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EU agrees to reopen borders to 14 countries, extends travel ban for US tourists

The US, Brazil and Russia did not make the cut of "safe countries" whose nationals can travel to the bloc. European officials said the ban "is an exercise of self-responsibility" amid global surges. The European Union on Tuesday extended a ban on travelers from the United States and most other countries beyond July 1, citing epidemiological factors for the decision. Over the past month, the US has seen its number of cases steadily rise after most states eased lockdown measures. A lack of interstate coordination and an uneven response from the federal government has contributed to several new outbreaks across the country. Other countries whose travel restrictions were extended include Brazil, Russia and India, which have seen their number of positive cases surge in recent weeks. The US, Brazil, Russia and India are the countries with the highest number of confirmed cases in the world. European Council President Charles Michel said that the EU will continue to "monitor the situation regularly" as the bloc relaxes travel restrictions for 14 countries. "We have to remain vigilant and keep our most vulnerable safe," Michel wrote on Twitter. 14 countries approved for travel Meanwhile, the EU has approved visitors from Australia, Canada and Japan. Chinese travelers will be allowed to visit pending reciprocal access to China for EU visitors. Other countries approved for EU travel include Algeria, Georgia, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.

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Allow restricted entry of tourists, hoteliers urge Himachal govt

The Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association has urged the government to allow restricted entry to tourists with confirmed hotel reservation into the state for hotels which have adopted the guidelines issued by the government. Over 100 hoteliers, restaurant owners and others associated with the hospitality sector attended a two-day awareness and training workshop for Covid-19 preparedness held here. “We urge the government to allow hotels that have adopted the standard operating procedures and are fully prepared to offer safe and hygienic accommodation to tourists,” they demanded. “The tourism industry is looking forward to the reopening of state borders for tourists. There are many tourists who want to come to Shimla and other places for a change,” said association adviser Anil Walia. Association president MK Seth said the opening up of the border would help bring occupancy up to 30 per cent. “The government, in the first unlock phase, has allowed opening of hotels for local guests. However in the second phase of unlocking, nod should be given to allow tourists from other states,” said Seth. They said only tourists from those cities could be banned where pandemic was at its worst.

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Goa tourism can’t restart in July, says minister Michael Lobo

Science and technology minister Michael Lobo said it won’t be possible for tourism activities in the state to restart in July, as the Covid-19 situation would first have to improve in India’s major economic centres that send a bulk of domestic tourists to Goa. “If the Covid situation doesn’t improve, we can’t get tourists,” Lobo told TOI. He said most domestic tourists in July come from Delhi and Gurgaon. “Most flights come to Goa from Mumbai and Delhi. Even if the tourists are from elsewhere, their connecting flight to Goa is from Mumbai or Delhi,” he said. Mumbai and Delhi are among the worst-affected cities in the country. “If flights from those cities don’t start, and if people aren’t ready to get out because of Covid-19, we can’t expect business to start,” he said. Tourism is a major revenue earner for the Goa government. From 6.8 lakh domestic tourists in 1985 to over 70 lakh Indians marking their presence in the state in 2019, the arrival of domestic tourists has provided a more than satisfactory safety net for Goa’s tourism industry. He also said people are not in the mood to travel. “If younger people cannot travel, how will couples travel? I cannot expect the tourism industry to start until there is a proper solution, and the only solution I see is a vaccine, which will take time.” Lobo said that initially, he too, like many others, was optimistic about the restart of the hotel industry in July. Last week, chief minister Pramod Sawant had said that the state government would take a decision within a week on whether or not to allow tourism to resume in the state. Sawant said that 230 hotels have registered with the tourism department signalling their readiness to restart operations. Meanwhile, Lobo, who also runs a hotel and represents the coastal belt of Calangute, said the state has started getting bookings for October from tourists from Russia and the UK. “There is Covid-19 there, too, but people want to be in safer places, and Goa is safe for foreigners. We’ve started getting bookings from there. I think they’ll come,” he said. In 2018, 9.3 lakh foreign tourists took to the sunny shores of Goa and Russian tourists formed a major chunk of the chartered tourist arrivals in the state. The minister also said even if restaurants along the coastal belt start functioning, there are no tourists currently. “Until and unless Indian tourists start coming in, restaurants cannot function. A few restaurants have started takeaways, but even at my restaurants, there is no business,” he said.

