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Hotel body meets Tourism Minister, submits recommendations for industry revival

The Hotel Association of India (HAI), the apex body of the Indian hospitality industry, met G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North East Region, and apprised him of the status of the industry severely impacted by the ongoing pandemic. A delegation of the association led by its Vice President, K.B. Kachru, Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor-South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, also reviewed the issues that the industry is facing. While highlighting the urgent need to infuse liquidity in the industry through means like extension of moratoriums, one-time loan re-structuring, improved terms under the ECLGS scheme and revised eligibility ratios under the resolution framework, the association also requested a consideration of policy changes. According hospitality the status of an “infrastructure industry” by the central government, thus allowing it to avail the benefits of low cost funding and tax benefits that are currently available to industries like ports, railways, highways etc, is one of the policy changes that the industry has been clamouring for using the rationale that hotels are capital intensive and have a long gestation period, similar to infrastructure industries. Encouraging all states to accord hotels the status of an ‘Industry’ as recently notified by some States is another policy recommendation articulated by the delegation to support the revival of the industry. A large percentage of hotel operating costs are fixed in nature making them unsustainable under the current conditions. Industry status will allow hotels to receive benefits available to manufacturers like lower property taxes, land at subsidized rates, and lower costs of utilities like power and water. After hearing the delegation’s pleas, the minister promised to look into the issues and to continue the dialogue with HAI.

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'Quarantine tourism' boosts Serbia's holiday industry

Indian travelers wanting to fly to countries such as the U.S. have been turning in increasing numbers to Serbia as the perfect place for a 14-day stopover to meet COVID-19 rules. So-called "quarantine tourism" helped Serbia record a 48.4 percent annual increase in tourist arrivals in June, according to the Serbian Statistics Office. Because of the high rates of COVID-19 in India, the U.S. and many other countries do not allow most people to travel direct from the country – but they can make the journey if they spend two weeks elsewhere on their way. Serbia offers Indian nationals visa-free entry if they have been vaccinated and test negative for COVID-19. They are also required to spend at least the first seven days of their stay in Serbia in isolation, depending on conditions set by their destination countries. Tarek Mody, an Indian national, said he was in Belgrade on his way to Canada, while mechanical inspector Surish said the trip to Belgrade was organized by his employer. Jagdish, from the Indian city Visakhapatnam, told Reuters he had to spend 14 days outside India before entering the U.S.. Ilija Smiljanic, hotels manager for Mark Group, said people were searching for extra beds and that all Belgrade hotels were housing some Indian guests.

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Maritime tourism set to get a boost! 65 lighthouses to be developed into tourism destinations

Lighthouse tourism in India set to get a boost! Lighthouses are an interesting tourism feature all over the world, and it is time that the feature catches up in India as well. Since lighthouses are usually located close to the coastline, they provide a scenic view of the spot to tourists. And now, the Parliament has passed the Marine Aids To Navigation 2021, which would lead to the development of lighthouses as tourist destinations. According to an Expression of Interest document of the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, 65 lighthouse sites have been identified to be developed into tourist spots in public private partnership mode. The ministry has said that one of the lighthouses that would be transformed for this project is the Mandvi Lighthouse in Gujarat, which is built on the Mandvi Fort and overlooks the Arabian Sea from the west coast of the country. This lighthouse is located at a distance of 8km from the Mandvi Beach, and as per plans, during its development, the spot would get facilities like gardening, landscaping and seating. Under the Marine Aids To Navigation 2021, traditional and historical values of lighthouses would be preserved as well as showcased as part of the initiative. In the Expression of Interest, the ministry wrote that as compared to the potential India has when it comes to tourism, its gains are “relatively modest”. It added that the ministry recognised the untapped potential for tourism on the vast coastlines of the country, and it has therefore decided to open up lighthouses for tourism opportunities through the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL). The ministry has undertaken the initiative with the objective of enhancing and developing the existing lighthouses into maritime landmark as well as unique tourist destinations, while identifying and developing the tourism infrastructure components to boost the lighthouse tourism and exploring the possibilities of undertaking these projects in the PPP mode. The identified lighthouses are spread across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

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Hong Kong eases entry rules for vaccinated residents, tourists

