Costa Cruises continues its gradual restart plan for 2022. From 5 March, the date on which the new Costa Toscana, star of the recent edition of the Sanremo Music Festival, will set sail for her first cruise, an increasing number of the company’s ships will return to service, joining those already sailing. Next summer, the company’s entire fleet will resume operations, with all four of the new ships delivered in recent months – Costa Toscana, Costa Smeralda, Costa Firenze and Costa Venezia – deployed in the Mediterranean. Also, for the summer period, with the hope of favorable regulations, the company is planning to carry out again shore excursions in free mode, and, in light of the gradual relaxation of the measures in place, is working to be able to make them already available as early as this spring. Costa’s program includes a total of more than 1,800 cruises from spring 2022 to winter 2022-23, allowing guests to discover 179 destinations around the world, with cruises lasting from 3 to 127 days. All these cruises will feature the new product innovations the company has been working on in recent months, with an innovative range of shore excursions and an outstanding gastronomic offer featuring world-class chefs. “We are seeing the growth in demand for holidays, and I am sure that this trend will increase further in the coming weeks” – said Roberto Alberti, SVP & Chief Commercial Officer of Costa Cruises. “We think our offer is the best ever, thanks to elements that combine unique experiences, both onboard and ashore. Our rich itinerary program suits for every need and includes some great new features, such as cruises to Turkey. Our cruise experience …

GB Srithar, Regional Director, IMESA (India, Middle East & South Asia), Singapore Tourism Board, said, “The extension of VTL to Singapore from all Indian cities provides the much needed impetus to travel between the countries for all traveller types, whether for leisure, business or cruise. This is part of Singapore’s calibrated and progressive approach in re-opening our borders. We look forward to sharing Singapore’s new, reimagined tourism offerings and experiences with our Indian visitors.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent suspension of Russian airlines’ flights is hitting Goa’s charter season hard. Nilesh Shah, President, Travel & Tourism Association of Goa, says, “Most charter guests spend 14-21 days in Goa. Many hotels that have been suffering for the past 20 months depend on charter business for survival.” At the moment, Goa is receiving only once-a-week charters from Kazakhstan.

In a paradigm shift from one-stop location-specific approach, Kerala has firmly marked itself as a destination for extended holidays for all segments of visitors with diverse experiences across the state like homestays, drive holidays, wellness vacations and adventure activities, State Tourism Director, V R Krishna Teja, announced. “Year 2022 is going to be the year of Kerala Tourism. The year ahead is packed with events and festivities including the Kerala Travel Mart in May, Champions’ Boat League (CBL) and Kochi Muziris Biennale besides several cultural and literary fests and adventure tourism activities,” he said.

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and DONER, has launched an e-marketplace platform at a special event organised to coincide with the International Women’s Day at the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM), Gwalior. This portal will be similar to platforms like OLA, Uber, etc, which would help Incredible India Tourist Facilitators & Guides (IITFs/IITGs) to get business opportunities and work as a bridge between the customer and the service provider.

From 1ST March 2022, there will no longer be a quarantine obligation requirement even for those arriving from non-EU countries. To enter Italy, any of one of the Green pass certificates like vaccination certificate, certificate of Covid 19 recovery or negative test result will be sufficient. This was established by an ordinance signed by the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza. We are moving more and more towards the relaxation of the Covid containment measures. The Italian government has decided to further simplify arrivals from abroad to support the tourism sector. The end of the quarantine regime for arrivals from abroad is another fundamental step in the government’s plan, for a new phase of co-existence with the virus. The executive order has already lifted the mandate to have a swab test for those arriving from European Union countries. The measure goes hand in hand with an improvement in the epidemiological situation after the recent re-opening of night clubs and the end of the mandate to wear a mask outdoors. This will put an end to the state of emergency by 31st March 2022. Among the measures envisaged in the Government roadmap that is put forth by the Minister of Tourism Mr. Garavaglia, is the elimination of the Super Green Pass mandate in hotels. At the moment, this law mandate which was enforced in Christmas 2021 still remains in force in all hotels and accommodation facilities. Starting April 2022, in view of the Easter holidays, it should be easier for Italian and foreign tourists to stay in hotels with the abolishment of the mandatory use of the Reinforced Green Pass as it will be no longer necessary to have a Covid vaccination …

Kerala Tourism will roll out aggressive promotional campaigns across the country, targeting diverse segments. The campaigns will be based on various themes and will be bolstered by a series of travel trade networking activities, including participation in trade fairs, and B2B roadshows. Dr. Venu V, Addl. Chief Secretary (Tourism), said, “The theme-based projects have been made after meticulous planning. Some of the new projects, like the biodiversity circuit, and Caravan Holidays, in particular, will take the travellers to Kerala’s unexplored areas while observing all the pandemic protocols, thus helping the state go beyond established destinations.”

With Maharashtra opening up for tourists, its tourism department has started rigorously promoting various tourism segments. Maharashtra tourism department has organised 20 mini festivals all through February and March. It will also conduct FAM tours for tour operators in March from various cities like Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru.

Europe’s travelling activity will be on the rise despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the aerospace company Airbus has said. According to the CEO of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, the 27-nation-bloc will witness a surge in travel this summer as the conflict on the Eastern part of the continent won’t impact the internal European markets.

Two weeks after he was appointed Air India chief executive officer, Ilker Ayci has declined the offer to join the Tata Group-owned airline. Ayci, former chairman of Turkish Airlines, had earlier served as advisor to Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.