Organisations & Operators,

Virgin Holidays has become the latest travel firm to cancel holidays after new Covid-19 lockdown restrictions were imposed in part of the UK.
The tour operator said refunds would be offered to travellers due for departure before mid-February.
Rivals Tui Group, Jet2 and Thomas Cook have announced similar moves in recent days.
The recently relaunched Thomas Cook said it would call customers to offer refunds or rebooking.
Tui added it was “cancelling all holidays in line with international travel restrictions”.

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The travel giant added that customers due to depart from England, Scotland and Wales would be contacted to discuss options.
The company said that customers due to travel from an English airport before mid-February, or from a Scottish or Welsh airport up to January 31st, would not be able to do so.
In a statement, Virgin Holidays said: “In line with the new national lockdown restrictions we have reviewed the upcoming holiday schedule and will be cancelling all holidays up to and including February 14th.
“To simplify the options and to provide immediate peace of mind for customers whose holidays will no longer be going ahead, we are automatically providing a digital voucher for the value of their trip, redeemable up until September 30th, which they can use to rebook a holiday, departing any time before December 31st.”
Virgin added that customers “may also request a refund”.
However, the company has been criticised for failing to issues timely cash to passengers in the past.
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TUI Group has finalised a €1.8 billion financing package led by the German government as the company battles the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The deal, originally announced in early December, involves cash from the German Economic Support Fund (Wirtschaftsstabilisierungsfonds or the WSF), a syndicate of underwriting banks, Unifirm Limited, and the German state-owned development bank KfW.
Fritz Joussen, chief executive of TUI, said of the deal: “Before the Covid-19 pandemic, TUI was a very healthy company.
“The market is intact; the demand is there.
“But we have not been able to generate any significant revenues since March.

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“Our integrated business model allows us to react very flexibly to short-term changes in the pandemic situation, just as we successfully ramped up our travel programme for a few weeks in July after the first wave.
“People want to travel; tourism remains a growth industry and an important sector for stabilising the southern euro area.”
The package consists of silent participations of the WSF, a further credit line of the KfW, guarantees and a capital increase with subscription rights.
The Mordashov family, owners of Unifirm, have made a long-term strategic investment in TUI and has agreed to participate in the capital increase with its company.
Joussen added: “The financial package provides the security to look consistently ahead and to prepare the group strategically and structurally for the time after the pandemic.”
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The president of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) has predicted the Caribbean will see a return of tourism to the region “faster than many parts of the world.
Pablo Torres said this was thanks to the protocols and partnerships implemented throughout the region to help lessen the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Averring 2021 would be a year of recovery, Torres declared: “Tourism is our key to recovery, to restoring the livelihood of thousands of employees in our industry, to reopening our doors, and welcoming our guests.”
In addition to replenishing tax revenues to cash-strapped governments, Torres noted that a tourism revival would refresh and renew “the minds, bodies and spirits of millions of travellers who will discover that the Caribbean is the best place on earth to recover from the ravage of this pandemic”.
Describing Covid-19 as an unprecedented challenge, he applauded the Caribbean’s rapid response to the pandemic, which helped to contain the spread of the virus more effectively than many other parts of the world.

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He saluted the “countless health heroes” whose dedication and sacrifices had averted a great deal of human suffering and have helped to set the stage for the economic recovery the region will be experiencing in the coming months.
Torres commended not only health care professionals but also front- and back-of- house workers across many industries, including tourism, airports and airline personnel, immigration and customs officers, and ground transportation workers: ”You have led by example, providing exemplary services while adhering to essential health safety protocols. We are all in debt to your service.”
From territory- and country-specific Covid-19 testing requirements and stringent cleaning and sanitisation protocols in place at accommodations providers to social distancing and face mask policies and rules limiting capacity at restaurants and other gathering places, Torres noted that the Caribbean hospitality sector has gone to great lengths to protect and ensure the health and safety of both residents and visitors.
Recalling that the Caribbean and its tourism sector has weathered many crises over the years and has always rebounded, Torres described 2020 as a year when CHTA members were challenged to do more with less, including significant revenue shortfalls.
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Officials at the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) have argued closing countries is counterproductive and will seriously delay the economic recovery.
The comments come as a number of nations refuse to accept flights from the UK as fears of a new variant of Covid-19 spread.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC chief executive, said: “While protecting public health is paramount, blanket travel bans cannot be the answer.
“They have not worked in the past and they will not work now.”
“If a comprehensive and quick turnaround testing regime were in place at airports across the country to test all travellers before they depart, it would ensure only those infected with Covid-19 are isolated and are prevented from travelling.
“There would be no need for countries to introduce damaging and counterproductive wholesale bans on UK travellers.

