Meghalaya is going to open its doors for tourists from December 21 for the first time since entry restrictions were put in place in the state in view of COVID-19 pandemic. Registration would be made mandatory through a dedicated app of Meghalaya Tourism.

Rajeev Jalnapurkar, Vice Chairman, Indian Association Of Amusement Parks And Industries (IAAPI) met Aaditya Thackeray, Tourism Minister of Maharashtra, to request him to allow the reopening of amusement parks immediately in Maharashtra and also submitted suggestions for a stimulus package for revival of this industry. Thackeray has assured its reopening in the next unlock notification.

Federation of Hotels & Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI) in association with its Northern Region Chapter HRANI, organised a webinar to educate members about the MSME registration process, the various schemes and policies of the Ministry of MSME, and the means of availing them. Among the speakers were Manoj Sharma, Assistant Director of Ministry of MSME; and Dr HP Kumar, CMD of National Small Industries Corporation, who spoke on how the hospitality industry can jumpstart their businesses with the help of Ministry of MSME, which offers more than 70 schemes for this sector. The Chief Guest for the webinar was Anand Sherkhane, Addl Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME.

ICRA expects the profitability of the Indian aviation industry to be adversely impacted in FY2021 due to lower revenues and high fixed costs. It estimates the industry to report a significant net loss of ~Rs. 210 billion in FY2021, against a net loss of Rs. 127 billion in FY2020, with the industry debt level increasing to ~Rs 500 billion (excluding lease liabilities) over FY2021-22 and the industry requiring additional funding of Rs 350-370 billion over FY2021 to FY2023.  

Russian Expo Days (RED) are all set to start on Monday, 7th December. The event already has 1,300 colleagues from the trade on board. RED would allow buyers to visit virtual stands of Russia’s regions and find out the difference between them, including architectural beauty of St. Petersburg, wild nature in Kamchatka, Golden Ring itineraries and more. They can ask questions and get honest answers from representatives of Russian authorities and travel business in the networking section. They can also watch 5 days of live sessions and get the latest updates on tourism in Russia. At the end of the exhibition, they will receive a Russia Specialist Certificate. The event offers an opportunity to FIND reliable partners for organising trips to Russia – more than 40 companies are ready to cooperate with the buyers. Free registration at https://russiadays.travel/i/r/psRbpto .

Thomas Cook India’s 72 Hour Holiday Flash Sale will take place from December 5-7, 2020. On offer are unbeatable holiday deals for Christmas and New Year as well as exciting value-adds. Customers will get a free holiday voucher of Rs 2,000 on pre-registration. To participate, register at https://www.thomascook.in/flash-sale

The Tamil Nadu Travel Mart Society has elected a new Managing Committee after the AGM in Chennai. D Karunanidhi is the new President while Palani Murugesan and PK Gupta are new Secretary and Treasurer respectively.

Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism flagged off the 800 km cycle tour for 28 participants starting from the early morning of December 3 from India Gate. Named as ‘Tour de Golden Triangle’ the participants will travel to Jaipur, Agra and some parts of Rajasthan and come back to Delhi again.

The Utah Office of Tourism launched a revamped website to inspire visitors to consider Utah for their travel, increase well-prepared visitation and improve the customer experience. The redesign includes new visuals that highlight Utah’s diverse, vast landscapes and encourage deeper exploration; new site headings point to more experiences; significantly improved data and technical capabilities engage users more effectively; and there is more detailed information about places to visit and itineraries. The Red Emerald Strategic Plan encourages well-prepared year-round visitation, focusing on the quality of visits not just quantity of visitors, getting customers responsibly off the beaten path and helping communities that want to attract more tourists develop their destinations.  

Day one of the Virtual Spanish Travel Show saw more than 750 buyers from across the Indian subcontinent including  India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka meet 20 Spanish suppliers and conducted more than 2100 one-on-one meetings. Register for Day 2 of the show from 2 pm-7 pm IST at www.virtualspanishtravelshow.com