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6 theme-based microsites to promote tourism spots

Attempt to get upper hand in virtual marketing among tourism brands Kerala Tourism has geared up for the post-COVID-19 era by coming up with six theme-based microsites in the official website to promote destination and tourism products and get an upper hand in the virtual marketing among brands. With focus of Kerala turning to wellness tourism and in view of the corona pandemic, Ayurveda has been given prominence among the microsites added to the official website www. keralatourism.org. New microsites: Yoga, Kalaripayattu, an ancient martial art indigenous to the State, Temples of Kerala, Judaism in Kerala and Discovering Malabar are the other new microsites that have been featured. The move to infuse content into the website and give a refreshing look is part of the long-term strategy to overcome the impact of COVID-19 that has taken a heavy toll on the travel and tourism industry facing job cuts and low margins. Tourism planners and the industry are expecting an influx of domestic tourists to the State from other parts of the country when the COVID-19 pandemic finally ends and the microsites will come in handy for marketing the destinations. Besides, the aim is to retain an edge in the post COVID-19 era for the official website that ranks first in the search results since 2004. Even in hard times, which included two floods, outbreak of avian flu, swine flu, and H1N1, and sudden hartals, the website, launched in 1998, had come in handy to reach out to the world and convey the message that ‘Kerala is safe’ . “In the days of the lockdown and holidaying coming to a standstill globally, we have noticed that other tourism brands are doing virtual marketing. In microsites, we have taken care to provide new content and more emphasis on videos of high quality. New models have been roped in,” Kerala Tourism Director P. Bala Kiran told The Hindu. From the evolution to the A to Z of the six themes have been included in addition to the gallery for royalty-free videos and high resolution photographs in the microsites. Cuisine of Malabar, Jewish diet, Popular asanas, cultural and art forms of Malabar to featuring of the 100 temples district wise make it a unique experience. Official website: The official website, available in 21 languages, has recently been enriched to give a contemporary feel with rich images. The full website is available in six Indian and foreign languages. Invis Multimedia, the capital-based IT Solution Provider for Kerala Tourism, is behind the new microsites.

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Hyderabad travel group delivers medicines to elderly

HYDERABAD: To help the elderly and those who require daily medication, a city-based travel group has shifted gears and decided to deliver medicines during the lockdown period. Raj Kiran of Backpackers and City Freaks (BCF) says people who are ailing or elderly are most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus. “To ensure that they are safe and take medicines regularly, we decided to deliver medicines to them. Many people are contacting us. Even if we are able to help a handful of people, it will be worth the effort,” the techie-turned-entrepreneur, who founded BCF, told STOI. They take requests on WhatsApp and social media, obtain the prescription and deliver the medicines at doorsteps. Among their most frequent requests are medicines for diabetes and children. Kiran said they charge MRP for medicines, which are delivered for free. “Our travel-related activity came to a standstill due to lockdown. First, we thought of food distribution and blood donation, but we realised there was a gap between demand and delivery of medicines. So we began delivering medicines besides blood donation,” he says. “We have been making an average of 6-7 deliveries every day. The numbers are going up,” said Kiran. With followers across nine major cities, Kiran says the group may ask members in other cities to pitch in. Kiran, Bharath Madhava Reddy and Vikas Ramarapu are among the core team behind delivery system. BCF, has 40,000 followers across platforms.

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Travel companies refuse refund for trips cancelled

CHENNAI: Indian tourists, who have made reservations for international travel through tour operators, are in a fix, as travel agencies are refusing to refund for packages that got cancelled due to outbreak of novel coronavirus. Tour firms are offering credit note and are allowing people to travel any time by end of this year, just like airlines are doing. But they charge hefty cancellations fee for those who prefer a refund on tours scheduled during shutdown. Sumit Tiwari, who had booked a tour package with a private tour company for Europe scheduled on April 22 said "I had paid 1.1 lakh for the package. With the lockdown coming into effect, I received a mail from the tour operator to either cancel or reschedule my trip for which, charges to the tune of 81,000 have been levied," he said. After he raised the issue with the travel company, besides highlighting his complaint on Twitter, an offer was made to extend his trip till December 2020. "Still, reschedule charges would apply," he said. Tourism sector sources said that Covid-19 has turned the future of global travel industry bleak that is unlikely to revive within a short time as both the source countries and destinations are hit. It comes a year after international tourism faced rough weather that witnessed closure travel giants across the world. Tamil Nadu Tour Travel and Hospitality Association president V K T Balan said that overseas trips worth of 2,250 crore that were planned by people various segments of travellers such as leisure, conference and incentives from Tamil Nadu between March and May have gone for a toss. "Except for leading tour operators, other travel firms have paid for hotels and airfare. We are keeping our fingers crossed on the future," he added. However, insurance for tour packages would have saved the customers money. Several travellers flying overseas for leisure trips take overseas travel insurance that covers loss of baggage and passport, missed air connections or medical emergencies. "On the other hand, hardly a few travellers insure their tour packages that are eligible for refund in the event of the trips getting due to unexpected turn of events like the current novel coronavirus outbreak. Neither travel companies or customers prefer to insure because it pushes the cost of the packages by 1% to 5% on the total cost depending on the countries, which is undesired by both," he said. In fact, the Union government must mandate insurance for every overseas trip," he said. Many European nations and US stress on insuring tours packages. Indian Association of Tour Operators Tamil Nadu chapter chairman Pandian K said that travel insurance comes in handy for foreigners during such emergencies.

