Category Archives: Associations

Suman Billa, Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development, UNWTO, has said that India should open unhindered travel for those who are vaccinated. “This means that for domestic travel, if I have been vaccinated and I have a certificate to prove it, I should be allowed to travel wherever I can.” Billa also suggests that India needs an entirely new set of guidelines that can reassure inbound tourists of India’s safety.

FHRAI has submitted a representation to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman requesting her intervention for notifying the Rs60,000 crore sanctioned under the Loan Guarantee Scheme for COVID-affected sectors that was announced on June 28. The Association has stated that neither the operational guidelines nor any other details of the scheme have been announced by the Ministry so far.

TAAI and Kazak Tourism have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote mutual interest and tourist arrivals between Kazakhstan and India via cooperation and collaborative relationship and experience changes on reciprocal basis. The signatories were Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI and Kairat Sadvakassov, Acting Chairman of the Board, Kazakh Tourism. TAAI members will get an opportunity to showcase ‘Incredible India’ towards inbound and M!CE segments for Kazak Tour Operators and travellers.

Commenting on how bringing tourism under the Concurrent List will help the industry, Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, VP, FHRAI says, “We had been asking the government for this since decades. What happens now is that we have one minister dedicated to this sector. There are certain laws and policies that will be formulated by the Centre and those will have to be liable on all the states. This means things will be regulated and everything will get streamlined. A sector such as tourism which has been a state matter until now will now be brought under the Centre.”

A joint delegation of members from HRAWI, FHRAI, NRAI, AHAR and HAI met Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray over the continued timing restrictions on restaurants in the state, and informed the CM of restaurateurs’ distress. Thackeray has assured that he will be present in the next meeting of the COVID-19 task force and look for ways for a graded reopening of the restaurant sector.

Senior delegation from PATA India Chapter met with G Kishan Reddy, Cabinet Minister, Tourism & Culture, and put forth their recommendations and requests for his consideration. The minister gave them enough time, a patient hearing and has agreed to implement many of their suggestions. He also mentioned that he will have another meeting soon.

Commenting on the latest communication from the Government for the restaurant industry, Pradeep Shetty, Sr. VP, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), says, “We neither have permission to conduct business nor are we being compensated. We need a clear roadmap about what is to be expected from the Government for us to make informed decisions for our businesses.”

In his opinion piece on Moneycontrol.com, Suman Billa, Director, Technical Cooperation & Silk Road at UNWTO, advised, “Enable travel in a predictable and hassle-free manner. A national committee with the Ministries of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Health along with representatives from the states and industry should be set up to prescribe and harmonise travel restrictions across India.”

FHRAI has submitted a representation to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman requesting reintroduction of the scheme granting ex-gratia payment of the difference between compound interest and simple interest for six months to borrowers from the hospitality sector in view of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme was formerly announced in October last year.

During an insightful webinar organised by PATA, Prof John Koldowski, School of Tourism, Leshan University in China, said, “It looks like another tough year for inbound travel into India. But, if India can show that it is containing the spread of infection and upped its immunisation process, the numbers can improve. The outbound travel numbers from India however look more robust.”