European countries reimpose bans on US tourists

The prospect of European travel for Americans has begun to diminish once more as countries adopt new measures in response to a recent surge in US Covid cases. Earlier this week, the European Union announced it was dropping the United States from its safe list, advising its 27 member states to reconsider allowing entry to nonessential US travelers.

Many prime tourist destinations that welcomed back much-needed visitors from the United States earlier this year, have so far chosen to ignore the non-binding EU advice. Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden have become the first to impose new rules.

Beginning on September 4, the Netherlands says the United States will be designated a “high risk area,” joining Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and North Macedonia as fresh additions to this list, according to a government website. While travelers from these and other high-risk countries will be allowed entry if fully vaccinated, they must still quarantine for 10 days. And as of September 6, they must also produce a negative Covid test. Sweden, which had previously exempted US travelers from a ban on almost all non-EU arrivals, has also removed the country from its approved list, alongside Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

Pandemic-battered tourism industry

The country said in a press release the measure would apply to all nonessential arrivals, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, although those with Swedish resident permits who can produce recent negative tests could be exempted.It added Swedish authorities were considering whether to allow fully-vaccinated arrivals from certain counties and would “return to this issue at a later date.”

Italy, which was one of the first European countries to open its borders earlier this year, has also introduced new measures affecting arrivals from all destinations, including the US.On August 31, it began requiring all visitors to show proof of a PCR or antigen Covid test taken within 72 hours of travel, regardless of whether they are vaccinated.

Those travelers who are not vaccinated or have proof of recovering from Covid must quarantine for five days on arrival and take a swab test, according to Italy’s Ministry of Health. It’s unclear yet whether other European countries, many of whom have been banking on an influx of US visitor dollars to help revive their pandemic-battered tourist economies, will also revise rules. Covid cases have been rising sharply in the United States throughout July and September, with the disease’s Delta variant blamed for many new cases.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/eu-bans-on-us-tourists-sweden-netherlands-italy/index.html

The impact of the Fall of Afghanistan on the World Travel and Tourism industry

Its conquest greatly increases not only the Taliban’s prestige but that of numerous other terrorism and insurgency groups around the world.  

From this perspective, the conquest of Kabul, and by extension Afghanistan, is a symbol for anyone who opposes European and American influence and power of what they perceive as the west’s long road to self-destruction.  This symbolism is especially powerful as the Taliban captured Kabul just a few weeks prior to the twentieth anniversary of September 11, 2001.

 The fact the Taliban flag now flies over the former U.S. embassy speaks volumes to people throughout the developing world.  

The symbolism throughout much of the Middle East and the nations of the Silk Roads could not be more poignant.  Due to the United States and its allies abandoning the Bagram airfield some of twenty years after the attacks on New York and Washington, Westerners, and their Afghan allies are reduced to imploring the Taliban for safe passage to the only airport out of which they can fly to safety.  Tourism has long been an industry in which many women have held prominent positions. 

Women in a Taliban dominated Afghanistan are sure to lose even their most basic rights.  Women’s groups around the world not only worry about the safety and freedom of Afghan women but also have noted the silence of the first US female president. As of August 19^th, Vice president Harris has not made a public pronouncement regarding the state of insecurity in which millions of women now find themselves.

From the perspective of the United States and Europe, the fall of Kabul could not have come at a worse time. Western national economies are reeling from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.  

The United States (and much of Europe) is suffering from inflation caused by over-spending. This overspending first occurred during the Obama administration, then continued during the Trump administration and has now greatly increased during the current Biden administration. 

The fact that the United States is spending trillions of dollars of money that it does not have means that the nation is less able to deal with international crises and potential military threats. Additionally, the woke-cancel culture (seen in much of the world as mere political rot or social decay ) means that the west’s focus is on inconsequential internal matters rather than on economic and political threats. 

Perhaps nothing speaks to this internal weakness and its impact on tourism more than the US-Mexico border crisis. This crisis should not be seen as separate from the fall of Kabul.  As perhaps almost two million illegal immigrants cross the US-Mexico border, the nation’s border patrol is overwhelmed and understaffed. 

Not only do refugees cross this border but many of them are ill with Covid and none are vetted.  How many coming into the US, and now once again Europe, maybe stealth terrorists is unknown. 

As crime increases tourism will once again suffer.  Border control agents may also feel the impact of COVID-19. Many of whose agents are now sick with Covid. 

What we do not as yet know is how many unvetted migrants may also be part of terrorist sleeper cells that can be turned against nations in Europe and the United States and creating another 9-11 tourism crisis.  

Possible implications of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan

It is of course too soon to realize the full extent of the consequences of the Taliban victory not only on world politics but also on tourism.

We should remember that tourism is a by-product of the world’s political situation.  Although tourism promotes peace, it also needs peace in order to thrive or merely survive.  Wars, human rights violations, illnesses, and natural disasters all dissuade visitors from coming to a specific location.

