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Allow local tourists to visit Pahalgam: Tourism bodies

Various stake holders related to Pahalgam tourism on Sunday requested the administration to allow the local tourists from other districts to visit Pahalgam so that local businesses could manage their survival due to COVID-19 aftermath. The sentiment was raised in a meeting held by the Tourism Trade fraternity with the local Pahalgam Hoteliers, Tourist Taxi Operators, Adventure Operators, Pony Wallas and other tourism allied service providers of Pahalgam, here at Pahalgma. The tourism trade representatives requested that since there are no tourists coming from outside, it would be good if administration would allow locals to visit Pahalgam so that local tourism stake holders of Pahalgam could manage their survival. The representatives were informed that J&K Tourism department and the stake holders are trying their best to see that tourism returns to Kashmir as early as possible and new SOPs are laid down by the UT administration to facilitate the arrival of the tourists. The Pahalgam Trade representatives were briefed about following all new norms such as physical distancing of six feet, use of sanitisers regularly and sanitising of vehicles and pony saddles on daily basis The meeting was also attended by Bilal Ahmad Mir, AD Tourism Pahalgam and Social environmentalist Mushtaq Pahalgami. Those who briefed the Pahalgam Trade were Mir Anwar, President TASK, Manzoor Pakhtoon, Chairman JKTA, Nasir Shah, Chairman PILTOF &Akram Siah, Chairman TTIG. Others who also attended the briefing were Abdul Wahid Malik, Showkat Pakhtoon, Ali Mohd Shangloo& VP Epoch Marketing Aijaz Wani.

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Hawaii: Tourism To Resume In August With Pre-Arrival COVID-19 Testing Program

Finally, some good news for tourism out of Hawaii. The Governor announced that starting August 1st, travelers arriving in Hawaii with a negative COVID-19 test will be able to avoid the mandatory 14-day quarantine that has brought tourism to a halt in the islands. The decision comes at a time when visitor arrivals are barely a trickle. According to reports, only 300-400 people are arriving in Hawaii each day, compared to the usual 35,000. Here’s what you need to know about the new rules: 1. The Test Must Be Taken No More Than 72 Hours Prior to Arrival Travelers to Hawaii will have to obtain a negative test for coronavirus no more than 72 hours prior to arrival. The program is said to mimic what Alaska is doing, which we covered in detail earlier this month. But unlike Alaska, which provides a testing-on-arrival option, Hawaii will require all arriving passengers to have completed one at their destination of origin. Officials said it “wasn’t practical” for the islands to offer testing on arrival. Details of the exact paperwork you’ll need when landing in Hawaii is forthcoming. 2. Pre-Testing Will Be Combined With Other Measures In addition to requiring a negative COVID-19 test, the State will also use thermal cameras at the airports to detect anyone with a fever, as well as focus on contract tracing should infections occur. Officials were candid about the risks involved, but said these protocols will help protect Hawaii and allow the islands to “live with the virus.” “For the state of Hawaii, we have approximately 240,000 unemployed people,” Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said. “We’re not going to see a return to a level of employment that we had before unless we open up to visitors.” Concerns and Questions Over Resuming Tourism Remain This news is no doubt welcomed by many in the islands who own businesses that depend on tourism. But, there’s also still concern amongst officials and residents that re-opening tourism to the mainland - which is currently undergoing big spikes of the virus - could end up re-infecting the islands. Another potential problem is that those without a negative test will still be allowed to fly to the island - they would just have to abide by the 14-day quarantine. So, it stands to reason that people who received a negative test 72 hours prior to departure will be flying in the same airplane as those who have not, which obviously presents a risk of infection without knowing. In a worst case scenario, someone could be infected between the time they take the test (whether it’s on the airplane or at the store before they leave) and the time they arrive in Hawaii, and could then be set free without a quarantine period. But, as of now, that mandatory 14-day quarantine period is set to expire at the end of July, so it’s possible Hawaii will only allow passengers who have taken a test, or that they will extend those guidelines. This will all play out in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for new stories and updates. If you’re inclined to book a flight, you should feel free to do so. Just be sure the cancellation policy is in your favor, given how quickly things can change

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Phuket takes first step towards tourism recovery with new campaign

The Phuket Hotels Association (PHA) and global hospitality branding agency Quo have joined forces to launch a large-scale destination relaunch marketing campaign aimed at reviving travel to Phuket. Entitled Imagine Phuket, the destination campaign – in English and Thai – focuses on the sights, sounds, feelings, tastes and emotions that Phuket evokes for an international traveller. A fresh logo and video have also been unveiled. The initiative also enables the island’s hotels to come together, where each property will be given the resources to personalise videos, images and logos with their own branding, creating their own version of the campaign’s message. Seventy-five hotels have signed up to participate. “The Imagine Phuket video, and integrated social media campaign, are designed to drive emotion,” said Quo’s CEO David Keen. “We know that there is a massive desire to travel again, both locally and internationally. Our intent is to bring the story back to Phuket.” PHA hopes that these efforts go towards helping to restore the island’s tourism industry and save jobs, as the destination has been one of the hardest-hit in Thailand. In a press conference on June 10, Phuket Chamber of Commerce’s president Thanusak Phungdet told reporters that Covid-19 cost the island over 120 billion baht (US$3.9 million) in lost income, with losses expected by to reach 280 billion baht by the end of the year if the situation doesn’t improve. But despite unemployment increasing by over 34 per cent year-on-year, according to local reports, island residents remain resilient. Phuket welcomed over 10 million arrivals last year, and in the months after reopening, Phuket’s hotel industry aims to attract a sizeable chunk of Thailand’s 20 million domestic travellers. International travellers will have to wait, but the country has indicated it plans to reopen this summer.

