HolidayWeekly

The Voice of Tourism in Pakistan

Ad example

News

Carnival Reports | $2bn Loss As Return Gathers Pace

by Leave a Comment

Carnival Corporation has reported a net loss of US$2 billion for the first quarter of 2021. The company was forced to halt all sailings in March last year as the Covid-19 pandemic spread around the world and has yet to return in many markets.

However, Carnival said the cash burn rate in the first quarter was better than expected as the company identified and implemented opportunities to optimize its monthly spending.

The group currently expects six of its nine brands to resume limited guest cruise operations by this summer.

Aida resumed operations in March sailing in the Canary Islands, while Costa began sailing to Italian ports in May.

P&O Cruises, Cunard, and Princess Cruises will each offer a series of UK cruises this summer, while Seabourn expects to offer trips sailing from Greece.

Carnival Corporation chief executive, Arnold Donald, noted: “We are focused on resuming operations as quickly as practical, while at the same time demonstrating prudent stewardship of capital and doing so in a way that serves the best interests of public health.

“Our highest responsibility and therefore our top priority is always compliance, environmental protection, and the health, safety, and well-being of everyone.”

Donald added: “Our portfolio of brands has clearly been an asset as we resume operations this summer with nine ships across six of our brands.”

Carnival said booking volumes for all future cruises during the first quarter of 2021 were approximately 90 percent higher than volumes during the fourth quarter of last year.

Donald added: “Throughout the pause, we have been positioning Carnival Corporation to return to serving guests an operationally stronger company than we were before.

“With an exciting roster of six new, more efficient ships by December and with lower capacity from the exit of 19 less efficient ships, we expect to capitalize on pent-up demand and achieve significant cost improvement from the greater efficiency of our fleet, along with ongoing streamlining of shoreside operations.

Qatar Airways Rolls Out | Shenzhen-Hong Kong Ferry Service

by Leave a Comment

HONG KONG: A new sea-to-air ferry transfer service from Shenzhen Shekou Port to the SkyPier in the airside of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) will be offered from April 15 by Qatar Airways, which hopes to improve passenger movement in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

Qatar Airways customers can purchase their ferry tickets from SkyLink or the port’s website. They will be provided with boarding passes and baggage check-through service to their final destinations at the Shenzhen Shekou terminal, where they will also clear their customs and immigration.

Southern China travelers can soon enjoy a convenient sea-to-air service with Qatar Airways

Upon arrival at SkyPier, customers can proceed directly to their Qatar Airways boarding gate or explore HKIA facilities prior to boarding.

Thomas Scruby, Qatar Airways vice president of sales for Australasia & North Asia, said the new ferry transfer service would boost the airlines’ footprint in the GBA by providing Southern Chinese customers more flexible flying options via HKIA and onwards to more than 80 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas.

“We know connectivity within the region and to the wider world is critical for the success of the GBA. Therefore, we are excited to do our part to build the infrastructure necessary to make it easier and smoother for local customers to travel despite the disruption caused by the pandemic around the world,” said Scruby.

“We are confident in the market’s demand and our commitment to the region remains resolute. The next phase of our partnership with Airport Authority Hong Kong will see the ferry transfer service be further expanded to other key GBA metropolis such as Macau and Dongguan once government restrictions are lifted, allowing even more customers in the region to enjoy the world-class experience that Qatar Airways has to offer,” he continued.

EASA Rejects CAA Offer | EU Suspends PIA Flights Indefinitely

by Leave a Comment

KARACHI: The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has indefinitely extended the suspension of Pakistan International Airlines flight operations to the EU until it has all the necessary information “available to decide on the way forward”, reported The News.

PIA’s Third Country Operations Authorization (TCOA) was suspended by the EU in July 2020 for six months after controversial statements by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan regarding the verification of degrees of Pakistani pilots working for the national flag carrier and other airlines.

The EASA decision to suspend PIA flight operations to the EU had come in February 2021, after the International Civil Aviation Organisation made public a ‘Significant Safety Concern for Pakistan”, indicating a serious degradation of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority certification and oversight capabilities.

Eventually, the EASA extended the suspension for another three months till March 31 of this year.

In its latest review, the EASA rejected the PCAA offer stating that the information shared by the Pakistani authority did not help end their uneasiness about PCAA oversight. It added that under the legal instruments, the Third Country Operations Authorization of PIA must be revoked.

