Travel
UPDATE: Thomas Cook financial collapse

“These insolvency proceedings do not involve the continental and Nordic businesses.”
The UK Thomas Cook businesses are now under the control of the official receiver who has appointed AlixPartners and KPMG as special managers to oversee the liquidation, and in the case of AlixPartners, to work with the business to assist the UK Civil Aviation Authority on repatriation of existing customers on holiday.
Current information from the management of Thomas Cook…
“Negotiations on the planned recapitalisation of Thomas Cook Group have failed. Therefore, Thomas Cook GmbH is forced to switch to emergency management.
Traveling on the 23rd and 24th of September can not be guaranteed. Any sale of travel is stopped. We are currently finalising options. Should these fail, we are forced to file for bankruptcy for Thomas Cook GmbH, Thomas Cook Touristik GmbH and Bucher Reisen & Öger Tours GmbH and possibly other companies.
We will contact guests with departures on September 23 and 24 as soon as possible. Please refrain from calling our own Call Centres. The organiser Aldiana is not affected by this bankruptcy.
As part of an open letter to staff the Thomas Cook CEO outlines that the company’s nordic and continental businesses were not affect and will continue to trade.
CEO Peter Fankhauser wrote an email to staff explaining that the failure occurred despite “fierce negotiation”.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write this message to you. I deeply regret to inform you that after many months of fierce negotiation we have failed to find the support required for the continued future of the Thomas Cook Group.
I know you will find this incredibly difficult to digest – as I do. However, I want you to know that the team and I explored every avenue and beyond to save this business.
These insolvency proceedings do not involve the continental and Nordic businesses.
The coming weeks are going to be extremely difficult. However, I know I can rely on you all to behave in the same exemplary way you have always done in times of crisis.
Shortly, you will receive invitations to relevant townhalls and team meetings that will be supported by our HR colleagues and professionals from AlixPartners or KPMG. It has been an honour and my great privilege to work with all of you for the past 20 years.
I am so proud of everything you have done to keep our customers at the heart of everything we do; your dedication and expertise is the reason why Thomas Cook will always be one of the best loved brands in travel.
Thank you for all of your support. I truly wish you all the best for your future.”
CEO Thomas Cook, Dr Peter Fankhauser
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Thailand
Thai tourism operators want to offer vaccination-inclusive packages

Vaccination seems to be the great new hope of most of Thailand’s businesses battered by Covid-19, especially the tourism industry. Thai tour operators are now floating the idea of “vaccination tour packages” to attract inbound travellers after the first inoculations are distributed in February.
Sort of an STV with vaccination included.
The tourism plan is expected to potentially benefit those inbound tour operators, hotels and destinations that have been massively affected by Covid-19 restrictions.
The Tourism Council of Thailand president Chamnan Srisawat explains… “The one month tour packages are expected to cost 150,000 baht, including a 14 day quarantine in an alternative state quarantine or alternative local quarantine facility, and include a vaccination cost.”
The idea is, of course, still in the early stages and needs more discussions because there are still uncertainties of travel rules with vaccine certificates. The ‘idea’ also, again, targets the high end of the travel market that even the current STV has been unable to attract.
Chotechuang Soorangura, the NS Travel and Tour associate MD, speaking to the Bangkok Post, said… “Thailand is not considered a Covid vaccine hub as the country cannot produce a mass supply attracting a large volume of tourists. Most people would rather get inoculated in their own country before going abroad as they want to avoid being exposed to the virus while travelling.”
He also suggests that the country should instead promote itself as a “wellness destination and medical tourism hub” (a suggestion that has been made many, many times before).
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
The Thai government threw a tourist party (sound of crickets) | VIDEO

The Thai Government, flushed with the success of their containment of Covid-19, decided to market the Land of Smiles to the world as the safe place to travel. With the annual wet season starting to weaken the tourists would flock back to the S E Asian country that had such a remarkable success containing, then almost eradicating itself, of the coronavirus.
Then they came up with the STV – the special tourist visa which would have the world’s eager travellers packing their sun cream for up to 270 days of Thai tourism.
There were promises of plane loads of tourists and even published flights and carriers. A few flights arrived, most didn’t.
In fact, since the start of the STV, the Special Tourist Visa, with its long list of restrictions and requirements, was floated, along with a re-vamped Tourist Visa, less than 400 people have arrived per month, on average, since the end of October. In the October and November of the year before more than 3 million people arrived in Thailand. Even the government’s limit of 1,200 new tourist arrivals per month was even slightly tested.
The government had bought all the streamers and a pretty new dress for the party but no one came.
What went wrong?
Where was the much-anticipated pent-up demand and people banging on the doors of the world’s Thai embassies?
It was the European winter and the ‘snowbirds’ would surely be back to soak in some Thai sun rays. But no.
The first problem was there wasn’t much for them to come back to. They would have the beaches of the islands all to themselves, they wouldn’t have to wait in line for anything, the domestic airlines were still selling low fares to Tavel anywhere around the country.
But otherwise there wasn’t a lot for them to do. The tourism magnets were a shadow of their former selves. Walking Street, Bangla Road, tours and tour boats, all the tourist strip restaurants. The buzz of the crowds was gone and more than 90% of the tourist-related business had closed up.
Their staff, their families, their bank loans, their stock and investments – all on hold and forced to find come other means to make ends meet. 931 of some of the larger official tourism operators have now gone out of business, according to Bloomberg News. There would be thousands of the smaller family operations that have also been swept aside by the Thai government’s responses to the world pandemic.
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Covid-19 travel pass to pilot on Etihad and Emirates Airways flights

A travel pass for passengers inoculated against Covid-19 or who have tested negative will be piloted on flights for Dubai’s Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways. With the travel pass issued by the International Air Transport Association, passengers can keep control of their data and share their test results with airlines and authorities for travel.
The travel pass will be offered on selected flights from Abu Dhabi in the first quarter, and will expand the pass to other destinations of the trail is successful. Emirates is going to implement phase 1 of the travel pass in April for flights departing from Dubai.
Recently, the IATA travel pass programme has been also tested in International Airlines Group and Singapore Airlines.
SOURCE: Reuters
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