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What to expect from your ‘new normal’ trip to Bali

Tourism is the beating heart of Bali’s economy as around 60 percent of the island’s gross regional product (PDRB) comes from the travel industry. Unfortunately, tourism is one of the sectors hardest-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak, affecting the lives of Bali residents and changing the way people visit the island. According to Indonesian Tourist Industry Association (GIPI) data, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Bali dropped by 93.24 percent in April. Since this has greatly affected the economy, the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA) in Bali has pleaded with the government to complete the so-called "new normal" protocol stipulations by the end of the month and reopen the island to tourists by July to prevent travel companies from collapsing. Tourism stakeholders, such as the Bali Hotels Association, an organization with over 158 members, comprising general managers of hotels and resorts on the island, have also prepared new protocols to welcome travelers. The association representative told The Jakarta Post via email that they had prepared health and safety guidelines for hotels, while also conducting a publicity campaign on Bali, which is aimed at reminding the world’s travelers about the island. Here are several things that travelers can expect to experience during their next trip to Bali. 1. Buffet no more Social distancing will be commonly practiced in every part of the island. However, hotels such as Belmond Jimbaran Puri, The Mulia, Mulia Resorts and Villas, Nusa Dua, and the Marriott hotel chain have also prepared other protocols to ensure their guests’ health and safety. Belmond Jimbaran Puri, slated to reopen on July 1, will be applying an online check-in process and adjustments to dining and housekeeping services. “Guests who have booked with us directly will be able to complete the check-in process online prior to arrival,” said Belmond Jimbaran Puri general manager Charles Kneipp. As for the dining experience, Kneipp said that guests could opt for breakfast served by a dedicated butler in their villa or outdoors at the hotel’s Nelayan restaurant. The property will also be replacing menu books with chalkboards or a single-use menu made of recyclable material. With regard to housekeeping, Kneipp mentioned that the staff members would refrain from entering rooms while guests are present. The Mulia, Mulia Resort and Villas will also apply similar protocols. In addition to sanitizing all areas, keeping social distancing and maintaining hygiene, the property will insist that guests shower before entering the pool or using spa facilities and use hand sanitizer before using equipment, anyone who is sick may not use these facilities. As for the Marriott hotel chain, the company’s marketing vice president for Indonesia Ramesh Jackson said that the organization had created the Marriott Global Cleanliness Council, which focuses on developing the next level of global hospitality cleanliness standards to minimize risk and enhance safety for guests and associates. “We are rolling out enhanced technologies over the next few months and also adding more hand sanitizer stations near high-traffic areas,” said Jackson, adding that the hotel chains were also testing ultraviolet light technology to sanitize room keys and devices shared by staff members. 2. Beach clubs with new protocols Beach clubs, such as Karma Beach Bali in Badung and Artotel Beach Club in Sanur, are among the most popular tourist attractions in Bali. The former has reopened to guests, starting June 20. In a recent interview with the Post, Karma Group founder and chairman John Spence said it would practice social distancing and ensure reduced density in Karma Beach. Now, the club proudly welcomes guests and claims to be "the most socially distancing aware private beach in Bali." Artotel Beach Club has yet to announce its reopening date. However, the management has started working with new protocols. Artotel Group corporate director of marketing communications, Yulia Maria, said that to practice social distancing, it planned to reduce the capacity of the beach club. The club will run almost the same as in pre-COVID-19 days, however, it will now be mandatory for guests to wear face masks while in the hotel and restaurant areas. 3. Safer dine-in restaurants Bali is also home to many international restaurants. While some eateries are still offering takeaway services, Mozaic Restaurant in Ubud is now implementing new protocols. Helmed by Chris Salan, the restaurant now conducts body temperature screening tests for both guests and staff members. It also applies 2-meter distancing between guests and staff members. To ensure hygiene, the staff members are required to wear face masks, goggles and gloves. 4. Dancers armed with hand sanitizers Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) Cultural Park, home to the iconic 21-story monument depicting Hindu deity Vishnu, in Badung regency, has also prepared new protocols. The park’s marketing communication and event general manager Andre R. Prawiradisastra said during a recent virtual event held by travel media DestinAsian Indonesia that they would also apply social distancing, provide hand sanitizers for visitors and conduct body temperature screening. “There will be dancers distributing hand sanitizers to visitors,” said Andre. (kes)

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Darjeeling: Queen of Hills all set to welcome tourist from July 1

