ROME: In a bid to revive the country’s hard-hit tourism industry before the summer holidays, Italy announced Saturday it will allow travel in and out of the country starting June 3. Italy will reopen to European tourists and scrap a 14-day mandatory quarantine period, the government said, as it quickened the exit from the coronavirus lockdown. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also said on Saturday that gyms and cinemas would soon be able to welcome the public again, as the government seeks to restart economic activity while treading cautiously amid the lingering, though waning, coronavirus. “We’re facing a calculated risk in…
Author: holidayweekly
MOSCOW: Russia is hoping to resume international air service in July this year, while domestic transportation can begin gradual recovery in mid-June, a senior government official was quoted as saying in a media report. “It is very important for us to understand that the countries where our people could fly are safe,” Minister of Transport Yevgeny Dietrich was quoted by Russian news agency Tass. “You know that many European countries are slowly opening their own borders, their own flights. We will look and focus on the current situation. Of course, recommendations of our doctors and specialists regarding the possible safe…
CHITRAL: Two roads of Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been federalized with the provincial government allowing 100 per cent mutation of right of way in the name of National Highway Authority (NHA).The roads will play pivotal role to increase the tourism and travel activities in the area. According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Communications the other day, the 363km long Chitral Shandur-Gilgit Road was federalised as N-140 and Chitral Garam Chashma-Dorah Pass Road (82.51(m) as N-145. Meanwhile, special assistant to the KP Chief Minister, Wazir Zada, told mediapersons here on Thursday, May 14, the road would prove…
LAHORE: Pakistan has extended the ban on international flight operations till May 31,amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced Friday. “As per the decision of the Government of Pakistan, the suspension of international flight operations as effected earlier has been extended till (Sunday) May 31, 2020 at 23.59 hours PST. Remaining provisions as applicable to the suspension of Int flights reflected in previous orders remain unchanged,” read a tweet from the CAA. The CAA had announced earlier that it had suspended domestic flight operations till May 10. On April 26, the CAA had issued a Notice to…
WASHINGTON: Boeing’s CEO reckons it is ‘most likely’ a major US airline will go out of business due to the Covid-19 pandemic impact on the aviation industry. That will likely happen from September when government payroll protection runs out, David Calhoun says. “You know something will happen in September. Traffic levels will not be back to a 100%, they won’t even be back to 25.” Calhoun was responding to a question in an interview with NBC, and says airline struggles will continue until at least the end of 2020. “Maybe by the end of the year we approach 50%, so…
REYKJAVIK: Iceland will be the first European country to try and relaunch its tourism industry following the coronavirus pandemic but visitors will have to prove they don’t have Covid-19. The news has been welcomed by the tourism industry in Iceland. Visitors are to be allowed into Iceland again from June 15 as long as they test negative for coronavirus upon arrival. It will be the first European country to try and relaunch its tourism industry following the coronavirus pandemic. Passengers will be tested at Keflavík International Airport and presented with the result the very same day. Tourists will also be…
COLOGNE: “In these times of uncertainty, it is important for us to inform you in a timely and transparent manner about current developments. Today we would like to communicate that the GDS Sabre (1S) has terminated the distribution agreement with the airlines of the Lufthansa Group (Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS and Brussels Airlines) effective June 30, 2020. This termination also affects the GDS Abacus (1B).” announced Lufthansa Group on Tuesday, May 12. “The Lufthansa Group is open to constructive, solution-oriented discussions and is engaged in amicable talks with Sabre in the interest of Sabre and Abacus users, Beyond that, however,…
PARIS: France on Thursday announced measures worth 18 billion euros ($19 billion) to support its tourism sector, which has been hammered by the coronavirus crisis and resulting shutdown of beaches, leisure attractions and hotels. Nearly 90 million foreign tourists visited France in 2019, making it the world’s most visited country, government data shows. Tourism accounts for almost 8% of the country’s 2.3 trillion-euro economy. “Tourism is facing what is probably its worst challenge in modern history,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told a news conference. “Because this is one of the crown jewels of the French economy, rescuing it is a…
ABU DHABI: Etihad Airways will operate a regular scheduled service from Melbourne to London Heathrow via Abu Dhabi from Friday. A week later, on May 21st, the UAE flag-carrier will also introduce services from London Heathrow to Melbourne via Abu Dhabi. The airline plans to maintain this link until it fully resumes its previous double daily connection between the two cities. These services complement Etihad’s existing schedule of special flights to and from Abu Dhabi to several destinations on its global network. Etihad advises all customers wishing to travel on these services to check current entry regulations for both the…
GENEVA: The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has released a Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package to offer guidance to member states in response to Covid-19. The package is structured around three main pillars: economic recovery, marketing and promotion and institutional strengthening and resilience building. With tourism among the hardest-hit of all sectors, UNWTO has identified three possible scenarios for the months ahead. Depending on when restrictions on travel are lifted, international tourist arrivals could decline by 60-80 per cent in 2020. This could translate into a decline in export revenues from tourism of between $910 billion to $1.2 trillion and place…