The Week That Was…

RECAP: We bring to you a quick summary of top news of the last week from India’s travel & tourism industry and beyond:

Monumental silence across India’s tourist landmarks: HT

As tourism came to a grinding halt in India due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Hindustan Times reported that Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra are among the states where tourism has been hit hardest during the lockdown.

India’s badly hit travel, tourism and hospitality sector is staring at a potential job loss of around 38 million, which is around 70% of the total workforce, according to KPMG, reported the Hindu.

KPMG says that the sector faces the big question of its survival and many believe this crisis is a greater threat than the earlier ones such as 9/11 and the financial meltdown of 2008-09.

India’s Ministry of Tourism stated last week that 1,194 foreign tourists till April 9 have have been assisted through its recently launched website strandedinIndia.com.

The website has been launched with the objective to offer support to the tourists stranded in India due to the lockdown amid the Coronavirus crisis.

In other top news, last week India agreed to supply anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine or HCQ to the US, Brazil and other countries that had demanded the medicine considered effective in the treatment of Coronavirus patients. India accounts for 80-85% of the global supply of the medicine.

In the week gone by, some states such Odisha, West Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana,Tamilnadu and Puducherry decided to extend their state-level lockdowns till 30th of this month amid all all indications that the national lockdown, that was to end on 14 April, will also be extended till 30 April. Earlier PM Narendra Modi held a meeting with chief ministers through video conferencing, in which a broad consensus emerged that the national lockdown should be extended till April 30th April. In the meeting the PM hinted that some restrictions may be tweaked to allow some economic activities.

Hinduism Times reported that Union ministers and all senior officials would resume going to office from Monday. Amid indications that the Union government was set extend the lockdown, PM Modi asked all ministers to start working from office from Monday.