DUBAI: Emirates has announced that it will cover the Covid-19 medical expenses and quarantine costs for its customers travelling to and from the UAE, free of cost. The airline will cover medical expenses of up to €150,000 ($172,127) and quarantine costs of €100 ($114.7) per day for 14 days, should they be diagnosed with Covid-19 during their travel, while they are away from home. This cover for Covid-19 related medical expenses and quarantine costs is offered by Emirates free of cost to its customers regardless of class of travel or destination. This cover is immediately effective for customers flying on…
Author: holidayweekly
KINGSTON: The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) has saluted legendary hotelier Heinz Simonitsch, who died over the weekend. The body cited him as one of the foremost pioneers of sustainable tourism development in the region. “Professor Heinz was a pioneer in the industry in so many ways, leading by example, providing exemplary service, infusing ‘Caribbean’ and ‘Jamaican’ into his product offering, and expanding the boundaries of the industry well beyond that of his beloved Half Moon hotel with investments in the development of the people and communities surrounding his property,” recalled CHTA Chief Executive, Frank Comito, and CHTA, President,…
DOHA: Qatar Airways will seek compensation from four Arab neighbors who have refused to allow it to use their airspace under the terms of a boycott now in place for more than three years, it announced Thursday, July 16. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled Tuesday that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was competent to hear the dispute, after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt argued that the body’s aviation-only remit left it ineligible to decide on “security” matters. “In line with the ruling of the ICJ and the legal precedent allowing the State of Qatar to…
LONDON: The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has warned governments around the world that further country-wide border closures could seriously jeopardize global economic recovery. Rather, WTTC is urging authorities to take a more carefully calibrated approach and introduce localized measures and only when necessary. By avoiding blanket travel restrictions, it would prevent the stalling of the fragile economic recovery and not cripple the already bruised and battered travel and tourism sector. WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara said: “Governments should not close off access to other countries in their entirety. Only regional border measures should be imposed if essential,…
HUNZA: The tourism industry of Gilgit-Baltistan has been facing severe crisis amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak as many people associated with it are fearing losing their jobs and businesses. The hotel and tour operators association in Hunza carried out a strike and blocked the main highway as they allege inattention by Prime Minister Khan. Ali Madad, President of Hunza Hotels Association said, “When -19 pandemic start spreading across the world and it reached Gilgit-Baltistan, we were requested by the administration to close all hotels. We agreed to their request as we decided to collectively work for the welfare of the…
ISLAMABAD: As the government is reopening different sectors of the economy one after another and there is clear cut decrease in Covid-19 infections almost all over Pakistan, the country’s tourism industry is still facing with strict restrictions, leaving all associated businesses on the verge of bankruptcy, particularly the tour operators and hospitality industry. The tour operators, especially those who depend on the five-month tourism summer season, have denounced that the concerned authorities were yet to reopen the industry despite orders from the prime minister. In a letter sent to Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfikar Abbas…
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines would reduce 50% staff by offering them golden handshake, its CEO Arshad Malik told the Supreme Court Tuesday. Malik said so during the hearing of a case relating to fake licenses of Pakistani pilots in the apex court. The court expressed its displeasure over no action against Civil Aviation Authority officials involved in issuing fake licenses to pilots. It told the CAA director general that he didn’t do anything other than writing letters. The court ordered registration of criminal cases against CAA officials involved in issuing fake licenses to pilots. It barred the PIA from…
LONDON: UK firm Cruise & Maritime Voyages has shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. CMV announced in June that it was looking for additional finance and it was hoped that last minute discussions with investor VGO Capital Management would save the firm. But that wasn’t to be the case and this evening administrators Duff & Phelps announced Essex-based cruise line CMV had “ceased trading with immediate effect”. Its international sales offices in Australia, France, the United States and TransOcean Tours in Germany have also been closed. The company’s website this evening listed information for customers who had booked cruise…
CAIRO: Egypt reopened 31 more hotels for tourists last week amid anti-COVID-19 measures, raising the number of hotels reopened nationwide to 572, an Egyptian tourism ministry official said in a statement on Saturday. The hotels have been reopened with a limited capacity after receiving an official hygiene safety certificate issued by a joint inspection commission from the ministries of tourism and health, said Abdel-Fattah al-Aasy, assistant minister of tourism and antiquities for monitoring hotel facilities. Egypt started reopening hotels in mid-May, but they were limited to local tourism initially due to the international flight suspension. The North African country started…
CANBERRA: Australians are unlikely to be able to visit popular destinations like the US and UK until next year, according to experts, as the federal government faces challenges in reopening borders. Major obstacles exist in opening up destinations other than New Zealand, which are considered to have poorly or inadequately managed the spread of the coronavirus, according to leading travel health experts. New Zealand, which has enjoyed similar success to Australia in containing the spread of COVID-19, was identified this week by Prime Minister Scott Morrison as the likely first overseas border to be reopened to Australian holidaymakers. Even though…