Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

The 36th IATO Annual Convention scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad in September 2020 has been postponed for a year due to COVID-19 situation and is now scheduled to be hosted in September 2021 at the same venue. New dates of the convention will be finalised in due course and will be decided mutually by IATO and Gujarat Tourism.  

CM of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath said that international flight operations from Kushinagar airport will commence in next two months. The government had given Kushinagar, an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, the status of the international airport in June 2020. Once this airport begins operating international flights, it will become fourth international facility in the state.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) becomes India’s first airport to introduce a QR-code based contactless check-in facility for passengers. It has added a touch-less feature to its self-check-in kiosks whereby passengers can use their phones to scan the QR code in order to remotely self-check-in, thus minimizing surface contact in the course of their journey

In order to build the Utah brand in India, Utah Office of Tourism has appointed IndiJo Consulting as its official representative in India. Led by Joseph Fernandes, IndiJo will carry out sales, marketing, and PR activities on behalf of the tourism board. These include webinars, B2B training, co-op promotions, social media initiatives, support product development, trade and media relations.  

The Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI) led by EM Najeeb has called on the government to take immediate steps to reopen the tourism sector in Kerala without further delays. Najeeb added that if the crisis continues, the vast majority of enterprises in the region will face serious repercussions in the near future. The tourism sector, which has been in crisis since travel restrictions were imposed globally in last February, has been completely shut down with the lockdown imposed in India by March 24. More than 15 lakh people directly and 20 lakh people indirectly working in the tourism sector of the state and being the highest-earning industrial service sector in the state. Tourism is the highest income-earning sector with more than 45000 Crores and contributing around 12% to the state GDP in 2019. Excluding expatriate investment, it is one of the most lucrative foreign exchange earning sectors in the country and more than 20000 local investors and entrepreneurs are working in this sector with the support of bank loans and other financial institutions support. Central and State Governments should be prepared to take wartime measures to rescue the sector from the more damaging situation and intervene to restart the regular business with adequate safety and health control measure for the return of the tourism sector and lives of lakhs of people is, directly and indirectly, working travel, tourism and hospitality sector. At a time when the tourism industry is on the verge of literally collapsing as one of the state’s highest income earning industrial sectors and excluding NRI investment, the country is literally on the verge of collapse. CKTI President EM Najeeb requested. Based on unlock 4 declared by …

Leading B2B travel portal, TBO Group has launched “TBO Marine”, a hybrid e-commerce platform to cater to the niche market segment of the marine industry. Via this platform, TBO, is offering its audience quick and easy access to global seaman fares, providing an immaculate travel management service. TBO aims to extend its expertise in marine travel management; providing value and expertise to B2B segment in the following industries: Offshore oil and energy sectors, dry dock, specialized marine contracting, crew management companies, travel agents servicing the marine, and port agents. The portal will offer real-time seaman fares, which will assist with travel agents to explore an untapped industry in India. Ankush Nijhawan, Co-Founder, TBO Group and MD Nijhawan Group says “The key objective of TBO marine is to offer a seamless service to the B2B partners with the assistance of exclusively curated software, equipped to bestow a flawless experience.  Through this integration on our platform, TBO is empowering its partners to tap into a new segment. Our team of highly skilled professionals will be available 24/7/365, to offer specialized rates, state of the art technology and years of experience of airways schedules, visa assistance, and cost-effective ways to add value to our clients” The Marine industry in India is a standout amid the most dawning and breathtaking sectors. Identified as a lucrative and niche market segment, the Marine is yet to be discovered to its core potential. Worldwide, this potential sector is being explored at a high pace with technological development.  

After much deliberation from travel trade and associations in India and in the state of UP, Taj Mahal and Agra Fort are all set to be opened for tourists, starting September 21, 2020.

The TravTalk CEO Survey has revealed that 64% of CEOs from travel and tourism industry feel that travellers will pay more for hygienic and safe options.

India’s first on-site COVID testing facility is all set to come up at the capital’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, which will provide RT-PCR test results within six hours. The facility by Genestrings Diagnostic Centre, is expected to be operational by mid-September. The which will establish the 3,500 square metre facility at the multi-level car parking of Terminal 3, said that the results of samples collected at the facility will be declared within 4-6 hours, and until then, the passengers will be isolated in the waiting lounge or may opt to stay in a hotel. If the result is positive, the passenger will be processed in line with applicable Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) protocols by the authorities while those testing negative can continue their onward air journey. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare guidelines mandate international passengers arriving in India and having RT-PCR negative certificate would be exempt from institutional quarantine by states and will be allowed onward air journey. DIAL’s CEO, Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, said: “Delhi airport continues to be a hub for international travellers even during the pandemic. The pilot initiative has been taken to ensure testing of all arriving international transfer passengers scheduled to board a domestic connecting flight post-arrival at Delhi Airport. The Covid-19 testing laboratory at Delhi Airport has been adequately equipped for testing and sample collection that will be conducted in compliance with the protocols established by the ICMR and the NABL.”

The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB) has resumed water sports activities in the state, which were stopped in view of COVID-19. Besides boating, river rafting, kayaking and canoeing have also been permitted. Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Principal Secretary, Tourism & MD, MPTB said that relevant guidelines have been issued to the managers of the boat clubs in the state. It has been decided to run all boats on 50% occupancy. Speed Boats will now carry three persons instead of six, pedal boats, two instead of four, raft boats four instead of eight and cruise boats, 30 instead of 60. MP Tourism runs boat clubs at several places in the state including Bhopal, Halali, Udaygiri, Tawa, Bargi, Bhedaghat, Hanuwantia, Tighra, Gandhisagar dam, Shivpuri and Orchha.