The EASA informed the CAA and PIA that “their offer to use only flight crew and engineers not holding Pakistani licenses does not fully mitigate all concerns regarding the oversight capabilities of the PCAA”.

“At this moment, the EASA, therefore, considers that not all conditions required to lift the suspension are met. EASA should now revoke the TCOA (Third Country Operations Authorization) in line with EASA, ART.235(c)(1) of Part-ART,” said the statement.

However, the EU agency has decided not to take any drastic action against PIA and chose to extend the suspension indefinitely till all necessary information is available.

Robinson Appointed | New Chairman of Travelodge

by Leave a Comment

LONDON: Travelodge has announced the appointment of leisure travel veteran, Martin Robinson, as its new Chairman.

He has spent most of his career within the sector and brings a wealth of brand building, strategic management, and leadership expertise.

He spent 17-years at Center Parcs as chief executive of their European business and chairman of the UK.

Robinson also spent ten years on the boards of Disneyland Paris and Regus and has chaired various other businesses, including Holmes Place Health Clubs and Wagamama.

He currently chairs the UK business for Burger King, the second-largest fast-food chain in the world, and Parkdean Resorts, the largest holiday park operator in the UK.

Stephen Sherlock, Travelodge’s non-executive board director, said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Martin as Chairman of Travelodge.

“Martin brings a broad wealth of hospitality and strategic management experience to the role.

“The well-established management team and board look forward to working with him to further develop the Travelodge business.

“As travel restrictions start to be relaxed, business and leisure confidence returns, and our market recovers, Travelodge is well-positioned to benefit from improvements in trading conditions.”

Travelodge is a UK-based budget hotel brand that operates 586 hotels across the UK, Ireland, and Spain.

Robinson said: “It is a great honor to join Travelodge, which is not just a British hotel icon but also a model of a great value brand.

“Its resilience has helped it to navigate through the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Now, is an exciting time to be joining the company, as it embarks on the next exciting phase in its development.”

WTTC Research Reveals | UK GDP Slumped A Shocking £148bn. In 2020

by Leave a Comment

LONDON: The World Travel & Tourism Council’s annual Economic Impact Report today reveals that the dramatic collapse of the UK’s Travel & Tourism sector has wiped out a staggering £148 billion from the UK economy.

The annual EIR from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, shows the sector’s contribution to GDP, dropped by a precipitous 62.3%.

Travel & Tourism GDP fell from £238 billion (10.1%) in 2019 before the pandemic struck, to just £90 billion (4.2%), a mere 12 months later, in 2020.

The year of crippling travel restrictions, and ineffective quarantines, which have brought international travel to a grinding halt, has resulted in the loss of 307,000 Travel & Tourism jobs across the country.

However, WTTC believes the true picture could be significantly worse, if not for government fiscal and liquidity incentives, as well as furlough and job protection schemes which across all sectors is currently protecting more than 11 million jobs, hiding the true extent of the losses and the devastating social impact they could bring.

These job losses were felt across the entire UK Travel & Tourism ecosystem. The number of those employed in the UK Travel & Tourism sector tumbled from 4.27 million in 2019, to 3.96 million in 2020 – a fall of 7.2%.

The report also revealed domestic visitor spending declined by 63.2% due to nationwide lockdowns, while international spending fared even worse, because of stringent travel restrictions, ineffective quarantines and constantly changing government policies, causing a fall of 71.6%.

Gloria Guevara, President & CEO WTTC, said: “The loss of more than 300,000 Travel & Tourism jobs across the UK has had a devastating socio-economic impact, leaving huge numbers of people fearing for their future.

“But the situation could have been far worse if it were not for the government’s prompt action, which introduced job retention schemes to save millions of jobs under threat and helped to halt the total collapse of the Travel & Tourism sector.

“WTTC believes that another year of terrible losses can be avoided if the government supports the swift resumption of international travel, which will be vital to powering the turnaround of the UK economy.

“Our research shows that if  mobility and international travel resumes by June this year, the sector’s contribution to global GDP could rise sharply in 2021, by 48.5%, year-on-year.”

Regional Tourism To Boost | First PIA Flight from Lahore Lands at Skardu

by Leave a Comment

GILGIT: First-ever direct flight from Lahore of the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airline (PIA) landed at the Skardu Airport here on Wednesday, April 07.

