Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

Sri Lanka Tourism is hosting a Virtual Summit on Monday, June 22, at 3:00pm, where experts will talk about Sri Lanka’s readiness to restart tourism. To register, please email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +9650196532. Panellists include Arundika Fernando, State Minister of Tourism and Aviation, Sri Lanka and Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism.

Deep Knowledge Group recently completed a study assessing the Covid-19 condition in 200 countries. Switzerland has been ranked as the safest country in the world, with a total score of 752 points against all 130 parameters under categories of quarantine efficiency, healthcare readiness, risk management among others. Germany emerged as a close second with 749 points. Even though Switzerland was very close to major epicentres of initial COVID-19 spread in Europe, the country has managed to control the virus.  Despite experiencing significant volumes of infection spread and mortality at the early stages of the pandemic, the rates of mortality and new cases now, continue to decline.

Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, has announced that the country will open its borders to the Schengen Zone and the UK on June 21, which were originally due to remain closed until July 1. The Portuguese border, however, will remain shut until July 1. It has also been announced that travellers from non-Schengen countries will not need to self-quarantine July 1 onwards, based on the reciprocal agreement on travel.

Abu Dhabi has launched its exclusive online training programme for travel professionals—Abu Dhabi Specialist programme, which can be accessed on www.abudhabispecialist.com. To become a specialist, agents or tour operators have to successfully complete the training and earn a certificate of achievement plus a window sticker or digital badge that certifies their status as an Abu Dhabi Specialist. The online training allows the professionals to study about Abu Dhabi’s offerings at their own pace and at their own time. They can access course content on mobile, tablet or desktop whenever and wherever they have an internet connection. Qualified Abu Dhabi Specialists will be included on a preferred supplier list. They will be the first to know about destination news and be on the invite list for exclusive events and competitions. The e-learning programme allows the users to stay up to date with everything new and exciting going on in Abu Dhabi and offers the resources and downloads to help them sell the destination.

Sri Lanka, the island nation, is all set to welcome travellers from across the world starting August 1, 2020, as the country has successfully contained COVID-19. Announcing the same, Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism, has said, “Sri Lanka Tourism will provide international visitors with the highest standards of safety as we embrace tourists from across the world to experience the beauty of our paradise island once more. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has put in place all precautions recommended by global health and travel authorities to re-open the country to tourists.” Sri Lanka has been on most of the travellers’ wish list for a long time, as it offers a diverse range of attractions, right from pristine beaches to lush green mountains and is known as an island that offers ‘unmissable experiences’. The country has announced that Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and Ratmalana International Airport (RIA) as well as Hambantota’s Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) will be opened from 1st August 2020 for international travellers from all nations. The issuing of visas will be only online and must be applied for prior to travel. T he online visa procedure and requirements for tourists from August 1, 2020 include: A negative PCR test report from an accredited laboratory taken within 72 hours prior to landing in Sri Lanka. A confirmed travel itinerary covering at least 5 nights at certified accommodations. A valid return air ticket Travel insurance with health and hospitalization cover A visa fee of USD 100 will be applicable Tourists will not have to undergo quarantine procedures. A mandatory health screening and sanitising process including a PCR test will be conducted at arrival Airports free …

The Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has announced that the country has no more active cases of COVID-19 and the destination is free of the virus now

The 4th TravTalk Digital Conclave is all set to be held tomorrow, Tuesday, 9th June, with a focus on re-engineering tourism and establishing confidence among travellers. To register, please send an email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +9650196532. The three sessions between 10:00 am and 1:30 pm will cover subjects such as a practical vision for the future, managing customer experience, and reducing fears & establishing confidence.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is moving quickly to draft strategy to support the Royal Thai Government’s third phase of easing business activities and restrictions after its most recent announcement on June 1, which is effective immediately. The relaxation helps some tourism-related businesses while other venue operators must wait and continue to follow guidelines issued by the Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health. Moreover, all international flights to Thailand are still banned until 30 June, 2020, due to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT)’s announcement. TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said, “TAT is working actively with our tourism partners and other industry partners to monitor and identify opportunities.  TAT has formulated a strategy to support domestic tourism first and learn from experience, so that Thai tourists feel confident about their first travel choices around the Kingdom after the situation of the COVID-19 eases.” To begin with (phase one) TAT has identified basic truths of the new reality moving forward: To restart, the tourism industry must be under disease control measures until a vaccine is developed to prevent this disease. This will affect and change all behaviour and patterns of traditional travel and tourism activities starting from the aviation experience. Phase two and three begin once operational level products are functioning and a proper reduced carrying capacity is established so phase two can commence after international flights are allowed again. 

Launched in February 2020, the SG Clean campaign aims to raise the hygiene standards and transform cleanliness level of public spaces and rally premises operators to take ownership by adopting the SG Clean Quality Mark. Under the campaign, the SG Clean quality mark is being rolled out to various sectors, covering premises with high human footfalls including hotels, tourist attractions, shopping malls and F&B outlets. Over the next few months, more than 37,000 businesses within the tourism and lifestyle sectors will be encouraged to sign up for the SG Clean Quality Mark. To obtain this mark, premises operators will have to pass audits that certify that their premises have adhered to sector-specific sanitation and hygiene checklists and advisories. SG Clean certified tourism establishments can be identified by the certificate, posters, decals and badges.

Developing a global set of transparent hospitality standards relating to health, safety and hygiene will be key to regain the trust of travellers in a post-COVID-19 landscape, a panel of industry experts explained during ATM Virtual. During the session, ‘The Hotel Landscape in a Post-COVID-19 World’, Raki Phillips, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority said, “Our industry is very resilient and will recover and for this reason, it’s important that hotels don’t drop their room rates. Tourists will come back.” “We are already seeing this in Ras Al Khaimah where we are lucky to have large, spacious resorts with some offering private villas, making the implementation of social distancing measures much easier. Hotels need to adapt to a new normal with increased sanitisation at the forefront while being creative with their offerings and embracing innovative technologies which can help differentiate them from their competitor,” he further said.