News

Travel industry booms with European stocks reaching record height

On Tuesday, European stocks bounced back to a record high in a broad-based advance, with travel industry rallying as tour operator Tui illustrated the way it has gained advantage from the fall down of a rival. The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, +0.37% raised 0.9% to 428.47. The previous record closing high was set on Feb. 6 at 425.49. Also, the German DAX DAX, +0.64% , which gained 1% to 13627.84, reached a new record. On Tuesday, the U.S. stocks increased as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell struck what analysts explained was a careful tone in Congress testimony. “The remarks support the belief that the virus developments reinforce low-for-longer on rates with some increased possibility of further rate cuts – a belief that has helped support risky assets through the virus shock to date,” said Krishna Guha of Evercore ISI. Tui shares TUI, -0.14% increased 13.1% after the Anglo-German tour operator modestly narrowed its fiscal first-quarter loss, mentioning that it witnessed booking trends and lifting its revenue outlook. Now, the travel and tourism company explained that it expects high single-digit revenue growth for the year in its markets and airlines business against previous guidance of mid-to-high single-digit revenue growth. Without mentioning Thomas Cook by name, Tui said it benefited from “the insolvency of a key competitor.” Other travel companies rose as well. Air France-KLM AF, +2.51% rose 4.7% and International Consolidated Airlines Group IAG, +1.37% rose 3.8%. Deutsche Telekom DTE, +0.45% shares increased 3.6% as a judge approved the union of T-Mobile US TMUS, +11.78% and Sprint S, +77.50% on Tuesday. Deutsche Telekom holds 63% of T-Mobile US.

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Akshardham-like temple to come up in Abu Dhabi this year

A landmark Hindu temple in the UAE will soon be a reality as Abu Dhabi is busy building a holy shrine for the sake of its Indian diaspora.News has it that PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the Hindu temple from the Dubai Opera House through video conferencing. The shrine will be made at Abu Mureikhah, off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Highway. Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), socio-spiritual Hindu organisation established in 1907 will look after the temple. PM Modi shared a tweet to express his joy at the foundation stone laying ceremony and thanked the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi for donating 55000 sq m of land for building the temple. The Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi will have idols of Lord Maheshwara, Lord Ayyappa, Lord Krishna and other deities. Artisans from India will carve the stone to be put on the walls of the temple and professionals in the UAE will assemble those carved stones. In addition, the temple will not have steel reinforcement in its foundation much like the ancient stone architecture that has been adopted for religious stone buildings in India. Swami Brahmavihari, the priest in charge of international relations at Baps Swaminarayan Sanstha, told the press that the hand-carved stone from India will be shipped before the Dubai Expo 2020 so that they could put it on display to showcase the majestic charm of the upcoming Hindu temple. The idea is to make the temple resemble quite like the Akshardham temple in New Delhi, which is also controlled by the BAPS. The temple will be a cultural and tourist attraction and will have features including prayer halls, learning areas, visitors’ centre, exhibition centre, sports area for children and youths, theme-based gardens, water attractions and a food court.

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Coronavirus Hits Thailand Hard

The latest strain of coronavirus, the cause of an outbreak devastating China and many of its neighbors since late last year, has joined Thailand’s growing list of difficulties. Thailand has become ground zero for coronavirus’ international spread since reporting the first case outside China on January 13. The problem has only worsened. Thailand had confirmed 19 cases of coronavirus — the most in Southeast Asia at the time — by February 2. The count of Thai cases reached 32 on February 10 and stood at 33 as of this writing, although it has been surpassed in the region by Singapore’s 50 cases. The country will risk becoming not only a victim of coronavirus but also an incubator for it in the coming weeks. The Thai Tourism and Sports Ministry expects that the number of Chinese tourists in Thailand will decline to 9 million in 2020. Even before the outbreak of coronavirus, Thai officials were voicing concerns about a lack of Chinese visitors. In the first six months of 2019, the number of Chinese tourists sank by 5 percent after an accident in the Thai resort town of Phuket resulted in 47 Chinese deaths. Though coronavirus has revealed the dangers to which Thailand has exposed itself by becoming dependent on China for economic growth and tourism, Thai officials have shown no indication that they are rethinking a relationship that has drawn their country into dual financial and health crises. Prayut and his inner circle might have concluded that, whatever the costs of reliance on China, the price of pulling away from the world power could prove far greater.

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North Korea has stopped tourism

Coronavirus has made North Korea as one of the most closed-off countries in the world. North Korea has stopped all airline flights as well as train services with adjoining countries including China. The country has set up weeks-long mandatory quarantines for the foreigners who have arrived recently postponed international tourism and imposed a near-complete lockdown on cross-border travel. Few media outlets of South Korea have reported numerous cases and possible deaths from the virus in North Korea; however, the officials of the World Health Organisation based in Pyongyang informed Voice of America that they have not been informed of any confirmed cases. State media reported that the Red Cross Society of North Korea had been deployed to “relevant areas” across the country to carry on public education campaigns and to check on people with possible symptoms. North Kora is carrying on information activities in different forms and methods at public places to make people aware of common medical knowledge about the epidemic and encourage them to give fuller play to the noble moral traits of helping and leading each other forward.

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Royal Caribbean International Dominates the 2020 Travvy Awards

Royal Caribbean International turned in yet another dominant showing at the 2020 Travvy Awards on Wednesday night, coming away more than a dozen honors across a variety of categories, including another coveted gold for Best Cruise Line Overall. Royal Caribbean's award-winning fleet of ships was also recognized, with the Oasis-class Symphony of the Seas—the world's largest cruise ship—earning gold for Best Cruise Ship Overall and Best Large Cruise Ship. The cruise line's epic night didn't end with those awards though as Royal Caribbean also claimed gold for Best Cruise Entertainment, Best Cruise Line for Special Needs, Best Cruise Line Website and Best Travel Agent Only Website.

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Vistara adds another destination to its routes; open services for Nepal

Vistara Airlines has added its fifth stop outside India with the inauguration of its services to Nepal. The company, on February 12 have started its flight services from Delhi to Kathmandu, Vistara said in a statement. The airlines had started its international services back in August 2019 and Singapore was the first destination. The company later started its flight services in Dubai, Colombo and Bangkok. According to Vinod Kannan, Chief Commercial Officer, Vistara, the airline company will deploy aircraft having three-class configuration soon. He also that Vistara will offer Premium Economy class while travelling from India to Nepal.

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