Covid-19 wipes out 100 million tourism jobs

The travel and tourism sector faces a staggering 100 million job losses due to the pandemic, a more than 30 per cent jump from last month’s forecast, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

The WTTC said that it has alerted G20 Tourism Ministers to the extent of the crisis, as they gathered by virtual conference last week. Of the 100.8 million jobs at risk, almost 75 million of them are in G20 countries.

Over 100 million travel, tourism jobs are on the […]

Patina Maldives, Fari Islands, has appointed Simone Broekhaar as Director of Sales & Marketing

Patina Maldives, Fari Islands has appointed Simone Broekhaar as Director of Sales & Marketing.

A veteran of luxury hospitality, Simone will bring unwavering passion and creativity, coupled with over two decades of experience in the industry to spearhead sales and communications strategy in the lead up to the launch of Patina Maldives in Q1 2021.

Patina Maldives, Fari Islands will be the first launch under Patina Hotels & Resorts, a new sophisticated lifestyle brand by Capella Hotel Group, which was created for […]

Buildings closed by coronavirus face another risk: Legionnaires’ disease

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Commercial buildings shuttered for weeks to stem the spread of the coronavirus could fuel another grisly lung infection: Legionnaires’ disease.

Public health experts are urging landlords across the globe to carefully re-open buildings to prevent outbreaks of the severe, sometimes lethal, form of pneumonia.

The sudden and sweeping closures of schools, factories, businesses and government offices have created an unprecedented decline in water use. The lack of chlorinated water flowing through pipes, combined with irregular temperature changes, have created conditions […]

Luxury hotel executives share exclusive insights into the positives and negatives of the Covid-19 pandemic

Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts,  Silvio Ursini, Bvlgari Group Executive Vice President

Which are the biggest opportunities which will arise from the lessons learned due to the pandemic?

The necessity to diversify geographically your portfolio, and the imperative to have a state of the art digital platform.

What are the challenges that will be facing the luxury hotel industry as probably the return to normalcy or the ‘new normal’ will be gradual, country by country and it will take time?

The challenges will be many, […]

Indonesia and COVID-19: what the world is missing

“For every tourist lucky to leave there are millions of Indonesians with no way out” — this was the conclusion of an ABC News report in late March into the situation facing Indonesians during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The report focused on “harrowing scenes” of “rising numbers of people collapsing with respiratory failure” and shined a spotlight on poverty and the strain the virus would put on the country’s health system. The overall impression was that of a doomed country.

Subsequent news reports […]

Labor crunch threatens Indonesia’s tourism recovery

As Indonesia moves to restart its tourism engine, industry stakeholders worry that talent shortage may pose a key threat to the country’s tourism recovery, as the pandemic has left massive furloughs and layoffs in its wake.

Those concerns come in response to the Indonesian government’s recent call for travel trade players to start laying the groundwork for their recovery now, as it anticipates a tourism boom once the pandemic blows over.

Udhi is concerned that the loss of tourism workers during the […]