Kolkata: Darjeeling, the queen of hills, is all set to welcome tourists from July 1 onwards, after three months since lockdown began due to Covid-19 outbreak. The hills survive on Tea, tourism and education. Covid-19, like elsewhere had paralyzed the economy in the hills. Hotels are out of business, restaurants, shopping markets are shut because of no tourists. Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA), the autonomous administrative body for the hills of Darjeeling has formed a committee consisting of hotel owners, Political parties, district administration and police. In their last meeting, the committee has decided to reopen hotels for tourism purpose to revive the economy. Hotel owners are advised to strictly follow the standard operating protocols as per the guidelines of the central government. "We welcome the decision. Tourism is the backbone of the hills. We are all concerned about the virus but the livelihood has to be saved too. The hotel owners have decided to open their doors again and people across the country are most welcome. It's not a risk but prudent call we are taking", said Binay Tamag, GJM leader and chief of GTA. The tourists, however, will have to produce their fitness certificate before entering into the hills. There will be a screening of every tourist at two separate points before finally reaching the town of Darjeeling. All the hotels have been asked to be ready with the screening machinery at their entrance gate. Kalimpong, Kurseong and Darjeeling, part of the sirene hill station has more than 250 hotels and resorts. More than 2200 feet above the sea level, the hills of Darjeeling sees footfall round the year, one of most loved destinations in India. The tourism season there is divided in two parts- from February till June as the first quarter and the second quarter begins in September and continues till January. While the first quarter sees more than 3 lakh tourists on an average every year but the seconds quarter traditionally has seen more foreign tourists taking the total footfall above five lakhs at times. The first quarter business is dead for this year and the aim is to help boost the second quarter by opening tourism now, even though it's an offseason now owing to monsoons. "Some hotels had opened up from June 8 but couldn't sustain. We are not expecting international tourists anymore this year because booking for the same generally happens by July and there is no clarity about the resumption of international flights. Many hotels have stopped paying wages even though we have been asked to pay 50 per cent of their gross salary to our staffs. It's a difficult time but hopefully, things will change for better after GTA has extended support to the hotel association" said Tenzing, owner of a chain of hotels in Darjeeling. Locals in the hills, out of fear had objected resumption of business, but they have been now taken into confidence by GTA. Proper sanitization and screening have been assured. For the time being the tourists will be encouraged to drive down to the hills in their personal vehicles to reduce public contact and transmission. While most of the employees at these hotels and restaurants are local but about 25 per cent of the total strength are also migrants from other parts of Bengal. Many of them have lost their jobs.

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Gujarat's first seaplane service likely to start in October

Route from the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity close to the Sardar Sarovar Dam has been identified as one of the two seaplane routes in Gujarat under the Udan Scheme to boost tourism Come October and Amdavadis can fly to Statue of Unity in Rajpipla in a jiffy instead of taking the road or rail that takes at least four to five hours. The route from the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity close to the Sardar Sarovar Dam has been identified as one of the two seaplane routes in Gujarat under the Udan Scheme to boost tourism and connectivity in the country. With the introduction of seaplanes, the four to five hours route will be cut short to just one hour. The other route that has been identified in Gujarat is the Shetrunji River at Palitana in Bhavnagar district. The two routes in Gujarat are among the 16 such routes identified across the country under the Udan scheme of the Centre. Palitana is the biggest religious destination for the Jain community. Union Minister of State for Shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya, who also has internal waterways transports and ports under his charge has said the seaplane operation between Sabarmati Riverfront and Statue of Unity will start in October 2020. Top sources in the Union Ministry of Shipping said the hydrographic surveys at both ends, Sabarmati Riverfront and the Statue of Unity has already been completed. “Hydrographic survey involves the flow of water and the quantity of water and also mapping of the water body. This has already been completed.” “We will soon begin work on building a floating jetty at both ends. The platform will be prepared and then private players will be identified. Besides, talks are already on with airlines. We will be inviting private seaplane operators for the project,” top officials at the Centre told Mirror. “The charge for both the routes in Gujarat is likely to be around Rs 5,000 and tourists can book return tickets to reach the destinations and come back by evening,” the source added. “The work of building of jetties will be completed within three months. Also, infrastructure for the same including places where tourists can sit and buy tickets will be built at both ends,” an official told Mirror. The official said four to five trips have been planned daily and talks are on with private airlines for the same. “It will be most convenient for tourists from Ahmedabad to fly to Statue of Unity and return in a day’s time without spending much time. Besides, the other route of Palitana will also allow tourists to fly to the destination and return. It will not just be a time saver but also boost tourism.”   The official said the seaplane routes are a vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The project brings back memories of the PM's seaplane flight from Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad to Dharoi in December 2017. “A seaplane normally accommodates 14 passengers,” the official said.

