Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Madhavan Menon, Managing Director, Thomas Cook India Group, welcomes the announcement by the honourable Finance Minister, Sitharaman, saying, “This is a much needed step towards the revival of tourism – a sector  that is a significant contributor to the GDP, foreign exchange receipts and employment generation – with a cascading force multiplier effect on allied sectors. The three-pronged approach for the sector covers 100% guarantee for loans up to Rs 10 lakhs per government recognised Travel & Tourism stakeholder (TTS), up to Rs 1 Lakh financial support to over 11000 licensed guides at a state/regional level, and 5 lakh gratis visas that will serve to catalyse much needed inbound inflows.  The stimulus announcements reflect the government’s focus on the travel and tourism sector and augurs well for the industry, while simultaneously building consumer confidence in travel.”

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, has welcomed the relief measures and free-visa announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. “We have been in discussion with the Finance Ministry on relief measures for the tourism and hospitality sectors. We welcome the announcement, as it will help in the revival of the sector and promote inbound travel to India. Tourism is one of the sectors that has been badly hit by the pandemic, and hence these measures are welcome.” Since the relief measures are for recognised tour operators, he urged more stakeholders in the industry to get registered.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that once international travel resumes, first 5 lakh tourists who come to India will get visa for free. The scheme is applicable till March 31, 2022 or till 5,00,000 visas are issued whichever is earlier, she said. The announcement was made as part of the 8 relief measures in the wake of coronavirus pandemic declared by Sitharaman.

Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance minister, Government of India, has announced financial support to more than 11,000 registered tourist guides/travel and tourism stakeholders through the loan guarantee scheme for COVID-affected sectors. The scheme will cover 10,700 regional level tourist guides recognised by ministry of tourism and those recognised by state governments. It will also cover travel and tourism stakeholders (TTS) recognised by Ministry of tourism. Loans will be provided with 100 per cent guarantee up to Rs 10 lakh for TTS and Rs 1 lakh for tourist guides licensed at regional or state level. She also said that the first five lakh tourist visas that will be issued – once issuance is restarted – for free. These announcements are part of eight measures declared by the centre as relief for the COVID-hit national economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a major blow to the aviation industry, severely impacting passenger volumes, as well as revenues. Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport), which managed a record 32.3 million passengers in FY2019-20, witnessed an unprecedented 66% decline in traffic during FY2020-21. During this period, BLR Airport welcomed only 10.91 million passengers since domestic air travel resumed in India on May 25, 2020, following a two-month suspension. 10.45 million passengers flew domestic routes, recording a 63% drop, as compared to 27 million in FY2019-20. International routes witnessed 4 million passengers in 2019-20 – the passenger footfall, however, declined substantially to 0.46m in FY2020-21, a decline of 90%. This is mainly attributed to the continued suspension of international flights and COVID-19 restrictions across the globe. After showing signs of recovery during the middle of the fiscal year, the traffic dropped significantly due to the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in India, beginning February 2021. The reduced slots for airlines at airports driven by DGCA guidelines, too, added to the lowered numbers. ATMs dropped by 50% to113,993 from 231,051 in 2019-20. While domestic movements reduced by 49% at 102,801, international traffic saw 11,192 movements, lower by 61% in the last 311 days of operations. However, the subdued environment due to the pandemic had a marginal impact on cargo operations. The cargo processed during FY2020-21 was 326,643 Metric Tonnes (MT), 12.70% short of last fiscal’s 374,181 MT. BLR Airport was the only major Airport in the Country to reach 100% of the previous year’s tonnage on a year-on-year basis from September 2020 through January 2021. In March, it regained momentum, recording 34,401 MT – the highest in the …

IRCTC has cancelled first 17 scheduled departures of Maharajas’ Express from Oct 3, 2021 to Jan 23, 2022 due to operational reasons. The decision has been taken considering the current situation when the global tourism Industry is going through a very difficult time in the wake of COVID-19 and the lockdown that has severely impacted inbound business, revealed and IRCTC official.

CAPA Advisory (India) says that while reforms are just a start, they are required to instil confidence. It has recommended some reforms to fix the core of the aviation sector, including implementing a refund protection scheme for consumers and extending the airport tariff control period in the AERA Act from five years to eight years, among others.

Anil Oraw, Regional Director, Indiatourism North, has said, “One support we give to tour operators is that if they are doing online activities and have a website with 50-100 itineraries, we give financial assistance of up to Rs50,000 to revamp the website. If a tour operator is doing a campaign on Facebook or Google, we will support them.”

Krishna Murthy, Founder & Managing Director, SWT Club, shares that they have developed an authentic-time solution platform potentiated with technology and customisable product offerings for agents across India. “It is supplemented with a team of enthusiasts who handhold travel agent partners’ business growth with zeal and transparency. The year 2020 gave us enough time to redesign our business process by harnessing technology,” he says. SWT is a Global DMC, empowering Travel Agents in India to connect with travel service providers worldwide through a dynamic two-way online interface. With an industry experience of more than 18 years, the company has a vast network of travel supplier across the globe.

Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel recently chaired a hybrid meeting of the Central Advisory Board on Culture (CABC) in New Delhi. In the meeting, detailed discussions were held on the ongoing activities undertaken by the government and the way ahead in the celebration of 75 years of India’s independence – Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The Members of the CABC took cognizance of the activities and gave their valuable suggestions in this regard.