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CISF plans new airport rules post lockdown

New Delhi: Airport security Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has made a new necessary plan for air passengers post lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. In the new plan submitted to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), CISF said that when flight operation resumes "passengers reaching timing at the airport two hours before their flight timing with proper protective gear eg; mask, gloves, and sanitisers." CISF also urged the civil aviation ministry that sanitiser bottles can be also placed at every exit and entry gates of the airports for passengers and employees. Flying with a seat vacant between every two people could be the 'new norms' for air passengers when schedule commercial flights resume, CISF said in the new plan. According to the officials, the plan is under consideration and the idea behind it is to seek staggering flights to avoid crowding at airports at any time. "We have proposed a new plan incorporating necessary precaution in view of the change of circumstances due to COVID-19. This has been sent to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) for consideration," GA Ganapathy, Special Director (Airport) of CISF, told ANI. Further, CISF advised all the airlines that, airlines make it clear for the passengers to whom so ever booking tickets they should give details of their home/self-quarantine history. If any passengers flying after quarantine history, CISF will screening them in isolation checking point where CISF officers are covered full personal protective equipment (PPE) suit. Airlines crew will offer sanitisers to every onboard passenger, as per the plan. Passenger flight operations in India are suspended from March 25, due to coronavirus. As of now, there is no clarity from the government to resume flights operation. Minister of Civil Aviation (MoCA) Hardeep Puri tweeted, "The current Lockdown on both domestic & international passenger flights is till April 15. A decision to restart the flights after this period remains to be taken. If required, we will have to assess the situation on a case by case basis." Civil Aviation Ministry, Airport Authority Of India (AAI), Director General Of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and other stakeholders are working together on how to resume the operation post lockdown.

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Railways clarifies on reports of resumption of train services

NEW DELHI : The Ministry of Railways today issued a clarification stating that it has not yet finalised dates of resumption of train services. Unless extended, the 21-day coronavirus lockdown will end on April 15. "During the last two days, there have been some reports in media about various protocols etc of prospective travellers by trains. They have also been mentioning about number of trains starting from a given date. Final decision regarding above matters is yet to be taken," the Ministry of Railways said in a statement. "‪For the post lockdown rail travel, Railways would take best feasible decisions in the interest of all stake holders including its prospective passengers. ‪As and when a decision is taken, all concerned would be intimated about it," the government said. The railways has suspended all passenger, mail and express train services from March 24 to April 14 to combat the spread of Covid-19 as part of nationwide lockdown. Only freight and special parcel trains are operational to ensure the supply of essential items across the country. In the meantime, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan today chaired a meeting with state health ministers via video conferencing to review actions on COVID-19 management. "I request health ministers of all states to ensure that lockdown is followed 100% in your respective states. If we lag behind in this, it will be difficult for us to win this fight against Covid-19," said the Union Health Minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers of all states via video conferencing on Saturday, amid indications that the central government may extend the lockdown across the country beyond April 14 after several states have favoured the extension to contain the fast-spreading virus. The 21-day lockdown, announced earlier to check spread of coronavirus, ends next week. This is for the second time the prime minister will interact with the chief ministers via video link after the lockdown was announced on March 24. A meeting of the Empowered Groups of Officers, to tackle the challenges emerging as a result of spread of COVID-19, was held today under the Chairmanship of Principal Secretary to Prime Minister. The meeting was the latest in a series of periodic reviews at various levels by the Prime Minister’s Office to monitor the ongoing efforts to counter the impact of the pandemic. According to a Health Ministry update this morning, the death toll due to COVID-19 has risen to 199 in India. The total number of coronavirus positive cases have climbed to 6,412.

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Airbnb to limit UK accommodation to essential stays

Accommodation platform Airbnb will restrict UK bookings to keyworkers and “essential stays” in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The home rental company came in for criticism earlier this week, with stays seemingly being offered despite government calls for Brits to remain at home. Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston described some Airbnb offerings as being “irresponsible and dangerous”. The firm said that the measure would last until at least April 18th. Keyworkers - such as NHS and social care staff, and transport and food retail employees - can still book through a programme called Frontline Stays. The programme is designed to provide up to 100,000 healthcare staff and first-responders with accommodation close to their patients and a safe distance away from their own families. Government rules state that tourism-related accommodation should only be provided to keyworkers needing to self-isolate during the pandemic. The news comes following a tough week for Airbnb, with the company forced to raise additional funds as it seeks to safely navigate a fall in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

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