The PK-8453 flight took off from the Allama Iqbal International Airport on Wednesday morning with 153 passengers on board and landed at the Skardu Airport after one hour and 15 minutes.

The PIA officials received and presented bouquets of flowers to the passengers at the airport.

Later, a cake-cutting ceremony was also held to celebrate the occasion.

Gilgit-Baltistan tourism minister Raja Nasir Ali Khan said the first PIA flight coming directly from Lahore also received a water cannon welcome upon landing at the Skardu Airport.

He said there would be two weekly flights on the Lahore-Skardu route, which would go a long way in boosting tourism in the region.

He thanked federal aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan and Pakistan International Airlines for the landmark achievement.

“I promise to take the tourism sector of Gilgit-Baltistan to new heights during my tenure as tourism minister,” he promised.

The tourism minister said flights between Lahore and Skardu would open a new travel corridor for domestic and international tourists.

He said he was looking forward to the flight’s sustainable operation as this would not only promote tourism but also add up to the revenue of the national flag carrier.

PIA CEO Arshad Malik said that the new flight operations would promote tourism in the country.

Onboard Dining | Turkish Airlines Brings Back Full Premium Menus

by Leave a Comment

ISTANBUL: Turkish Airlines has resumed their premium onboard dining and hot meal service, on all Business and Economy Class flights longer than two hours 15 minutes flight time.

The global carrier offers a premium traveling experience and is world-renown for its cuisine and hospitality. In 2020 Turkish Airlines made some changes to meal services on flights, in line with additional coronavirus-related measures. I flew on Turkish Airlines in February this year and documented their changes onboard.

In an interview, the Chairman of Turkish Airlines while speaking about their drastic cost-cutting earlier in February promised to bring back the meals.

Turkish Airlines is now offering full premium menus prepared with fresh ingredients, in accordance with health and hygiene applications, courtesy of Turkish DO & CO.

Tourism Expert & Professional | Aftab Rana Appointed As MD PTDC

by Leave a Comment

ISLAMABAD: Mr. Aftab-ur-Rehman Rana, the founder President of Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan and former Director-General of Adventure Foundation Pakistan, has been appointed as the Managing Director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) on the honorary basis with immediate effect, as per the official notification issued by the Cabinet Division, Government of Pakistan. His appointment was approved in the meeting of the Federal Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 1st April 2021.

His appointment as the Managing Director of PTDC will provide an opportunity to improve the coordination among the tourism industry stakeholders and to bridge the gap between the public and private sector for the sustainable growth of the tourism industry and build the image of Pakistan as a tourism destination across the world.

Mr. Rana is s seasoned tourism professional having more than 35 years of experience in the tourism industry. He is a well-known figure in the tourism industry especially due to his pioneering efforts for the promotion of sustainable tourism, responsible tourism, ecotourism, community-based tourism, youth tourism, and heritage tourism in Pakistan. He has extensively traveled throughout the country and abroad and has vast experience in tourism policy formulation, product development, destination development, tourism human resource development, tourism planning, marketing, and promotion. Mr. Rana is an active contributor to his professional vision at various national and international forums of the tourism industry.

Mr. Rana has worked with public, private, and non-governmental sectors and has done extensive work for the formulation of provincial tourism policies and national tourism strategy for Pakistan. He has also worked as a tourism development consultant with USAID, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and other international development organizations on the projects of tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Baluchistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

He is also an acclaimed tourism educator and trainer and is associated with the National Institute of Administration at Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta as visiting faculty member. He has also conducted many pieces of training courses for tourism professionals and hospitality staff members in different parts of Pakistan and has developed the skills of thousands of works to meet the ever-growing demand for a trained workforce in Pakistan. He has also been a member of the National Curriculum Committee of the Higher Education Commission on Tourism and Hospitality and a member of the Board of Studies of Tourism Facility of Hazara University, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He has also contributed three travel guide books on Kaghan Valley, Swat Valley, and Chitral Valley. He writes regularly on tourist places of Pakistan and about issues of the tourism industry. His articles have been published in leading newspapers and tourism magazines.

