News

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

Scenic Group suspends operations until end of June

The Scenic Group will suspend operations for land tours, river and ocean cruises until the end of June at the earliest in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. The move includes Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours and Emerald Cruises. Colin Downing, managing director for Scenic in the UK, explained: “Our commitment to the health, well-being, and safety of our guests and our employees remains at the core of everything we do. “Due to the ongoing global situation and government restrictions it is impossible for us to operate our scheduled departures up to June 30th. “Please be assured we are here to support our valued agent partners and guests during this challenging time. “When this crisis is over and the travel industry begins to recover, we look forward to exploring our precious world with our guests again.”

Read more

IATA agents seek bailout package for travel and tourism sector

IATA Agents Association of India has urged the Centre to introduce a bailout package for the travel and tourism industry. The sector had contributed 9.2 per cent of the GDP in India and now due to the Covid-19 crisis, it is passing through a very critical phase, said Biji Eapen, National President of the IATA Agents Association of India. Quoting reports, he said 75 million jobs are at immediate risk in the global travel and tourism, of which 9 million would be from India. Currently, the travel and tourism businesses in India are forced to lay off their employees and remain apprehensive over the looming business situations, including liquidation. The Association has urged the government to protect the salaries and jobs and extend interest-free loans as working capital to provide liquidity for large and small travel tourism businesses to resume their business. The government should also announce a moratorium on interest payments of all existing working capital loans and cash credit overdraft for next 12 months The government should also waive or remove all dues, taxes, or fiscal charges for the next 12 months that affect cash flow. The Association is planning a nationwide signature campaign to mobilise support from the industry as the government is in the process of introducing a simulation package for the economy, he added. IAAI invited entrepreneurs, employees, other stakeholders in the sector to participate and support the campaign.

Read more