Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

The government has further enlarged the scope of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ELGS) by including the aviation sector. The government also removed the loan outstanding ceiling of Rs 500 crore on sectors like hospitality, travel and tourism, leisure and sporting, and civil aviation, which means that even bigger entities with even higher outstanding loans in these sectors can avail of the ECLGS scheme.

Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Vijay Shah has said that the state has reopened national parks and tiger reserves from June 1 till June 30. The parks and reserves were shut amidst COVID-19 restrictions for the last 2 months. He said that travellers will have to follow COVID-19 guidelines during their trip. Madhya Pradesh is home to several tiger reserves such as Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Satpura and Panna.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has signed Ramada Encore by Wyndham in Indore. Nikhil Sharma, Regional Director Eurasia, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts EMEA said: “This upcoming opening adds to our existing portfolio of Wyndham-branded hotels in Madhya Pradesh and reaffirms our commitment to continued growth in this important market. We look forward to our partnership and to adding an internationally-recognised hotel brand to the city of Indore.” The new property, scheduled to open in 2022, will have a modern design and will feature 100 contemporary rooms, a lobby lounge, an all-day dining restaurant and bar, meetings and event spaces, a business centre, refreshing wellness areas and an outdoor rooftop swimming pool. Once operational, Ramada Encore by Wyndham Indore will provide more than 100 jobs to the Indore city.

TBO Group, which acquired Island Hopper in 2019, has now also acquired Gemini Tours & Travels. Headquartered out of Bangalore India, Gemini Tours & Travels, will be merging with Island Hopper, which already has over 21% share of Indian Travel Market to Maldives. Mr. Ankush Nijhawan, Co-Founder, TBO Group, said “Gemini merger will help Island Hopper further expand its presence in South India Market and consolidate its numero uno position as an Island Specialist even further. This acquisition would also help in providing our customers more hotel options especially in the luxury segment in Maldives.”

Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), with probability of hotels not being able to reopen for two to three months more in the state, have asked for Rs. 5,000 to 6,000 as subsistence allowance for 1.4 lakh people directly employed in hotels and tour companies. “It won’t suffice to meet their needs, but at least it will be of some help,” said Nilesh Shah, President, TTAG.

PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, has said that since many of their members could not get vaccination, owing to shortage of vaccines, the association has tied up with hospitals to organise vaccination camps for its members on a pan-India basis. “This will be provided to members at a special rate. To elevate the financial burden on the members, we have decided to give a subsidy to all primary members by reimbursing 50% of what they spend on getting vaccinated, whether it’s the first shot or second shot or both, to the maximum limit of  Rs 600 for each shot within a period,” he adds.

Since physical inspection of office premises of applicants cannot be undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism, they have given extension to the existing validity of the tour operators, travel agents and tourist transport operators up to 31.12.2021. It will also include the extended validity already given to such tour operators. However, this will be subject to the condition that they have submitted their complete application seeking renewal of their approval/recognition with the Ministry of Tourism. In an order, the MOT has announced that all agencies, whose validity expires (including extended validity) up to July, 2021 will be given extension of validity(approval/recognition) up to 31.12.2021 subject to the condition they have submitted their complete application for renewal. For agencies seeking fresh approval/recognition, they will be considered for giving provisional approval up to 31.12.2021 subject to submission of complete application fulfilling all the documentary requirements as mentioned in the guidelines issued by the Ministry. MOT also said that the status of all such cases will be reviewed from time to time as the situation required and suitable decision taken will be communicated accordingly.

Young-Geul Choi, Director, Korea Tourism Organization, New Delhi office, has high expectations from the Korea Travel Expo, which is set to be held from 22nd to 24th June 2021. “Through this expo, Indian buyers can reconnect with Korean suppliers and start preparing their tour products and packages for sale in future. The response that we receive from this expo will set the tone for the kind of marketing activities we will do in the rest of 2021,” he says. Register at www.koreatravelexpo.com, email Jaspreet at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

The Bureau of Immigration is all set to install automated e-gates, which will scan passenger information without any human intervention, at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport starting July. The facility, called the Trusted Travellers Program (TTP), will reduce the clearance time by almost half. Initially, eight e-gates (four each in departure and arrival immigration areas) will be installed.

Kerala’s Tourism Minister PA Mohamed Riyas has assured stakeholders in tourism that the government will unveil various projects focusing on the revival of the sector. “Apart from completing the present projects on a time-bound manner, two new heritage projects focusing on Ponnani and Aranmula will be planned and implemented quickly,” he said, adding that more tourism circuits will also be formed.