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Maldives to open up for visitors in mid-July

The Maldives has decided to re-open its borders for international travel from July 15, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has said, as the Indian Ocean archipelago tries to revive its pandemic-hit economy and vital tourism sector. “This will provide much needed relief to our Tourism Industry and accelerate the country’s economic recovery,” Mr. Solih told a media conference in Male on Tuesday. Tourism accounts for over 70% of the country’s GDP and coronavirus (COVID-19) forced Male to shut down its capital and atolls to visitors, in order to contain the spread of the virus. According to data published by the Maldives’s Ministry of Health, the country, which is home to some four lakh people, has reported 2,238 cases as of COVID-19 and eight deaths as of Wednesday, with a total recovery rate of 81.72 %. Observing that COVID-19 had taken a toll on the entire world, Mr. Solih pointed to case numbers being “much lower than health authorities initially expected” and a “drastic decrease” in the number of active cases. “Much of this can be credited to the Government’s early interventions to halt viral spread, and the proactive efforts of our health authorities to test, trace and isolate positive cases,” he told the media. According to a statement from his office, prayers in congregation are expected to resume in July, while students will return to classrooms, and restaurants and cafes will open for dine-in service. Meanwhile, the Indian mission in Male has evacuated 5,000 Indians who were stranded in the country, through special flights and by sea. So far, 210 Indians in the Maldives tested positive, according to official sources in Male.

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Kochi sees arrival of business and local tourists

KOCHI: With relaxation in lockdown restrictions, the tourism sector in Kochi is limping back to normal. The past two weeks have had hotels and resorts witnessing the arrival of business and local tourists.According to industry stakeholders, it will take at least two to three months for the footfall to match that of the pre-lockdown period. “Business tourists from other states and districts have started coming in. Resorts and hotels have started receiving bookings. But, the number of tourists is low compared to pre-Covid days. Recently, a group of people who came to Kochi on a business tour booked resorts here. Besides Kochi, guests have started arriving at Kumarakom and Munnar too. However, it would take time for tourism activities to return to normal,” said K Raj Kumar, joint director, Kerala Tourism. According to Raj Kumar, Tourism Department has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to all tourism stakeholders. “Business tourists coming from other states can stay for only limited days. Guidelines on precautions to be taken while accepting guests have also been issued. The directive from the Ministry of Tourism is being followed. Details of the guests are collected before their arrival and we keep in touch with hotels and resorts to update the status of the guests,” he said. PAID QUARANTINE Hotels, resorts and lodges are receiving good response to their paid quarantine facilities in Ernakulam. As on Tuesday, 1,207 people are staying in hotels and resorts in paid quarantine. “There are two types of people who opt for paid quarantine. People who don’t want to mingle with family members despite having all facilities at home and those with limited facilities at home. Daily, 10 to 20 people avail paid quarantine facilities,” a health official said. He added that training sessions were conducted recently for employees of hotels and resorts where paid quarantine facility is provided. HOMESTAYS Homestays in Kochi which are popular among tourists are yet to open. “We are receiving several enquiries. However, owing to Covid-19 threat, people are apprehensive. Most of the homestays are located away from the city and local people are not enthusiastic about the arrival of people from other states. We are not accepting guests for paid quarantine too,” M P Shivadathan, director, Kerala Home Stay and Tourism Society (HATS).

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Indian Railways to give full refund for all tickets booked on or before April 14

New Delhi: The Indian Railways will issue a full refund for all tickets booked on or before April 14, 2020, said the Ministry of Railways on Tuesday. The railways ministry said full refunds will be provided to those passengers for the regular time-tabled trains that were cancelled due to the lockdown. "Ministry of Railways has decided that all train tickets booked on or prior to 14th April 2020 for the regular time-tabled trains should be cancelled and full refund generated as per provisions contained in the letters issued earlier," it said in a statement. The government on May 14 announced that all trains scheduled for travel between March 22 and June 30 stood cancelled in wake of the coronavirus pandemic-induced nationwide lockdown. However, Shramik special trains for migrant workers were allowed to operate from May 1 to ease the on-foot migration of labourers from cities towards their native villages in absence of the public transport. On March 24, a two-week lockdown was announced by the government which was extended until June 1 with phased relaxations. The Indian Railways has already refunded Rs 1,885 crores towards cancellation of tickets to passengers during the period March 21 to May 31 on tickets booked through the online mode. The entire amount was transferred to the bank accounts which were used to book the tickets. The Indian Railways made the refunds in a timely and ensured that the passengers did not have to visit the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counter for getting their money back. On May 13, Ministry of Railways announced that old bookings of all regular trains other than 'Shramik Special trains' till June 30 shall be cancelled and refunds will be initiated for tickets booked for the lockdown period as well.

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