Announcing a new movement started by a few in the wedding industry, Rajeev Jain, Director, Rashi Entertainment, said, “If there is no auspicious date for birth, or death, then why should there be an auspicious day for weddings? To revive our industry, we have started a campaign called ‘Har Din Shub Hai’ to tell clients to fix weddings on any day so they get cost benefits and hotels and planners get business throughout the year. This will be virtually launched on 29 September.”

The Tour Operators and Travel Agents Association of Gujarat (TAG) has initiated a campaign to promote domestic tourism. A five-member team from TAG will embark on a historical 36-day road trip across India, starting off from Surat on September 18. The team will cover around 18,000 kms visiting 34 states and UT capitals (except Andaman & NicoBar and Lakshadweep) while showcasing their landmark monuments and Covid-ready hotels. Pankaj Gupta, President, TAG, shared that the team will be led by Rajiv Shah of Surat-based agency Network Tours & Travels. They will essentially cover around 500kms per day. The entire trip is largely self-sponsored.

Hasan Patel, Director, Tripjack, announces an exciting competition for the travel trade based on the IPL matches. “This is a fantasy league for agents and will run for the entire duration of the games. All agents can sign up for this and win prizes every day – free hotel stays, air tickets, gifts, loyalty points redeemable on any future bookings. We encourage everyone to sign up and participate!” he says. To participate, agents can visit https://tripjack.com/cms/ipl-static-page to sign up for the competition.

Sharing her experience in Thailand, Sonal Swamy, Managing Director, Syrisa Travels, says, “Our unforgettable trip to Thailand in the summer of 2019 was filled with memories and wonderful experiences. Can’t wait to travel again and enjoy late night walks, foot massages, green Thai curry lunches, long shopping tours and being in the wild with nature again in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.”    

An estimated USD 4.5 to 5 billion of funding will be required to overcome this crisis, mostly for airlines. Excluding IndiGo, the cash position of the industry as on 31-Mar-2020 was just USD 200 million (IndiGo had USD 1.36bn). The current low oil prices and excess liquidity, both globally and in India, would ordinarily have been positive for the sector. But the industry will not be able to fully benefit or raise funds due to structural issues.

Adani Airport, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, is set to become India’s biggest private airport operator after acquiring the entire 50.5% stake of GVK Airport. This takes its total to 74% controlling stake in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) as well as the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport Limited. The remaining 26% is held by AAI.

As per the order dated 31 August, 2020 by the Office of District Magistrate, North Goa, there is no requirement for COVID-19 testing for travellers coming to Goa whether by road, rail or air. This is compulsory only for international passengers. Bars have opened, however ban on casinos and river cruises will continue.

The state has issued a directive that allows all hotels and lodges to operate at 100 per cent capacity from September 2, 2020. Separate SOPs will be issued for necessary precautions to be taken while operating these establishments. Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, President, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India, says, “We are happy that the government has allowed 100 per cent capacity utilisation for hotels in the state. Meanwhile, since restaurants are not included in the current negative list, it is understood that restaurants are also allowed to re-open like those that have re-opened in the rest of the country. We have sought clarification on this from the government. Also, we had hoped that it would relax the limit of 50 people at social gatherings, especially for weddings. We had requested that this be based on the size of the venue.”

In September alone, Lufthansa will offer 160 flights between India and Germany, more than five per day and more than four times as many as in August. The airline will operate between Frankfurt and Munich and the key Indian cities of Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Ten weekly flights are scheduled for Delhi-Frankfurt, Delhi-Munich, Mumbai-Frankfurt and Bengaluru-Frankfurt. Lufthansa Group has also launched a free-of-charge re-booking policy for its customers regardless of the terms and conditions of their purchased tickets.

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) will conduct a destination presentation on Friday, September 4 at 11am that will have a special focus on the Gyeonggi region. Along with KTO, the webinar will also have representatives from Gyeonggi Tourism Organization and a DMC joining in from Korea for product updates. Young Geul Choi, Deputy Director, Korea Tourism Organization, New Delhi office, says, “Each region of South Korea has its own unique feature and characteristic. To bring a better understanding of each special region, we decided to conduct a destination presentation with a special focus on the Gyeonggi region, located close to Seoul. A trip to Seoul without a trip to the nearby Gyeonggi region would surely be incomplete. Gyeonggi province is home to landmark attractions like the DMZ, Everland theme park and Hwaseong Fortress among others. With this webinar, travel agents can add more value to their South Korea itineraries tours and recommend it as the first choice once travel between India and South Korea resumes.” To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com.