His efforts for the promotion of tourism have been acknowledged internationally and nationally and he has received a number of awards including the Commonwealth Asia Award for Excellence, the Trainer of The Year Award from the South Asia Tourism Human Resource Development Project (SATHRDP), Government of Pakistan’s Better Pakistan-2010 Excellence Award in the field of Tourism Promotion, Pride of Mountains Award for the promotion of Sustainable Tourism and Excellence Award in Nature Conservation and Youth Tourism by AFP. He is also a Fellow of Leadership for Environment and Development.

Restoration & Rehabilitation | Work in Progress on Many Historic Sites in Punjab

by Leave a Comment

LAHORE: The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) is carrying out rehabilitation and reconstruction of various religious and historic sites, including the gurdwaras at Rohri Sahab, Sacha Suda, and Nankana, under the Punjab Tourism for Economic Growth Project (PTEGP).

This was informed during a meeting held to review the current progress on religious tourism promotion. Secretary Tourism Ehsan Bhutta presided over the session. Additional Secretary Tourism, Director Auqaf, DS Religious Affairs department, DD ETPB, Director WCLA, Senior Chief Planning & Development Board, Director Archeology, representatives of PTEGP, and other officials concerned were all present on the occasion.

The meeting was informed that the PTEGP had commenced with on-site management surveys of 11 sites including Katas Raj, Taxila Museum, Bibi Jawindi Uch, Darbar Khwaja Ghulam Farid, Qila Kohna, and Qasim Bagh. It was also rehabilitating six link roads, each measuring 34 kilometers, at a cost of PKR 833 million.

Director WCLA stated that the authority had commenced with the rehabilitation of a mosque in Lahore on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. Director Archaeology elaborated efforts in Taxila and Buddhist areas. DS Minorities department apprised the meeting about Mariamabad road reconstruction. Deputy Director ETPB intimated the restoration of four Gurdawaras (Mata Kaue Sahib, Tilla Joggian, Bhai Karam Singh, and Choa Dahib in Jhelum) was underway in collaboration with a US-based NGO.

He added that the department was in the process of finalizing agreements with the TDCP for the rehabilitation of Bradlaugh Hall in Lahore and the promotion of domestic Tourism at Kartarpur.

In response, Mr. Bhutta lauded the efforts of the officials concerned and directed them to complete the projects within the agreed timeline. He also asked the departments to adhere to quality and transparency standards while completing the above-mentioned initiatives.

No Empty Middle Seats | Delta To Sell The Whole Plane From May 1

by Leave a Comment

NEW YORK: The empty middle seat on airplanes, one of the few advantages of pandemics, is about to disappear.

Delta Air Lines, the last remaining US airline to keep middle seats unbooked, has lifted that prohibition as of May 1, the company announced Wednesday. It is another sign of a rebound in demand for air travel and greater willingness of people to resume pre-pandemic activities.

“As vaccinations become more widespread, consumer demand and behaviors show us that confidence in travel is on the rise and customers are ready to reclaim their lives,” said Delta’s statement Wednesday.

Airlines have insisted that even with the planes fully booked, measures they have taken during the pandemic have greatly reduced the threat of Covid-19 being spread among passengers. Those provisions include the frequent exchange of fresh air in the cabin, enhanced cleaning measures, and a requirement that passengers wear masks.

Expanded vaccine availability factored into Delta’s decision. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the company’s research shows that 64% of its pre-pandemic passenger base anticipate having at least a dose of the vaccine by May 1.

“Don’t confuse these actions with a return to ‘normal,'” said Bastian in a memo to employees Wednesday. “We’re still operating in a pandemic, and many of the changes we’ve made over the past year, such as strengthening our cleanliness protocols and eliminating change fees, will be permanent. Importantly, masks remain critical to our ability to safely welcome more people on board our planes, and we remain committed to enforcing these requirements.”

Delta also announced Wednesday that the customers of the credit received for canceling flights last year, which were to expire after 12 months, have been extended through the end of 2022. The same is true of any tickets purchased in 2021 that were later canceled.

In the early days of the pandemic, when demand for flights ground to a near halt, all the airlines were keeping the middle seats open as a way to promote social distancing and increase customer confidence in flying. But most of the other airlines started filling the seats last summer.

Delta’s move regarding middle seats is not a surprise given that the airline previously said it would keep the prohibition in place only through April 30. People booking flights on May 1 and later have already seen the middle seat available for seat selection on the Delta website. The airline has not broken down the cost of keeping the seat open longer than other airlines.