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India extends international commercial flight ban till July 15

New Delhi: India's aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on Friday, issued a circular extending the ban on international commercial flights till July 15. This extension of restrictions will not affect cargo or other flights approved by the DGGA, the circular stated. However, international scheduled flights on selected routes may be allowed may be permitted on case to case basis, it added. The DGCA order today comes ahead of the stipulated deadline in an earlier circular which extended the restrictions on international travel till June 30. Airlines hoped that international commercial flight operations would resume as India slowly reopens its coronavirus-shuttered economy, however, an unrelenting spike in Covid-19 cases has compelled authorities to tread with caution. Domestic flights in the country restarted on May 25 but international flights remained suspended barring cargo and special repatriation flights under the government's 'Vande Bharat Mission' to bring stranded Indians back home. Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri earlier this month stated that the government is mulling opening up of India's skies for travel to and from the country. In a tweet, the minister had said, "Destination countries have to be ready to allow incoming flights. Due to increasing demand for resumption of scheduled international flights by people who want to travel abroad due to compelling reasons, I reviewed the state of international flight operations around the world. Globally the situation is far from normal." The Aviation Minister also said that most countries have less than 10% international operations because they are allowing entry only to their own citizens & have placed restrictions on foreign nationals. "Many are allowing inbound flights from few countries but have also placed restrictions of quarantine/isolation," Puri added. India had earlier expressed hope that it might resume flight operations on select destinations. Puri-led aviation ministry earlier this week stated, “As we move from controlled and managed aviation evacuation of our citizens in different parts of the world and foreign nationals from India, we are now looking at the possibility of establishing bilateral arrangements”.

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HP tourism welcomes interest subvention scheme on loans

Himachal Pradesh tourism and hospitality sector associates have welcomed the government’s interest subvention scheme on loans saying the move will help revive the tourism industry, which was severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The state government had approved the interest subvention scheme on loans in a meeting held on Thursday. Under the scheme, tourism units paying GST up to ₹1 crore will be entitled to a maximum loan of ₹50 lakh and those paying GST between ₹ 1crore up to ₹3 crore for at least one year ending March 31 will be entitled to loan up to ₹75 lakh. The units paying ₹3 crore GST will be eligible for a loan of ₹1 crore. Small registered tourism units will also be eligible for a maximum loan of ₹15 lakh. Ashwani Bamba, president of Hotel and Restaurant Association Dharamshala and state spokesperson, All Himachal Association of Hospitality and Tourism said following the Covid-19 pandemic, people associated with the tourism industry were demanding financial help from the government to revive the sector. The industry was totally shut for the past three months and its associates are finding it difficult to pay even the fixed expenses, said Bamba. “Hoteliers were finding it difficult to pay for the fixed expenses like electricity/water, insurance, taxes, staff, and bank interest payments. We had requested for working capital from the state co-operative banks at subsidised rates of interest, so we could pay our fixed expenses,” he said. This loan period will be for four years with interest subvention of 50% each for the first two years. Welcoming the government’s move Bamba said: “We are thankful to the state government for this big relief to hoteliers in this difficult time”. Meanwhile, President, Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association Sanjay Sood said, “The government assistance was direly needed as the hotel business has been badly hurt.”

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Dubai Tourism turns to Snapchat AR Lenses to encourage tourism

Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has released the results of a Snapchat campaign it ran in May to remind travellers that sunny days are ahead in Dubai, which will return as a popular go-to destination for international visitors once COVID-19 travel restrictions are eased. As part of Dubai Tourism’s ‘Till we meet again’ campaign, four augmented reality (AR) Snapchat Lenses were developed to transport users in the UK and France to Dubai to experience famous destinations including the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Frame, Al Seef, and Madinat Jumeirah. More than 9.2m people in the UK and France used the Dubai Tourism Lenses to virtually visit local landmarks. The campaign, which ran over a two-week period, had strong engagement with Snapchatters in the UK and France, exceeding time-spent expectations by more than 180 per cent, before they shared it with friends and family on Snapchat. A post-campaign brand study that ran in May examined users’ desire to consider Dubai as a travel destination once borders reopen and travel becomes possible. The findings from this study showed that more than 30 per cent of Snapchatters in the UK and France were positive about visiting Dubai once COVID-19 travel restrictions are eased, while their overall ad awareness greatly exceeded campaign expectations. “Dubai Tourism is delighted with the success of this creative partnership with Snapchat, which has helped sustain global interest and consideration for Dubai by reinforcing its position as a safe must-visit destination,” said Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing. “Not only has this campaign spread positivity and happiness among travellers, but it has given them real motivation to plan for their next holiday to Dubai once the COVID-19 travel restrictions are eventually lifted.”

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