Tag Archives: COVID-19

The high court of Bombay at Goa on Monday permitted the state government to allow the entry of fully-vaccinated persons in Goa without a COVID-19 negative test report. Partially vaccinated and non-vaccinated persons will still have to produce a negative Covid test report for entry. The expert committee has also unanimously agreed and decided to explore the possibility of issuing a universal pass which is linked to the Co-Win portal as adopted and issued by the government of Maharashtra.

FHRAI has submitted a representation to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman requesting reintroduction of the scheme granting ex-gratia payment of the difference between compound interest and simple interest for six months to borrowers from the hospitality sector in view of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme was formerly announced in October last year.

Willie Walsh, Director General, IATA, has said, “Data must drive global restart policies that manage COVID-19 risks while reviving livelihoods and boosting economies.” He adds that travel cannot be restricted only to those who are vaccinated because data suggests that testing, not quarantine, is the solution. Screening can keep COVID-19 importation at manageable levels.

The government of Malaysia has issued new guidelines for passengers travelling to Kuala Lumpur from India, including a COVID-19 swab test, the cost of which will be borne by the passenger, as well as 21 days of quarantine in a hotel. Passengers are also required to submit an RT-PCR negative report within 72 hours prior to departure.

The World Committee on Tourism Ethics, an independent body under the aegis of the UNWTO, met recently to assess the implications health certificates might have on tourism ethics. The Committee has recommended that COVID-19 certificates for international travel must be free, universally available and non-discriminatory. They must also be limited in time and use, it says.

Singapore is expected to relax restrictions for those travellers who have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The government is carefully monitoring the effectiveness of vaccines in reducing transmission risk. 

Goa Tourism might have suffered a loss of around Rs2,000 to Rs7,200 crore and approximately 35-58% job losses because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report titled, ‘Coping with COVID-19: Survival and Revival of Goa’s Tourism Industry’ by Goa Tourism Ministry and KPMG Advisory Services.

Lufthansa has launched its ‘Calendar of Hope’ initiative with an aim to help street and slum children in India. In a collaborative effort to help spread hope with kindness, the airline has dedicated the 2021 edition of its iconic calendar to support the most vulnerable in the fight against the hardships of COVID-19. Lufthansa is partnering with ImpactGuru, a Harvard incubated start-up, for this initiative. This will ensure that 100 per cent of the contribution goes directly to help the children at Aasraa Trust, which supports over 3300 street children in Dehradun, as well as Sunshine Children Education Society, which gives shelter to over 250 slum children in Delhi.Dehradun

COVID-19 has shrunk flight booking lead times across the Asia Pacific region since March 2020, with last-minute booking trend led by India and Thailand. As per Amadeus’ first COVID-19 Travel Insights bulletin, flight bookings across the region have been made 17 days later on average compared to the same period in 2018 and 2019. Indian travellers appear to be the most last-minute in the region with an average of only 10 days before their departure date between March-July 2020. This is followed by Thai and Singaporean travellers, who have been making bookings on average 21 and 25 days prior to departure during the pandemic.

HVS ANAROCK’S report titled ‘India Hotels Outlook’ that studies the impact of COVID-19 on the Indian hotel sector estimates that assuming recovery from COVID-19 begins in H2 2020, occupancy would then recover only by year 2022, touching 66%, while rates would recover by year 2023.