Hong Kong will allow vaccinated tourists from all but 10 places in the world to enter the city from August 9, in a significant easing of some of the tightest border curbs in the world. Vaccinated visitors from countries now categorized as “medium-risk" -- which includes the U.S. and Canada -- will be able to come to the city for the first time since the pandemic started. Meanwhile, Hong Kong residents from previously banned places like the U.K. and India can now return home. Visitors and residents from medium-risk places will be asked to spend seven days in hotel quarantine upon entry and they must possess a positive antibody test at a laboratory recognized by the Hong Kong government to prove they are vaccinated against Covid-19. Antibody testing facilities at the airport will be available from mid-August, according to a government statement. The easing, first announced by Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Monday without detail, also allows children who are not eligible for vaccination to leave hotel quarantine with their inoculated parents after seven days -- though they must then self-isolate at home for another two weeks. The revived plan, first mooted in June, comes as Hong Kong tries to reopen its economy after nearly two months without local transmission, while keeping out the highly contagious delta strain that’s driving new outbreaks around the world. Though low vaccination levels locally means that delta slipping into the city could quickly become catastrophic, the financial hub is also facing pressure from businesses to relax what are some of the most onerous travel curbs in the world. Rival hub Singapore has said it will ease travel curbs in September after an inoculation rate of 80% is achieved there.

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Puri hotels open doors to guests, wary of weekend shutdown lull

The tourism and hospitality sector in Odisha finally opened its gates to guests on Monday after three months of the pandemic lockdown. At the tourism hub of Puri, however, the stakeholders are apprehensive that business may not pick up pace unless the weekend shutdown is lifted and Srimandir reopened. Almost all the 800-odd hotels in Puri got a handful of diners and bookings on the day. While a call on reopening of Srimandir is yet to be taken, the Blue Flag beach from Digabareni square to the Mayfair hotel which is another major crowd-puller, remained closed. Only the Niladri beach stretch near it reopened with Covid restrictions. The local hotel industry saw a big drop in the number of bookings during both the first and second waves of the pandemic. The stakeholders said the graded unlocking is a much- needed respite but the industry may not revive completely until the weekend shutdown is lifted as Puri receives that maximum number of tourists only during the weekends. “This half-hearted reopening of hotels is actually an expensive affair for small and medium hoteliers. With the government allowing reopening of hotels and tourism sites, all our staff have joined but under the new guidelines, we have to stop operations by 7 pm every day for closing down the facilities by 8 pm. Besides, there will be no business on weekends. It will still be difficult for us to do adequate business and pay all our staff”, said Yugabrata Kar, a homestay and hotel owner. Members of the Puri Hotel Owners Association said so far, only few people who were vaccinated with two doses booked their stay in hotels, both during weekdays and weekends. “Many of our members have decided to offer a 30 per cent discount on general hotel bookings, B2B bookings and dine-in to attract more visitors”, said Raj Kishore Patra, general secretary of the association and MD of Holiday Resort. The government in its unlock guidelines has allowed hotels, restaurants and bars to reopen with 50 per cent capacity.

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‘Digital passport’: IndiGo to launch pilot for IATA travel pass from August 20

IndiGo has partnered with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to launch a pilot for IATA travel pass to help passengers securely manage their international travel in line with government requirements for Covid-19 testing or vaccine information. The airline says it will be the first Indian airline to do a pilot for the IATA travel pass in a bid to chart recovery for international travel. IATA travel pass is a mobile app that helps travellers securely store and manage their verified certifications for Covid-19 tests or vaccines. “The pass will enable IndiGo passengers to create a ‘digital passport’ to verify their pre-travel test or vaccination status to meet the SOPs of the destination. The passengers will be able to share the test and vaccination certificates with authorities as well as airlines to facilitate travel. The app will also enable passengers to manage and save all their travel documentation digitally and seamlessly throughout the travel experience,” IndiGo said in a statement. The platform will also enable authorised labs and test centres to securely send test results or vaccination certificates to passengers. The global registry, operated by IATA, will manage, and allow the secure flow of necessary information amongst all stakeholders and to provide a seamless passenger experience. IndiGo CEO Ronjoy Dutta said: “We are proud to partner with IATA to become the country’s first airline to take this step towards enabling customers with a travel pass mobile app. This initiative is a significant step to prepare for a new normal, especially with regards to international travel. Today, most countries have implemented protocols for travellers across the globe and this IATA Travel Pass will simplify and digitise the requisite passenger information for respective countries. We are certain that our collaboration with IATA on this innovation will prove to be a stepping-stone towards international air travel recovery, while providing a hassle-free experience to our customers”. The airline says the travel pass is more secure and efficient than current paper processes used to manage health requirements.

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