ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s scenic and major tourism destination Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has opened all tourism activities on August 8, 2020, with strict safety measures in place as was announced by Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar on August 6. The admission of visitors will be subject to the clearance of medical reports, the GB government spokesperson said. The tourism activities have been opened under a “No mask, no tourism” policy and tightly controlled conditions. Mir Afzal Khan, the caretaker Chief Minister of GB, has issued directions to open the tourism sector with the proper implementation of travel standard operating procedures (SOPs). On…
Author: holidayweekly
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has will launch 27 rest houses in a bid to provide more facilities to the tourism industry and attract local and international tourists. [huge_it_slider id=”566″] The 27 rest houses which were earlier under the use of officials from different provincial government departments have been handed over to the KP Tourism Department. KP Tourism Department Spokesman said that the current government has launched several important projects to boost tourism industry across the province. In the first phase, the provincial government will use government rest houses in Hazara and Malakand divisions. He said that the KP…
DUBAI: Emirates has announced it will increase its passenger services to/from Pakistan starting August 10, offering customers enhanced connectivity to over 70 destinations within its current network, via Dubai. The airline is set to ramp up its flight frequency to/from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Sialkot; and resume passenger services to Peshawar providing customers worldwide with greater access to its expanding network. Emirates will now offer customers 53 weekly flights to Pakistan, which will increase to 60 weekly flights starting August 16. All flights will be operated with the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER and can be booked on emirates.com or via travel…
China and Europe continue to post strong gains in their hotel industry recoveries, not so much in the U.S. Hotel company mask mandates won’t help the problem unless more Americans follow the rules. The hotel industries in three coronavirus hotspots past and present are rebounding from coronavirus shutdowns differently than executives and analysts first predicted. The global pandemic hit China, Italy, and the U.S. particularly hard. But while China and Italy have both contained the spread, the U.S. continues to surge with tens of thousands of new cases daily. Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said earlier this summer the hotel business…
GEORGIA: Delta Air Lines is taking a strong position on health and safety in the COVID era and first and foremost is mask-wearing. Delta CEO Ed Bastian told media on Friday, August 7, that, “We’ve had well over 100 people that have refused to keep their mask on during the flight.” People who refuse to wear a mask are barred from flying with the airline. “You can’t get on the plane without wearing your mask. But we do have some customers that don’t want to keep their mask on during flight,” Bastian said. “We remind them several times over the…
BANGKOK: Thailand is unlikely to reopen its borders to international leisure visitors this year, predicted a deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Speaking at a webinar hosted by Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and TravelMole, Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, Deputy Governor for international marketing at TAT, said that there has been no talk of or timeline issued for reopening the country to inbound or outbound leisure travel during weekly Covid-19 national meetings. He added that as part of the government’s “very, very cautious” approach to reopening borders, he does not expect Thailand to welcome leisure visitors until 2021.…
NEW YORK: Travel companies will be more cautious in approaching markets in China due to geopolitical tension. That was the message of Glenn Fogel, Booking Holdings CEO and President. “There’s been a lot of let’s say ‘tension’ between different countries for some time,” Fogel. “We’ve been talking for some time about the potential of something called the “splinternet,’ or the fracturing of the overall cyberspace into different areas.” Fogel referred to how China and other countries have been setting rules in how people can use the internet within their borders that complicates the work of global companies. Coinciding actions by…
LONDON: Most UK holidaymakers would cancel a holiday if they had to wear a mask in public on a trip, according to a new report. A YouGov survey released this week found that two-thirds of people (65%) would cancel if masks were mandatory at all times, 43% would still cancel if only compulsory inside, while 70% would scrap the holiday if they had to quarantine on return. The results come as the industry continues to face cancellations and redundancies, after Spain was removed from the UK government’s travel corridor list on 26 July. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)…
SINGAPORE: Sabre Corporation, a leading software, and technology provider that powers the global travel industry, today announced a new distribution partnership with fast-growing regional carrier Royal Air Philippines to enable the airline to power future revenue growth while reaching new, high-yield market segments. Royal Air Philippines was established as an air charter service in 2002, before entering into commercial operation in 2018 with its inaugural domestic flight from Clark to Caticlan and subsequently building a strong international network to China. The airline is now committed to adding more domestic routes, along with regional routes throughout Asia Pacific, to its schedule…
DOHA: Qatar Airways announces significant updates to its mobile app that allow passengers to plan their travel with greater ease, helping minimise physical contact and interactions throughout their journey. With an updated, intuitively designed look and feel, the Qatar Airways mobile app now presents a personalised home screen that provides the most relevant information to each user. For those with an upcoming flight, the mobile app’s existing ‘My Trips’ feature will now be displayed on the home screen, highlighting the most important information at each stage of their journey. For those without a current booking, special offers will be displayed,…