Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Switzerland Tourism invites members of India’s travel trade to participate in its exclusive webinar on Jungfrau Bahn – Railways to the Sky. The webinar will highlight popular activities and excursions in Switzerland made accessible by the Jungfrau Railways. For more information, please contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com.

Recording the highest growth rate in domestic and total tourist arrivals in 24 years, Kerala attracted around 1.96 crore domestic and foreign visitors in 2019, registering a healthy growth of 17.2 per cent as compared to the figures in the previous year. The total earnings from tourism stood at Rs 45,010.69 crore, notching a robust 24.14 per cent increase. The total number of tourists was pegged at 1,95,74,004, of whom there were 1,83,84,233 domestic tourists and 11,89,771 visitors from abroad. In 2018, the number of tourists visiting Kerala was 1,67,01,068 (domestic tourists 1,56,04,661 and foreign tourists 10,96,407).

Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) has been sharing a regular updates with the Ministry of Tourism(MOT) and Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on the impact of COVID-19 on the industry and apprise the Government on the effect of the outbreak has been till now. The update letter reads, “This is one of the worst crisis ever to hit the Indian tourism industry  impacting all its geographical segments – inbound, outbound & domestic, almost all tourism verticals— leisure, adventure, heritage, mice, cruise, corporate & niche segments. The whole tourism value chain across hotels, travel agents, tour operations, destinations, restaurant, family entertainment venues & air, land & sea transportation.” – Inbound foreign tourism of $ 28 bn + in value terms accounts for on an average basis almost 60-65%  between October to March. As the news of the virus started picking up from November, the percentage  of cancellations started going up in this segment exponentially and is reaching a peak of almost 80% now in March in many Indian locations. The value at risk from this segment will be in multiples of tens of thousands of crores. – The forward bookings for the inbound season of October 2020 – March 2021, which should have started picking are all muted.  These are showing highly discouraging signs with cancellations of important global travel marts which are marketplaces for contracting for the next season. – The value of NRI segment from developed markets whose major season for visit to their families and relatives is around 60% + during April to September. There are reports of large-scale forward cancellations from these and unless the progression of the virus stops the almost entire value …

Hardeeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C), Civil Aviation, has advised travellers to voluntarily get themselves checked for COVID-19, in case they have any symptoms. Addressing a press conference on the issue, he said, “My advice to everyone, whether they have gone as a tourists or have come in to India as part of a tour group, if they have symptoms, they should get themselves checked. While the numbers of cases of COVID-19 in India is not very high, we can’t afford to take chances. If someone came in before the universal checking of all passengers at airports started, they should come forward for a check in case of any symptoms. Some people have been identified already, and if they show any signs, they will be immediately tested. We are taking all external precautions needed, and the cabinet secretary is taking meetings every day. Under the overall control of PMO, and the PM personally, we have two groups—one is a group of ministers headed by Mr. Harshvardhan, of which I am a member. There is another group headed by the Cabinet Secretary. Each of these groups meet a number of times to take stock of the situation. It’s a case where all parts of the Government are active and in 24-hour contact with each other.”

S.C. Gupta, Chief Secretary, Sikkim, chaired a meeting at Tashiling Secretariat to review and discuss preparedness and action plan for any possible coronavirus outbreak in the State following reports of confirmed cases of a novel coronavirus in some parts of the country. The meeting has decided to suspend all Inner Line Permits (ILPs) issued to visit Sikkim until further notice. The concerned department has been directed to network the information to all stakeholder organisations and offices. The Tourism Department has been directed to monitor the maintenance of registers by owners of hotels, homestays and lodge for travellers of both Indian and Foreign Nationals with their contact details for surveillance purpose. Likewise, the Education Department has been asked to conduct awareness sessions on coronavirus in every school in the State.

