Tag Archives: COVID-19

The Tourism Office of Spain invites the travel trade to learn more about the destination through its webinar titled ‘The Spanish Travel Experience’ on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at 1500 hrs. To participate, please contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call 9650196532. Spain is famous for its tapas, flamenco, fiestas and endless beaches, but it is so much more. A country with four official languages, home to 15 UNESCO World Heritage cities, and diverse gastronomy and landscapes, Spain is also home to the most extraordinary architecture and a perfect wedding destination. Its cities are as diverse as the landscapes, but one thing that never changes is the Spanish lifestyle. But all this can wait. #SpainWillWait until the global crisis of COVID-19 is over.  

UNWTO has urged members to increase pressure on world leaders to rethink tax and employment policies related to tourism and help businesses survive and drive wider recovery efforts. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said, “This crisis has shown the strength of solidarity across borders. But nice words and gestures will not protect jobs or help the many millions of people whose lives are dependent on a thriving tourism sector. Governments have an opportunity to recognize tourism’s unique ability to not only provide employment but to drive equality and inclusivity. Our sector has proven its ability to bounce back and help societies recover. We ask that tourism is now given the right support to once again lead recovery efforts.”

The French authorities have declared that every traveller is requested, from April 8, 2020, 12 AM, to fill out and carry one of the following travel certificates according to their situation. This comes in line with the French Government’s measures to prevent and slow the spread of Covid-19 for the tourism sector and inbound tourists into France. The official statement released by Atout France stated that once the containment and confinement system is lifted, certain restrictions will remain. “As announced by the President, French international borders will remain closed until further notice. In the context of the implementation of the state of health emergency in France, access restrictions to Mainland France and to French Overseas territories are in effect. Every traveller is requested, from April 8, 2020, 12 AM, to fill out and carry one of the following travel certificates according to their situation, whether it is for a trip from mainland France to French overseas territories, for international travel from abroad to mainland France, or for international travel from abroad to French overseas territories. The document is to be presented to transportation companies before boarding, as well as to the border control authorities,” the statement said. The France president has also announced specific economic measures in order to help the tourism sector. These measures will be announced in May 2020.

TravTalk Digital Conclave – India’s first virtual tourism conclave got off to a roaring success with over 6000 plus attendees in three sessions that took place yesterday. TravTalk got on board eminent stakeholders in the tourism industry to discuss various issues arising because of the COVID-19 crisis for the industry. Session one focused on ‘When will inbound bounce back? What action can tour operators take in the interim?’ Speakers for this session included Rupinder Brar (ADG – Ministry of Tourism), Himmat Anand (Founder – Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels) and Homa Mistry (CEO – Trail Blazer Tours). The second session was on the subject ‘Outbound tourism: Weathering the storm and gearing up for better days’. Speakers for this session included experts like Tricia Warwick (APMEA Director – VisitBritain), GB Srithar (Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia – Singapore Tourism Board) and Deepak Rawat (Senior Vice President, International Markets – MakeMyTrip). The final session covered the topic ‘Coronavirus – A small roadblock or a major disrupter for the tourism industry?’ This session had industry experts Suman Billa (Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development – UNWTO), Kapil Kaul (CEO, India & ME – CAPA) and Naveen Kundu (Managing Director – EbixCash Travel & Holidays), share their expert advice with the travel trade.

An official statement by IATA has said that travel agents can make payment settlements later without penalties, in the wake of the global crisis of COVID-19. The statement read “For travel agents, we’re allowing settlements to be made a bit later, without penalties. While remittance periods have been kept in accordance with BSP Calendars, we are taking a flexible approach and preliminary figures confirm this, showing that default rates in 2020 are a bit below the year-ago period—despite the stresses on the system in 2020.” In addition, recognising the fact that it may be difficult or impossible to get audited financial statements, or arrange a financial guarantee, “IATA is offering to extend deadlines for these statements by up to a month.”

