pandemic – Page 18 – आवारा मुसाफिर

72-hour quarantine-free journeys will revive travel

December 3, 2020494 Views

EASA/ECDC guidelines confirm ineffectiveness of passenger quarantines World over chorus is growing for making travel, at least short term travel, quarantine free to revive the pandemic-struck industry. New guidelines by EASA/ECDC have termed quarantine of passengers as ineffective. Taking the cue World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has also said that International business travel could restart if agreement is secured to safeguard journeys of up to 72-hours free from quarantines. The joint recommendation for the short stay exemption comes from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (EASA/ECDC) and is welcomed by WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector. FILE PHOTO: Passengers wearing p...

खबरनामाघटनाएं

70% of destinations have lifted travel restrictions, but global gap emerging

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 2, 2020393 Views

The number of destinations closed to international tourism has continued to fall. According to the eighth edition of the UNWTO Travel Restrictions Report, 70% of all global destinations have eased restrictions on travel introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In comparison, just one in four destinations continue to keep their borders completely closed to international tourists. Launched by the World Tourism Organization at the start of the pandemic, the Travel Restrictions Report keeps track of measures being taken in 217 destinations worldwide, helping to support the mitigation and recovery efforts of the tourism sector. For this latest edition, the methodology has been updated to offer insights into the tourism flows of destinations, as well as to explore the link between he...

इस्राइलखबरनामाघटनाएंफिलस्तीन

Dark Times: Both Holy sides of conflict wall gearing up for dismal Christmas

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 2, 2020463 Views

On both sides of the West Bank Barrier the signs are dismal for the coming festive season. Its dark and gloomy over the region what normally used to be beaming with tourists at this time of the year so close to Christmas. While Jerusalem is yet to come with the terms with the new normal, Bethlehem has announced that it is ‘not going to cancel its Christmas.’ As night grips Jerusalem’s walled Old City, its ancient alleyways become a ghost town of haunting shadows and light. Mornings used to reveal bright picture-postcard scenes of tourists from around the world stopping to buy souvenirs at Palestinian shops as they made their way to biblical sites holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians. A man closes a shop at night amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, at a market in J...

खबरनामाघटनाएंस्पेन

Tourism fraternity adopts La Palma Declaration

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 1, 2020748 Views

With the aim of establishing actions and commitments to restart international travel, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Spanish Government hosted a hybrid conference, where leaders from the industry both from the public and private sector participated, covering 95 countries and more than 100 Travel & Tourism companies. This event was organised as a result of WTTC's call for the leaders of G7+Spain, South Korea and Australia for an agreement at the highest level, to save the sector and the millions of jobs that depend on it. The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, reiterated his commitment to the sector and confirmed the leadership of Spain by holding a major conference to discuss key measures needed to revive international Travel & Tourism. ...

खबरनामाघटनाएंबेल्जियम

Circus can’t leave town, now stranded in Belgian car park

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

November 29, 2020562 Views

The exotic animals are confined to small paddocks, the acrobats have been grounded, and the clowns aren’t able to make an audience laugh anymore. The coronavirus has brought the curtain down on the Zavatelli Circus, at least for the time being. Unable to travel or perform across Europe, the French family-run operation is waiting out the pandemic in a car park in the southern Belgium town of Gembloux - and quickly running out of funds to feed its animals. An employee of the Zavatelli Circus owned by the French family Dubois, walks with a camel in a parking lot in Gembloux, Belgium November 26, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman “For us, the confinement is very difficult because we are not working. We have no cash flow,” said circus director Kevin Dubois. The Zavatelli Circus typicall...

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Germany wants ski resorts closed but Austria won’t agree

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November 26, 2020750 Views

Germany wants Alpine countries to keep ski resorts closed to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, but reaching an agreement with neighbouring Austria is proving difficult, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. “The ski season is approaching. We will be trying to coordinate in Europe whether we could close all ski resorts,” Merkel told parliament, adding that this might not be possible given resistance from Austria, but Germany would try again. In the first wave of the coronavirus at the start of the year, many Germans were infected at the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl. Germany last month issued travel warnings for popular ski regions in Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Interestingly, in September this year a consumer rights group had taken a legal action against the Austr...

खबरनामाघटनाएंथाईलैंड

Thailand sees first trickle of tourists in October as curbs ease

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November 26, 2020419 Views

Thailand recorded its first 1,201 foreign tourists in October since a ban in April aimed at averting coronavirus outbreaks, as the country gradually opens up to a select number of visitors to help its struggling, tourism-reliant economy. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy contracted 6.4% in the third quarter from a year earlier after the second quarter’s 12.1% slump as most virus restrictions were eased, but an absence of tourists is limiting the recovery. The 1,201 foreign visitors in October is a fraction of the 3.07 million arrivals in the same month last year. Tourism ministry data showed the latest visitors included 471 from China, 231 from neighbouring Cambodia, 178 from Middle East countries and 116 from Europe, all travelling on special 90-day visas that require two...

खबरनामाट्रैवल उद्योग

Air connectivity crisis threatens global economic recovery

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

November 26, 2020439 Views

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data revealing that the COVID-19 crisis has had a devastating impact on international connectivity, shaking up the rankings of the world’s most connected cities. London, the world’s number one most connected city in September 2019, has seen a 67% decline in connectivity. By September 2020, it had fallen to number eight. Shanghai is now the top ranked city for connectivity with the top four most connected cities all in China—Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu. New York (-66% fall in connectivity), Tokyo (-65%), Bangkok (-81%), Hong Kong (-81%) and Seoul (-69%) have all exited the top ten. The study reveals that cities with large numbers of domestic connections now dominate, showing the extent to which...

खबरनामाट्रैवल उद्योग

Call for reopening borders with testing and without quarantine

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November 24, 2020413 Views

IATA AGM also requests governments to support safe and sustainable industry restart The International Air Transport Association (IATA) 76th Annual General Meeting (AGM) unanimously resolved to urgently call on governments to re-open borders to travel. IATA is proposing systematic testing of international travelers which would permit the lifting of border restrictions and provide an alternative to current quarantine rules. Quarantines essentially kill demand for air travel and governments need to immediately consider the drastic socio-economic effect this is having. International air travel continues to be down 90% on 2019 levels. Current estimates are that as many as 46 million jobs supported by air travel could be lost and that the economic activity sustained by aviation will be re...

खबरनामाट्रैवल उद्योग

Deep losses to continue for airlines into 2021

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

November 24, 2020485 Views

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced a revised outlook for airline industry performance in 2020 and 2021. Deep industry losses will continue into 2021, even though performance is expected to improve over the period of the forecast. A net loss of $118.5 billion is expected for 2020 (deeper than the $84.3 billion forecast in June).A net loss of $38.7 billion is expected in 2021 (deeper than the $15.8 billion forecast in June). Performance factors in 2021 will show improvements on 2020; and the second half of 2021 is expected to see improvements after a difficult 2021 first half. Aggressive cost-cutting is expected to combine with increased demand during 2021 (due to the re-opening of borders with testing and/or the widespread availability of a vaccine...