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“People should not be deterred from travelling because they simply cannot find or arrange to get tested at a local testing centre or lab.
“We need to make it much easier for travellers to get a test prior to their journey.”
There are fears the new variant of Covid-19 could spread significantly faster than existing strains, but scientists argue more work needs to be done.
“Travellers pose no higher risk than other members of the community if they follow all the internationally recognised health safety protocols, including the mandatory wearing of masks and regular testing,” said Guevara.
“While we understand the concern and need to curb the spread of Covid-19, the growing number of blunt travel bans are incredibly disruptive and economically damaging.
“We should not underestimate the terrible social impact of increasing isolation and its effect on mental health.
“Every sector of the economy, not just tourism, will suffer – as will those countries imposing the ban as their own economies feel the impact of border closures and the loss of business.
“The tourism sector will be critical to powering the economic recovery, which is why it is absolutely crucial that action must be taken now to save it. If not, it will collapse, and millions of people will lose their jobs.”
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ToursByLocals has appointed travel communications agency Lotus to manage all UK PR activity.
The London-based company is charged with raising awareness of its globe-spanning, unique and customisable private tour experiences.
ToursByLocals provides travel-enthusiasts with highly curated tour experiences in 188 countries.
Since its inception in 2008, the company has connected nearly five thousand vetted guides with 1.5 million global travellers.
ToursByLocals allows people to travel like an ‘insider’, accessing local knowledge and authentic hidden gems on a tour that is unique to them.

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Conveniently removing the guesswork out of researching and exploring a new city, shore excursion or remote outpost, ToursByLocals also economically serves the destinations its travellers visit.
Nikki Hellyer, vice president, marketing, ToursByLocals said: “We are delighted to be working with Lotus to establish a greater presence in the UK market.
“We are excited about inspiring British travellers to explore destinations in a deeper and more meaningful way.
“Our local, personalised tours, led by exceptional guides, provide more enriching moments and better travel experiences for solo travellers, couples and multi-generational families alike.”
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International arrivals fell by 72 per cent over the first ten months of 2020, with restrictions on travel, low consumer confidence and a global struggle to contain the Covid-19 virus, all contributing to the worst year on record in the history of tourism.
According to the latest tourism data from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), destinations welcomed 900 million fewer international tourists between January and October when compared with the same period of 2019.
This translates into a loss of US$935 billion in export revenues from international tourism, more than ten times the loss in 2009 under the impact of the global economic crisis.
UNWTO secretary-general, Zurab Pololikashvili, said: “Since the start of this crisis, UNWTO has provided governments and businesses with trusted data showing the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global tourism.
“Even as the news of a vaccine boosts traveller confidence, there is still a long road to recovery.

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“We thus need to step up our efforts to safely open borders while supporting tourism jobs and businesses.
“It is ever clearer that tourism is one of the most affected sectors by this unprecedented crisis.”
Based on the current evidence, UNWTO expects international arrivals to decline by 70-75 per cent for the whole of 2020.
In this case, global tourism will have returned to levels of 30 years ago, with one billion fewer arrivals and a loss of some US$ 1.1 trillion in international tourism receipts.
This massive drop in tourism due to the pandemic could result in an economic loss of US$2 trillion in world GDP.
Asia and the Pacific, the first region to suffer the impact of the pandemic and the one with the highest level of travel restrictions to date, saw an 82 per cent decrease in arrivals in the first ten months of 2020.
The Middle East recorded a 73 per cent decline, while Africa saw a 69 per cent drop.
International arrivals in both Europe and the Americas declined by 68 per cent.
Europe recorded smaller decreases of 72 per cent and 76 per cent in September and October compared to other world regions, following the slight though short-lived recovery in the summer peak months of July and August.
The resurgence of the virus across the region has led to the reintroduction of some forms of travel restrictions.
However, Europe is the region in which more destinations (91 per cent as of November) have eased such restrictions, mainly among Schengen member states.
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