed educational session with the leading speakers from the Incentive Travel Industry. Meet with Leading Brands: You can also meet with the leading industry brands consisting of Hotels, Venues, DMC’s and other industry stakeholders from India and Overseas. Speed Networking: Enjoy speed networking at the lounge and meet with new connections. “The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) is the only Business Events association dedicated exclusively to the global incentive travel industry. This summit will help the Indian Incentive Travel industry professional with global speaker line up, networking with peers from across India and an opportunity to meet with exhibitors who will present their offerings”, said Nitin Sachdeva, President, SITE India. Register for SITE India Incentive Summit 2021 – Virtual at https://bit.ly/AttendIncentiveSummit

The Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai continues with its hour-long webinar series in July that has been exclusively designed for the Indian travel trade. The final one for this series will be held today at 3 pm IST and will focus on the World Heritage Cities of Spain. Those who attend all three webinars and participate in the educational quiz stand a chance to win Amazon gift vouchers. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532. Visiting Spain brings you into direct contact with the history of its civilizations. There are 15 stunning UNESCO World Heritage cities to be seen in Spain, each with its exceptional sights and unique scenes. Take the time to explore their local cuisine, learn about their customs, and take part in their fiestas for a complete experience and an unforgettable trip. This webinar will inspire you to plan a culturally oriented journey into the art and splendour of Spain.

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, has said that the national strategy and roadmap for sustainable tourism would involve a certification scheme, which would initially cover accommodations and tour operators based on sustainability criteria of India, which can later be extended to destinations and other industry stakeholders as well. “We will also work with industry, states and NGOs on information education and communication campaigns amongst the stakeholders about sustainable tourism and also the adverse environmental impact of tourism in certain parts of the country. There will also be an effort to do a state assessment and ranking, which we have seen to be successful in certain aspects of national priorities. This will be a key strategy to motivate states to adopt sustainability in tourism and it will be used to identify the status of various initiatives in the states and build their capacity and future roadmap towards better sustainable practice tourism,” he added.

Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) while launching the Thomas Cook India TravShield – Safe Travel Commitment, said, “To provide guidance to our MICE Corporates and build confidence that it is safe to travel again, we have designed a 3 pronged strategy that covers personal, financial and mental safety. Our TravShield is a comprehensive safe travel commitment designed with meticulous health and safety protocols to safeguard our MICE customers and encompasses and enhances the companies’ existing Assured Insured Secured Travel Program. We want Thomas Cook to be the ‘Safest Travel Partner’ when consumers start travelling again.” Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel have announced a two-pronged strategy: TravShield and Holiday First & Pay When You Return. TravShield is designed with meticulous health and safety protocols to safeguard customers across Holidays, MICE and Business Travel and encompasses and enhances the companies’ existing Assured Insured Secured Travel Program. The health and safety Assured Program, in partnership with Apollo Clinics, is inbuilt into TravShield. The Holiday First & Pay When You Return scheme provides customers the flexibility of paying once they return from their holiday.

Rakesh Kumar Verma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism has said that the ministry will launch a responsible traveller campaign on the upcoming World Tourism Day 2021. “This World Tourism Day, we would be formally launching the responsible traveller campaign. I would like to request state governments to also support the campaign and make it a great success,” he said.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said that 46 heritage places belonging to the Kempegowda era have been identified in three circuits that would be developed at a cost of Rs 223 crore for promoting tourism. A plan has been prepared to develop the Magadi circuit at a cost of Rs 132 crore. Rs 47 crore for the Bengaluru circuit, and Rs 44 crore for the Nandi circuit.

To strengthen the hospitality & tourism industry, the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Yatra. The primary objective of this MoU is to provide extensive visibility to accommodation units, which have self-certified themselves on SAATHI on the OTA platform.