Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Nepal is set to resume its international flight operations from August 17, after a four-month suspension due the global COVID-19 crisis. In fact, the country will also resume its domestic operations, and all flights will strictly follow the health and safety protocols that have already been developed.

FHRAI has launched the ‘Work For Our Staff’ campaign for its members to support around 4500 hospitality professionals in more than a dozen cities. With direct 100% compensation being provided to staff by business partner Eureka Forbes, FHRAI and regional member establishments will be able to help staff survive this crisis and give them an opportunity to earn and return to work once this enforced and sustained lockdown is over. Nomination will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis.

Powered by TravTalk, the Selling Happiness webinar on Tuesday, July 28, at 11 am will help agents understand how to make the best Indian itineraries inclusive of Yoga, wellness, spirituality, Ayurveda and meditation. To register for the hour-long session, log on to https://event.webinarjam.com/register/153/yy8npbg9 or email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +919650196532.

Faraway Tree, a B2B operator specialising in holidays packages to the Andaman Islands, will conduct one-of-its kind virtual tour for the trade today at 11am, followed by an extensive product update. One lucky couple can win a 6N/7D holiday worth Rs 80,000. To register, contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com.

In the APAC region, while Northeast Asia has taken the major brunt of the crisis with bookings being down by 83%, South Asia has been significantly less impacted and most of the countries in the region on an average 50 to 60 per cent behind 2019 levels, reveals ForwardKeys.

Manoj Saraf, MD, Gainwell Travel, has said that the company has been badly hit owing to COVID-19 and the Gainwell Sports division saw a setback with cancellation of ICC T20 World Cup in Australia this year. However, during the lockdown period, they have also tied up with AMITY university and taking online classes for hospitality as well as travel & tourism students, to give them knowledge on selling certain products and how to be employable. Apart from that someone in their company is also teaching Spanish, as learning a new language is an added advantage.

Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), a statutory body under railways ministry, has invited proposal to appoint a consultant to redevelop Bhuj railway station in Gujarat. The station will be redeveloped under public private partnership (PPP) model. The consultant will have to conduct feasibility study, finalize a detailed master planning, urban designing, engineering and preparation of a detailed project report for redevelopment of Bhuj railway station. The last date for applying for participation in the bidding process is 12 August. RLDA is redeveloping 62 stations across the country in cooperation with the government’s smart city project.

The Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) will conduct an exclusive webinar on July 24 with the Regional Ministry of Tourism Office to demonstrate to its members how they can get a ‘Ministry of Tourism Recognized Service Provider’ stamp. Presentation will be done by Venkatesan Dhattareyan, Regional Director (West & Central India), Indiatourism Mumbai, Ministry of Tourism.

The Rajasthan government has approved a proposal to provide relief under Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme for one extra year to units in tourism & hotel sector. The cabinet also decided to extend the period for reimbursement of SGST to hotel and tour operators by three months to one year, from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

Steve Borgia, CMD, INDeco Leisure Hotels, has said that by cutting costs and getting local guests & weddings at hotels, they have been able to make a profit in June 2020. “From 120 employees, we ran our hotels with 15 people. We ran many programmes to attract locals and did weddings with the gathering of 50 people. We managed to make a profit of 2.5 lakh,” he said.