When Kashmir went into a coronavirus lockdown in March, tourism in the Indian-administered territory had already been hobbled by eight months of tight security restrictions that New Delhi imposed after revoking the region’s semi-autonomous status. Now hoteliers, taxi drivers and others relying on tourism in the region say the pandemic has compounded the financial shock to the industry and they fear it could take years to recover. The state of tourism in Kashmir is “a typical case of out of the frying pan into the fire,” said Faiz Bakhshi, a prominent businessman and former secretary general of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCC&I). Fall season is almost gone in Kashmir “I don’t see any resumption of tourism in Kashmir until there is zero incidence of COVID-1...
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Do you feel safe? Will life ever get back to normal? What will that new normal look like? As we define a pandemic, nearly everyone is grappling with questions like these. An expert on the history of spaceflight—and one of the few women in her field—Amy Shira Teitel, author of FIGHTING FOR SPACE: Two Pilots and Their Historic Battle for Female Spaceflight (Grand Central Publishing; ISBN: 978-1-5387-1604-5; $30.00; Hardcover), invites us to find a silver lining and take this moment to learn how to adapt like an astronaut. Drawing on her extensive knowledge of NASA’s history and missions going back more than 60 years, Teitel shares six astronaut-tested tips to help us face the unknown and take small steps that just might lead to giant leaps in conquering quarantine, ...
Read MoreWith fear of another wave of coronavirus resurfacing, Thailand has delayed plans for a “travel bubble” agreement with select countries. New daily coronavirus cases are rising in parts of Asia, putting pressure on its vital tourism industry and complicating efforts to revive its battered economy. Thailand first proposed the idea in June to allow movement between select countries that have low infection numbers, without the need for travellers to undergo quarantine. But that has been shelved, officials said, amid second and third waves in East Asian countries that previously had their outbreaks under control. “We are delaying discussion of travel bubble arrangements for now given the outbreak situation in other countries,” Thailand’s coronavirus taskforce spokesman, Taweesin Wisanuyot...
Read MoreSingapore is at the top of the list of travel destinations for most Asian travellers, particularly for those living in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and the Philippines when it comes post-lockdown travel, according to a survey by Blackbox Research, Dynata and Language Connect. These countries also have considerable pent-up demand for travel. Out of the five, Indians are the most eager to travel internationally in the next 12 months (77%), followed by Thais (70%), Indonesians (60%), Hong Kongers (47%), and Filipinos (46%). Singapore is the top post-lockdown choice for Indian travellers On the other hand, the study also found that Singaporeans are keen for the local travel industry to find its footing again. About 93% of locals recognise that tourism is a major industry a...
Read MoreThe sixth-edition of gourmet food festival 'World On a Plate' (WOAP) will go digital this year and support the cause of hunger by bringing food on the plate of those hit worse by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, said the organisers. The five-day campaign for charity, starting August 5, has partnered with 35 restaurants across the country for the event. These restaurants, beside putting out their signature dishes through food platform Swiggy as part of the WOAP special collection, will also provide a minimum of 50 pre-packed nutritious meals every day for the hungry. The WOAP has set-up soup kitchens on wheels and would donate meals that are excess from the partner restaurants -- all led by the foot soldiers of World Hunger Warriors, an initiative started during the lockdown by entrep...
Read MoreRising COVID-19 cases are making countries nervous and as more and more countries face a second wave of the pandemic, policy decisions are moving in disarray and fault lines are being exposed. Europe is witnessing all of this. After a unanimous decision by almost all major countries in the block earlier this month on opening EU countries for the foreign travellers, travel to Spain has become a new point of discontent. Firstly, it was UK when the British Government announcing that tourists returning from Spain will have to self-isolate for two weeks. In a massive blow for holidaymakers and the travel industry, restrictions were reimposed following an alarming spike in Covid-19 cases. As a result, Spain was removed from the lists of countries from which passengers arriving in England, Sc...
Read MoreThe enormous toll of COVID-19 on international tourism has now become clear, with World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) data showing the cost up to May was already three times that of the 2009 Global Economic Crisis. As the situation continues to evolve, the United Nations specialized agency has provided the first comprehensive insight into the impact of the pandemic, both in tourist numbers and lost revenues, ahead of the upcoming release of up-to-date information on travel restrictions worldwide. UNWTO Confidence Index has dropped to record lows The latest edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer shows that the near-complete lockdown imposed in response to the pandemic led to a 98 per cent fall in international tourist numbers in May when compared to 2019. The Barometer also show...
Read MoreAlmost two weeks after announcing reduction of 13 ships in its fleet, World’s biggest cruise company Carnival has, in an attempt to soothe the nerves, announced new plans for its fleet. It expects this to generate tremendous guest excitement once it resumes sailing. Cruise line now has a confirmed date for an additional Excel-class, LNG-powered ship arriving in November 2022. Announcement also includes information on four ships either sold or put on long term lay-up status, and other ships redeployed to new homeports. Carnival seeks to leverage its strong network of year-round and seasonal homeports in the US with upgraded offerings. The 70,000-ton Carnival Fantasy operates year-round five-, six- and seven-day voyages from Charleston, S.C. Photo by Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Lines ...
Read MoreHow do we travel during and after the ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks? The answer to this question not only affects our holiday plans as well as daily lives, but also the recovery process of the severely pressured leisure, tourism, and travel industries. Answer is never going to be easy, but one thing for sure is that in the months or probably more to come, long haul leisure will be least preferred. It means, domestic tourism is going to grow, people are more likely to stay close to homes, or at least in their country. Governments have realised this thing as well. They are sure overseas tourists are not going to come in that numbers. Crossing borders will be an uphill task as entries are restricted and banned depending on case load of COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, governments want everyone to tr...
Read MoreThe United States Travel and Tourism industry is in deep trouble. Brand USA has updated the US travel and tourism industry about the latest trends due to the COVID-19 outbreak. And although this data is about US travel industry, but by and large this pattern applies to all other countries as well. Travel industry is one of those sectors worldwide, which has been affected the most by the pandemic. And, nowhere the forecast seems brighter, nowhere. Statue of Liberty. Photo: Marley White Particularly for US, lot of things are happening also because of its handling of the crisis. More than 30 countries have banned US travelers from their visiting their lands. Brand USA says that international visits to the United States are expected to drop by 50 million and spending is forecast to fall...
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