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South Africa to remain closed to international tourists till Feb 2021

In a recent development, South Africa announced that it will not reopen for international tourism this year. As per reports, the country might not likely open its door for international visitors till February 2021. Reportedly, the country is gradually relaxing restrictions, which were imposed in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak in March, however, its tourism industry will need months to get back on its feet. Almost everything was shut down, except the essential services, when the country was in lockdown. Latest reports mention that South Africa has now moved to Level 3 of its reopening plan, which allows people to return to work. It has also been reported that South Africans are now allowed to visit game reserves, and cannot partake in leisure travel until this year-end. The country’s Tourism Department during a government briefing stated that domestic tourism will likely be allowed by December this year, whereas international tourism cannot take place until February 2021. Referring to this, Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, stated that the first phase of recovery for the sector will be driven by domestic tourism, which will be followed by regional tourism and international tourism next year. In the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, many countries around the world went into lockdown in March. Now, as restrictions are being relaxed, many countries are reopening their borders, and are also thinking of welcoming tourists to reboot their struggling economies. However, in such a circumstance, for a nation to state that tourism is completely off the cards until next year is new. Nevertheless, South Africa is now looking ahead to 2021 and 2022, and will be looking forward to wooing international visitors with better deals and packages.

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Tourism resumes in Rajasthan with over 1400 visitors

he tourist spots in Rajasthan are witnessing a steady flow of visitors after the reopening on June 2 with the beginning of the first phase of lockdown exit, named Unlock-1, after two months of closure due to coronavirus pandemic. In two days, more than 1400 people have visited monuments and other tourist spots. Rajasthan has 342 protected monuments, including 18 museums; 32 of them are ticketed. However, the state government has decided not to charge any entry fee for the first 15 days after the reopening. On the first day of reopening, cultural performances by folk artists were organized at 32 monuments to mark the resumption of activities in the tourism sector. Performances included traditional art forms like ‘Kacchi Ghodi’, ‘Kalbeliya’ dance and Shehnai rendition among others. Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar, Albert hall in Jaipur were among some of the chosen heritage properties for the cultural show, said Prakash Chandra Sharma, director of the department of archaeology and museum. The monuments, except those falling in curfew areas, will be open on four days a week-- Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday-- for the first two weeks and social distancing protocols will have to be followed by visitors. In the first week, tourists are allowed between 9 am and 2 pm and in the second week from 9 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 5 pm. From the third week, the monuments will open daily and 50 % discount will be offered on the ticket amount till October 31, he said. “The department is using social media like Facebook and Twitter, where small video clips of every museum are uploaded in order to attract tourists,” he said. The total 1433 tourists to have visited in the first two days were seen in Alwar, Jaipur, Ajmer, Chittorgarh, Pali, Kota, Jhalawar, Bikaner and Bundi. Sharma said majority of the visitors are domestic and only a few from abroad, who visited Jantar Mantar, Nahargarh and Albert Hall.

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Maldives to reopen for tourists in July, with mandatory health guidelines

If everything goes fine, the beautiful beach destination Maldives might reopen to tourists in July, with some protection guidelines. Being one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, the Republic of Maldives is reopening its border next month. But this will be some mandatory COVID-19 guidelines in place. Minister of Tourism of Maldives Ali Waheed announced that the Maldives is planning to reopen from July 1. The official statement issued by the Ministry board read, "We are planning to reopen our borders for visitors in July, 2020." The country is all set to welcome tourists from Asian countries, including India, China, South Korea and Sri Lanka, and in the Middle East. Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways will begin commercial operations and tourists arriving by private plane or yacht would be allowed to enter the country. However, the country won’t be entertaining guests from 12 countries, which includes Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The statement also mentioned that visitors coming to the country won’t be charged any additional fees. Earlier, the board has proposed extra tourist visa charges and landing fees. But as per new guidelines, no extra charges will be levied on tourists. The island nation of Maldives is among those countries which largely rely on tourism. And as per data, tourism alone is responsible for the country’s 28 percent of GDP and over 60 percent of foreign reserves. But with the border closed and nationwide lockdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the income coming from tourism suffered a huge loss. The Tourism Minister also said that the country cannot remain closed for long. So the authorities along with industry representatives are preparing guidelines to restart tourism in Maldives from July. The country’s borders were shut in the month of March because of the fast spreading deadly Coronavirus.

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Allow us to reopen hotels, Goa’s tourism industry pleads with govt

Goa’s tourism industry has sought a quick reopening of the hotel industry lest the prolonged lockdown causes businesses to shut down entirely making revival more difficult. The tourism industry which contributes more than 9% to Goa’s GDP, has been hardest hit by the lockdown. It has claimed that if the government can’t give the industry any relief, it should at least allow it to resume business. “Many people including those at the managerial level have lost their jobs. Those who still have their jobs are sent on unpaid leave. If the delay lasts longer it will be difficult to restart even if the government gives the go ahead,” Nilesh Shah the president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa told HT. “The government should make its stance clear regarding the reopening of the sector. Right now many of us are receiving inquiries for later in the year but we cannot give customers any assurance that hotels will be open and what the protocols will be so that they can plan their travel and events,” Savio Mesias a hotel owner in Goa said. Hotels have been closed in Goa since March and haven’t been accepting new bookings. While the government announced easier travel between states under Unlock 1, there is no clarity on when hotels would be allowed to reopen. “If we have clarity regarding the SOPs for the restart, at least we can then get ready for our own SOPs,” Messias added. Shah said opening even 50% of the hotels would be a start the industry needs to revive itself. “We were promised that the industry would be allowed to open from the second week of June onwards. But even if it is allowed to open by July, then it should be done. Even if only 50% of the hotels open, at least it will be a start,” Shah said. The tourism industry expects that the effects of coronavirus on travel will continue for up to a year. But it is hoping that travel for work and business will pick up in the coming months. For Goa’s tourism sector, it is of little comfort that the lockdown has come during the off-season at a time when tourist traffic is low on account of the monsoon and European tourists returning home where the summer and spring are pleasant. The Travel and Tourism Association of India has estimated that the Covid-19 pandemic will cost the state tourism industry far more than the Rs1,000-crore loss they had originally estimated and job losses to about 60,000-75,000 people unless remedial measures are taken. Hotels have laid off staff en masse leaving people without a regular source of income since the lockdown began and stopped all travel. Around 55 lakh foreign and domestic tourists visited the state in 2019 and contributed between 9-11% to the state’s GDP. The industry has pitched for reduction in fees, taxes as well as a moratorium on repayments none of which have yet been accepted by the government. The Goa government has yet to make its stance clear with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant saying that a decision is yet to be taken but could be taken by early next week in tune with the Centre’s guidelines.