Get ready to listen to the most eminent personalities of the travel industry on various issues arising because of the COVID-19 crisis for the industry at the TravTalk Digital Conclave – India’s first virtual tourism conclave, which will commence today, April 7, from 10 am to 1:30 pm. To register, write to Jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +919650196532. The conclave, divided into three sessions, is aimed to help the travel trade survive in present times amid the COVID-19 crisis, while also focusing on what the future holds for both inbound and outbound tourism. Three eminent speakers and industry experts will speak on a subject during each of the sessions. Session-1 will focus on ‘When will inbound bounce back? What action can tour operators take in the interim?’ Speakers for this session will be Rupinder Brar (ADG – Ministry of Tourism), Himmat Anand (Founder – Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels) and Homa Mistry (CEO – Trail Blazer Tours). The next session will delve on the subject ‘Outbound tourism: Weathering the storm and gearing up for better days’. Speakers for this session will include experts like Tricia Warwick (APMEA Director – VisitBritain), GB Srithar (Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia – Singapore Tourism Board) and Deepak Rawat (Senior Vice President, International Markets – MakeMyTrip). Session-3 will cover the topic ‘Coronavirus – A small roadblock or a major disrupter for the tourism industry?’ This session will have industry experts Suman Billa (Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development – UNWTO), Kapil Kaul (CEO, India & ME – CAPA) and Naveen Kundu (Managing Director – EbixCash Travel & Holidays), share their expert advice with the travel trade.

TravTalk Digital Conclave – India’s first virtual tourism conclave – is all set to take place tomorrow, April 7, from 10 am to 1:30 pm. The conclave will be divided into three sessions, each designed to help the travel trade survive in present times amid the COVID-19 crisis, while also focusing on what the future holds for both inbound and outbound tourism. Three eminent speakers and industry experts will speak on a subject during each of the sessions. Session-1 will focus on ‘When will inbound bounce back? What action can tour operators take in the interim?’ Speakers for this session will be Rupinder Brar (ADG – Ministry of Tourism), Himmat Anand (Founder – Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels) and Homa Mistry (CEO – Trail Blazer Tours). The next session will delve on the subject ‘Outbound tourism: Weathering the storm and gearing up for better days’. Speakers for this session will include experts like Tricia Warwick (APMEA Director – VisitBritain), GB Srithar (Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia – Singapore Tourism Board) and Deepak Rawat (Senior Vice President, International Markets – MakeMyTrip). Session-3 will cover the topic ‘Coronavirus – A small roadblock or a major disrupter for the tourism industry?’ This session will have industry experts Suman Billa (Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development – UNWTO), Kapil Kaul (CEO, India & ME – CAPA) and Naveen Kundu (Managing Director – EbixCash Travel & Holidays), share their expert advice with the travel trade.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has released its updated assessment of the likely impact of the COVID-19 on international tourism. Considering the unparalleled introduction of travel restrictions across the world, the UN specialised agency for tourism expects that international tourist arrivals will be down by 20% to 30% in 2020 when compared with 2019 figures. However, UNWTO stresses that these numbers are based on the latest developments as the global community faces up to an unprecedented social and economic challenge and should be interpreted with caution in view of the extreme uncertain nature of the current crisis. An expected fall of between 20-30% could translate into a decline in international tourism receipts (exports) of between US$300-450 billion, almost one third of the US$ 1.5 trillion generated in 2019. Taking into account past market trends, this would mean that between five to seven years’ worth of growth will be lost to COVID-19. Putting this into context, UNWTO notes that in 2009, on the back of the global economic crisis, international tourist arrivals declined by 4%, while the SARS outbreak led to a decline of just 0.4% in 2003. Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General, UNWTO said, “Tourism is among the hardest hit of all economic sectors. However, tourism is also united in helping to address this immense health emergency – our first and utmost priority – while working together to mitigate the impact of the crisis, particularly on employment, and to support the wider recovery efforts through providing jobs and driving economic welfare worldwide.”  

According to a recent survey conducted by Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) among its members worldwide, including corporate travel managers and travel suppliers, 75 per cent of the respondents said that their companies were frequently hosting virtual meetings as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. With advances in technology, online meetings have now become the alternative to face-to-face meetings, most of which now stand either cancelled or suspended. This may well be a trend in the near future.

The branded segment is expected to witness a revenue loss of US$ 3.55 billion to US$ 4.1 billion in 2020 and the second quarter of the year will be the worst hit, says Mandeep S Lamba, President – South Asia, HVS ANAROCK. “The overall revenue of the Indian hotel sector, including both organised and unorganised segments, is set to decline by anywhere between US$ 8.85 billion to US$ 10 billion, reflecting an erosion of 39-45 per cent compared to the previous year. Hotels will be unable to drive rates and may even seek to attract business at deep discounts,” he adds. With new confirmed cases being reported daily, the penetration of the COVID-19 virus in India has caused mass hysteria, the reverberations of which are expected to continue well into the second quarter of the calendar year 2020.