The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) has revoked the certificate of authority to operate and suspended for six months the accreditation of the City Garden Grand Hotel, for breaking Covid-19 safety rules leading to the death of a flight attendant after a New Year’s revelry held at the property.
Alongside this, the DOT gave a “stern warning” to the industry that hotels used as quarantine facilities should not accept leisure guests and host social gatherings, while staycation hotels cannot be used for quarantine.
City Garden Grand Hotel, a quarantine hotel in Makati, broke the rules when, on New Year’s Eve, it accepted a group of revellers including 23-year-old flight attendant Christine Dacera, who died after being found unconscious in her hotel room’s bathtub on New Year’s Day.
The DOT found City Garden Grand Hotel “liable for the offence of gross and evident bad faith in dealing with clients/fraudulent solicitation of business or making any false, deceptive, or misleading claims or statements for the purpose of soliciting business from clients”.
“Upon investigation, the City Garden Grand Hotel was found to have misrepresented itself to the public as being allowed to accommodate guests for leisure or staycation purposes despite being a quarantine facility,” the DOT said in a statement.
The DOT National Capital Region investigation also had “pieces of evidence (that) showed that even prior to the incident and until now, the City Garden Grand Hotel is marketing packages to accept leisure guests and never indicated that it is a quarantine hotel”.
The hotel, which has also been slapped with a 10,000 pesos (US$208) fine, has the right to appeal within the period prescribed by DoT rules and regulations.
Even before City Garden Grand Hotel’s violation, tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat has been receiving complaints of quarantine hotels within and outside metro Manila accepting staycation guests and allowing social gatherings.
“This is not acceptable and should not be tolerated,” Romulo-Puyat said in a previous statement.
As of January 10, a total of 765 hotels nationwide with a combined 72,547 rooms are listed as quarantine facilities for returning overseas Filipino workers.
Only four- and five-star hotels are allowed to operate as staycation hotels, with only 15 of them in metro Manila having been issued the Certificate of Authority to Operate as Staycation.
Like others in the industry, hospitality consultant Jerome dela Fuente, said the hotel violator was lucky that it only got a six-month suspension and that the US$208 fine is too small. The penalties for quarantine hotels violating terms of accreditation should be tightened to prevent more breaches, he added.
As it looks to revive its tourism sector, Kenya is banking on the Indian market to boost its international arrival numbers in the year ahead.
In 2019, Kenya welcomed a total of 122,649 travellers from the Indian market, according to official data. That number dipped to 25,251 from the period between January to October 2020, as the pandemic swept the globe and forced both country’s authorities to impose travel restrictions.
Now, as travel picks up in 2021, Kenya sees the Indian market as key to the country’s tourism revival going forward. Kenya Tourism Board CEO, Betty Radier, said the East African country’s tourism offerings hold greater appeal to Indian travellers over other destinations. “The Indian market is one that has continued to uptake our tourism offerings for many years. Kenya and India continue to have cordial relations, especially because both countries are bound by both history and culture,” she added. “It is certainly not by mistake that India has been one of our key source markets.”
Known for its picturesque tourist attractions and safari experiences, Kenya’s national parks and game reserves are a major draw for wildlife and adventure seekers. Alongside wildlife and rustic experiences, Kenya also offers up a myriad of other attractions including authentic African cuisine, exotic cultures, breathtaking beaches, and even, spectacular cityscape.
As part of health and safety protocols, all travellers entering Kenya must show a negative Covid-19 test result taken within 72 hours prior to departure. The yellow fever vaccine continues to be a mandate for all Indian travellers visiting Kenya, thus, they would need to possess a valid vaccine card upon arrival in Kenya. They also have to obtain an eVisa.
At present, Kenya Airways operates thrice-weekly direct flights from Mumbai to Nairobi.