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Air India To Operate 75 Flights To US, Canada Under Vande Bharat Mission

New Delhi: Air India on Wednesday said it will operate 75 outbound passenger flights to select destinations in the US and Canada between June 9 and June 30 under the Vande Bharat Mission. "Those who wish to travel to the United States and Canada and fulfill required entry conditions can book themselves on these outbound flights. Some foreign airlines have already carried out evacuation flights and are planning to operate more flights. These flights will also take foreign nationals," Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted. He said the aforementioned 75 flights will go to destinations like New York, Newark, Chicago, Washington, San Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto. Domestic passenger flights resumed in India from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India. The central government, however, started the Vande Bharat Mission from May 7 to bring back the stranded Indians from abroad through special inbound flights. It is for the first time that outbound flights have been included under the mission. "Under Mission Vande Bharat, AI will be operating 75 flights from India to select destinations in USA and Canada from 9th to 30th June 2020. Bookings on these flights, ex India only, will tentatively be open from 1700 Hrs on 5th June 2020 only through Air India website," the national carrier said on its website. Air India and its subsidiary, Air India Express, operated 64 flights under phase one of the mission. They plan to operate around 300 flights in the ongoing phase two of the mission to evacuate a total of 70,000 Indians stranded globally.

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Caribbean reopens to tourism

A cluster of Caribbean islands are reopening this month for international tourism, hoping to burnish their reputations as oases of tranquility after containing their coronavirus outbreaks and implementing strict new public health protocols. The Caribbean, known for its palm-fringed beaches, turquoise water and colonial towns, is the most tourism-dependent region in the world. The move is a pilot test for other regions planning to restart tourism after pandemic-induced lockdowns. Antigua and Barbuda, the U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Lucia are the first to reopen this week. Jamaica and Aruba are set to follow later in the month, with July target dates for the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic. While other tourist hotspots like Greece aim to limit arrivals from countries with high infection rates, the first flights the Caribbean is receiving are from the United States, which has the world’s highest number of reported cases. But local tourism officials say they have little choice. Americans accounted for almost half the Caribbean’s 31.5 million visitors last year. “What are we going to wait for? A vaccine? Shut down the country for two years?” Antigua and Barbuda’s Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez said in an interview. Instead, the islands reopening will conduct health screening, including temperature checks upon arrival, and require or encourage the use of face masks in public spaces. They are divided though over whether to test - as recommended by the Caribbean Public Health Agency - because of cost, reliability and availability concerns. Without testing, asymptomatic visitors could be a risk. Antigua and Barbuda will conduct a rapid coronavirus test of visitors upon arrival, said Fernandez. St. Lucia Prime Minister Allen Chastanet told Reuters it would require a certificate for a negative coronavirus test conducted in the 48 hours before departure. It remains unclear if this would work, given tests are not widely available on demand in the United States. Concerns remain over reopenings in countries that do not require testing of arrivals, like Jamaica. “People should object, as should anyone who has done what they have done to flatten the curve of new cases,” said civil rights advocate Carol Narcisse, noting Jamaica has warned of a likely new rise in cases. “Whose interest is the government really serving here?” Generation C The coronavirus era has uprooted Caribbean carnival celebrations, nights out clubbing and resort buffets. Still, the tourism industry hopes the mere appeal of sun, sea and the outdoors will suffice. “Post-coronavirus, people want to get outside,” said Marc Melville, the head of Jamaica-based Chukka Tours. Caribbean nations, which were quick to shut their borders and impose strict lockdowns as the pandemic spread, hope to market themselves as safe destinations. Antigua and Barbuda and the U.S. Virgin Islands have respectively just one and two reported cases, according to officials. St Lucia has none. Officials want the new tourism guidelines to reassure travelers, without being off-putting. Measures include sanitizing surfaces and social distancing in hotels, restaurants, tour operators and taxis. Digital transactions aim to reduce the exchange of cash and face-to-face interaction. Jamaica’s preliminary guidelines, which run more than 100 pages long, even detail the need to reduce capacity on boats or to remove towels lying around resorts with tongs. Jamaican Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said the country should reopen and adapt to bolster its tourist industry amid the global economic crisis. “It’s a new type of traveler who is going to be hugely health conscious,” Bartlett said, branding this the “Generation C” traveler, in reference to the post-coronavirus tourist. Islands like St. Lucia will pace their reopenings, keeping tourist sites closed in a first phase and allowing seated restaurant service only at resorts. On his blog “One Mile at a Time,” travel writer Ben Schlappig wrote St. Lucia’s plan would make him feel safe: “The question becomes whether a visit would be any fun with all of these restrictions.”

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