To help tourists from Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has got signages put up in Sanchi in Sinhalese language, which is the native language of the island nation, revealed Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism & Culture. He says, “Majority of Sri Lankan tourists go to Sanchi, and there we have put up signages in Sinhalese language within 7 days. As a result, we got appreciation within the country as well as in Sri Lanka. Those who are less educated and do not know the language other than Sinhalese, got a chance to read things in their language, which made them feel relieved as well as proud. This is an example would only help us in working in the future. Wherever we have one lakh or more tourists coming, who are not comfortable in Hindi and English, we can offer the signages in their languages and make it easy for them.”

Driving forward the vision of Skilled India, Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council (THSC), one of the sector skill councils approved by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), has announced its collaboration with Marriott India to promote Apprenticeship in Tourism and Hospitality sector. Marriott will engage 5000 apprentices through its network of 90 properties in the country. The apprentices will be provided with an opportunity to receive hands-on experience at Marriott hotels for developing broader expertise in the sector, preparing them to cater to the demands of the tourism and hospitality sector.

According to India Hospitality Industry Overview 2019 by HVS, 2019 saw a substantial increase of 31% in brand signings by keys and an 11% in brand signings by hotels over 2018, signifying an increase in average keys per hotel. Domestic brands with their aggressive growth strategies have overtaken the international brands in brand signings for 2019. They, however, continue to sign smaller format hotels with average keys for domestic brand signings being almost half of their international peers.

Madhya Pradesh, the Tiger State of India, has reiterated its focus on wild-life tourism and strengthening its ongoing efforts towards combating the threats of climate change by focusing on wildlife conservation and upliftment of forest dwellers. The state will also be focusing on creating favourable conditions for the conservation of tigers especially the endangered Bengal Tiger and the rare White Tiger. Madhya Pradesh ranks first in the country with 526 tigers as per the results of the All India Tiger Assessment declared on July 29, 2019. The state has six tiger reserves (combining parts of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries) namely Kanha, Pench, Satpura, Bandhavgarh, Panna and Sanjay. The state also plans to create around 11 new protected areas within the state from the current numbers of 24 wildlife sanctuaries and 11 national parks. The new areas, covering over 2,100 sq. km, represent perhaps the largest addition of protected areas attempted by any state in the past three decades. According to Faiz Ahmed Kidwai (IAS), Secretary Tourism, Govt of Madhya Pradesh and Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, “Madhya Pradesh is referred to as wildlife state of India with numerous sanctuaries and reserves. At a time where the numbers of many animal species are declining, Madhya Pradesh has played a pivotal part in India’s wildlife conservation programs. As the World Wildlife Day approaches on 3rd March, we would like to reiterate our commitment to protecting endangered wildlife, specially tigers through a scientific, planned and people-centric approach with strict enforcement guidelines and team support.” “From preserving tiger population, to being the state with the highest leopard, vultures and gharial (an endemic crocodile species) population to having successfully increased the population of …

In the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak across the world, the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) has decided to postpone its Convention to another date. The Convention was scheduled to take place in Antalya, Turkey from March 15-18, 2020. Once things are back to normal, the OTOAI Convention will take place in Turkey with fresh dates. Riaz Munshi, President, OTOAI shares, “It is unfortunate that we had to postpone the convention, but given the prevailing circumstances, we thought it is best to do so. The decision has been taken keeping the safety of our delegates in mind as we would never do anything that might put their health in jeopardy. I am sure that the effect and spread of Covid-19 will subside with time and once that happens, we will re-announce the convention with a fresh set of dates.” Himanshu Patil, Vice President and Convention Chairman, OTOAI, added, “We would like to thank all the members of the travel trade, media and our partners in Turkey who have been extremely supportive. We look forward to your continued support in the future also and we are confident that as soon as the Covid-19 cases are curbed, we will announce the new dates of the convention.” In a statement, the Destination Turkey said, “Turkey is very eager to host all the delegates and the preparations are still in order. While Turkey has not reported a single confirmed case of COVID-19, the decision has purely been taken keeping the various travel advisories being issued in mind.”