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Agra tourism industry demands government to reopen the Taj

It’s been quite some time that the popular Indian monuments, including the world-famous Taj Mahal, have stayed shut to tourists given the COVID-19 pandemic. But, after things have started reopening in the country, the tourism industry is now demanding the government to reopen the Taj and other important ASI monuments to tourists. The closure of Taj has been a prime concern for the tourism industry in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, as it has suffered a great financial loss. Thus, the Agra tourism industry has raised concern with the Indian government, wanting to know the reason behind the closure of the Taj Mahal and other monuments while malls and other places are reopening. Rajeev Saxena, vice-president of Agra Tourism Guild said, “By opening the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) monuments, a positive message will go across the globe that the situation in Agra is approaching normalcy.” He said that as the recovery rate of Coronavirus cases has increased, and it is time to reopen the closed monuments. Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber President Prahald Agarwal agreeing to Mr. Saxna said that instead of shutting the monuments, the government should start planning safety guidelines. Tourism industry’s representatives believe that the industry is already facing a difficult time and they are unhappy with the government as they are not being provided any assistance. Last month, they demanded 50 per cent payment of salaries of at least half of the employees who work for hotels, resorts and restaurants so that their jobs could be saved but nothing was done to help them.

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Greece gearing up for final phase of reopening tourism industry on July 1

Greece's tourism industry is entering the final phase of the restarting process on July 1, when the country's regional airports reopen for international travelers, ANA reports. Forecasting models for the expected number of arrivals this year are bedeviled by a number of unknowns, however, with experts noting that the unprecedented situation due to Covid-19 is likely to affect the behavior of potential tourists, making any forecasts unreliable. Signals from TUI, the world's largest travel agency, bode well for tourist flow to Greece. As TUI Hellas Head of Region South & West Greece, Iceland, Lapland Georgios Dimas informed the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA), nearly all source-markets for Greece with very few exceptions will be sending visitors to the country via TUI. Starting on July 1, barring any changes due to measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, flights will resume from Germany, Sweden, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and other markets will gradually open. TUI flights from the United Kingdom to Greece are expected to begin on July 11, while TUI flights from Sweden to Greece commence on July 2. The final number of arrivals, nevertheless, was hard to predict as the situation was extremely volatile, with the facts changing each day, with even flight bookings subject to last-minute cancellations and changes. Dimas said that TUI flights to Greece will initially be fewer and have lower capacity than in 2019 but bookings had started to pick up in the last week. On destinations within the country, he said the smaller islands suffered from the disadvantage that most hotels there had not opened, while he sent a message of support to the hotels that TUI works with, pointing out that "there is room for everyone." Speaking for Greek hoteliers, the president of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels Alexandros Vasilikos told ANA that the arrival of visitors from abroad "does not mean that hotels will be saved". "The situation is very bad and nothing is comparable to any previous year," he added. The wager, according to Vasilikos, is to preserve the serious image built over the previous period with respect to managing the pandemic, in order to capitalize on this in the future. Addressing the members of the chamber, he repeated the advice "we open and remain careful". He said hotels had made use of a platform outlining the health protocols for hotels and that the sector was geared toward protecting the health of both guests and staff."Each hotelier opens with difficulties and with a higher operational cost but with a sense of their obligation. An entire community revolves around a hotel," Vasilikos noted. The head of the Athens Hoteliers Union Evgenios Vasilikos revealed that occupancy rates after the sector reopened on June 15 remained lower than expected, ranging between 10-20 pct, while advance bookings for July and August presaged a difficult winter ahead. He noted that many hotels were waiting to reopen in September, depending on the support announced by the central government, while especially year-round hotels were calling for additional support measures.

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Singapore to resume tourism businesses in phased manner from July 1

Singapore, June 28 (ANI): The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said on Sunday that tourism businesses in Singapore will be permitted to resume operations in a phased manner from July 1, beginning with 13 attractions, Xinhua news agency reported. The authority said this is part of the resumption of activities in Phase 2 after the Circuit Breaker, which was imposed by the Singaporean government from April 7 to June 1 to reduce COVID-19 transmission. The STB asked attractions and tour operators to submit their reopening proposals, including safe management measures that are tailored to reduce the COVID-19 transmission risks of each attraction or tour, to it for assessment. It said operators must demonstrate effective implementation of safe management measures to provide a safe environment for customers and workers, and may resume operations only after receiving approval from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The STB said that the reopening proposals submitted by the 13 attractions have been carefully assessed by the MTI and the STB. (ANI)

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