Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

IATA is working with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to put in place scalable, affordable and fast testing systems, revealed Conrad Clifford, Regional Vice-President Asia Pacific, IATA. Alexandre De Juniac, Director General & CEO, IATA had also said last week, “We have a solution to open borders while mitigating the risk of importing COVID-19 through air travel. That is universal testing. There is testing technology that aligns with our requirements for speed, accuracy, affordability, scalability and ease of use in the travel process. And we are seeing momentum towards implementation.”

A total of 39.43 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in September this year, 66 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year, the country’s aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday. As many as 21.07 lakh and 28.32 lakh people travelled by air domestically this July and August, respectively, the regulator had said last month.

Taking cue from the work from home trend during COVID, Dubai has launched a new programme, under which overseas remote working professionals can stay in Dubai and continue to work for their companies in their home country. This move would allow remote workers – and their families – the opportunity to re-locate, on an annual basis, to the emirate and take advantage of emirate’s strong digital infrastructure, robust connectivity, safe and high-quality lifestyle, global networking opportunities and zero income tax for individuals.

In its second innings, Jet Airways, which was grounded in April last year, will not only retain its original brand name, livery and logo, but will also remain a full-service carrier with business and economy class divisions, according to reports. While initially, the airline will start with domestic routes with a single plane type, in the second stage they will have international flights with suitable aircraft, revealed Manoj N Madnani, Board Member, Kalrock Capital. Source: Times of India

Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) and TravTalk is set to bust all myths regarding Tax Collected at Source (TCS) with the webinar ‘Understanding TCS’, which will be held on Thursday October 22, at 11 am. The webinar would allow travel professionals to understand what TCS is, how it will impact them and if it is taking away their business. The experts will clear all such doubts. To register, contact Jaspreet Kaur at 9650196532 or Jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com.

Visit Utah will conduct its first-ever presentation for the Indian travel trade on October 21, 2020 at 11 am. Rachel Bremer, its Tourism Global Markets Director, will highlight the state’s must-visit spots and its appeal to the Indian clientele. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com.

Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (I/C), Prahlad Singh Patel, in a virtual meeting with tourism ministers and officials of 21 states & UTs discussed facilitating ease of travel between states & UTs for promoting domestic tourism and incentives being offered by them to the tourism and hospitality sector.

A recent study by Cirium on travel in the age of COVID-19 predicts that people will book trips for a minimum of two weeks, if not a month or longer (they might have annual leave to use up), and combine it with remote working or even a sabbatical.

With the pandemic having had a substantial impact on in-person exhibitions and events, Ministry of Culture has issued guidelines for holding cultural events and activities in virtual or online mode under various scheme components of Central Sector Scheme ‘Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana’ (KSVY), ensuring continued financial assistance to tide over the present crisis.

UNWTO will work alongside the Expedia Group to strengthen ties between the public and private sectors, and drive tourism’s recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnership will see them both share data on tourism trends and developments, both at the global and the local scale. This will help in informed decision making through data-based policies aimed at tourism’s sustainable recovery and future development.