Below are some of the things that the tourism industry might expect from the poorly executed US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

1. Although few would argue that after a twenty-year war and the loss of trillions of dollars and thousands of lives it was time to leave, the US withdrawal’s poor execution will be seen as American weakness and ineptitude around the world.  Major politicians from US allies such as the United Kingdom and Germany have called this NATO’s greatest military defeat and wonder about the US resolve to be a world leader.
2. Both China and Russia will applaud the Taliban’s victory and will see the western nations defeat as a way to control the regions natural resources.
3. The overspending on the part of the current US administration means greater dependency on China and the US government’s inability to stand up to the Chinese. This in turn will lead to an eventual lowering of western standards of living and a pulling back of expendable income expenses such as tourism.
4. The control of major resources by the Taliban can easily translate into acts of well-funded terrorism around the world and especially against the tourism industry
5. We should expect to see new outbreaks of violence around the world. China might well attack Taiwan and seek dominance over the entire eastern Pacific region. Tourism in this region can become totally dominated by the Chinese and countries such as North Korea might become emboldened to act in a reckless manner.
6. Latin American nations such as Venezuela might see the Taliban victory and potential largess as reasons to export revolution to other Latin American nations, thus causing a decline in tourism
7. The West’s ability to deal with Iran will be weakened and we should not be surprised to see the Taliban terrorist state collaborate with Iranian hardliners, especially in the face of weak US administration
8. Europe should expect an increase in unvetted refugees who will continue to make Europe less safe and less attractive to visitors.  The result will be a decline in European living standards and quality of life.
9. Due to an unprotected southern border, the US might well suffer from higher rates of communitive diseases and a post-Taliban national malaise. Even if there is not a repeat of terrorism due to the open border policies now in place, tourism might well suffer from the US

Even if there is not a repeat of terrorism due to the open border policies now in place, tourism might well suffer from the US population’s continual loss of faith in government.

Source: https://eturbonews.com/3000988/the-impact-of-the-fall-of-afghanistan-on-the-world-travel-tourism-industry/2/

Asian tourism sees ups, downs in 2nd year of pandemic

From the Great Wall of China to the picturesque Himalayan mountains of India, Asia’s tourist destinations are looking to domestic visitors to get them through the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the Great Wall to the picturesque Kashmir valley, Asia’s tourist destinations are looking to domestic visitors to get them through the COVID-19 pandemic’s second year.

With international travel heavily restricted, foreign tourists can’t enter many countries and locals can’t get out. In the metropolis of Hong Kong, glamping and staycations have replaced trips abroad for at least some of its 7.4 million residents.

Across the Asia-Pacific region, international tourist arrivals were down 95% in the first five months of the year, compared to the same period before the pandemic in 2019, according to the U.N. World Tourism Organization.

New variants of the virus loom — a constant threat to any recovery in even domestic tourism. Warnings of a possible third wave in India worry Imraan Ali, whose houseboat on Kashmir’s Dal Lake is his only source of income.

“Since we are expecting a good influx of tourists, we don’t want that to be affected,” he said.

INDIA CAUTIOUS AS OUTBREAK RECEDES

Tourists are returning to the valleys and mountains in Indian-controlled Kashmir, as infections in the Himalayan region and nationwide come down after a deadly second wave earlier this year.

The “shikaras,” or traditional Kashmiri houseboats, are back on the calm waters of Dal Lake as Indians travel at home. India is reporting about 30,000 new coronavirus cases a day, down from a peak of 400,000 in May but still enough for many countries to restrict travelers from India.

Nihaarika Rishabh said she and her husband were relieved to finally get away from their home in the city of Agra for their honeymoon, after their wedding was postponed during the second wave. The vacation in Kashmir has helped calm their nerves after months of the pandemic, she said.

Ali, the houseboat owner, is happy that the number of visitors has gone up. “We have been suffering from past two years,” he said. “Our livelihood depends on tourism.”

But mountainous areas like Kashmir have seen an uptick in infections as the number of visitors rises, fueling worries about a third wave.

BANGKOK’S BUSTLE GOES QUIET

Erawan Shrine in the center of Bangkok once bustled with foreign tourists and locals making offerings day and night. Today, it is eerily quiet. Only a handful of people buy incense or flowers from the vendors who set up stalls outside.

“We are still here because we don’t know what else to do,” said one, Ruedewan Thapjul.

As Thailand battles a punishing COVID-19 surge with nearly 20,000 new cases every day, people who depend on tourism struggle in what was one of the most-visited cities in the world, with 20 million visitors in the year before the pandemic.

Suthipong Pheunphiphop, the president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, urged the government to commit to its plan to reopen the country to foreign tourists in October.

Currently, the streets are all but empty in Bangkok’s Siam Square shopping district.

Passavee Kraidejudompaisarn, the third-generation owner of a popular noodle shop, wiped away tears as she talked about her fears of losing the family business.

Previously, the 60-year-old restaurant would be filled with locals and foreign tourists, bringing in about $2,000 a day. Now, she said, she earns a little more than $2 on some days.

CHINESE STAY IN CHINA

Strict virus control measures have allowed China to return to relatively normal life. The number of tourists visiting Beijing in June and July tripled compared to the same period last year, while revenue quadrupled, according to Trip.com, China’s largest online travel booking platform.

“I personally feel very safe,” Olaya Ezuidazu, a Spanish national living in Beijing, said on a recent visit to the Great Wall.

But even China is not immune to the delta variant. Outbreaks in July and August prompted authorities to suspended flights and trains to affected cities. Parks and museums reduced the number of visitors to 60% of capacity, down from 75% previously.

Phil Ma felt the resulting dent on tourism at his café in a traditional “hutong” neighborhood, steps away from Tiananmen Square in central Beijing. “It is obvious during the three or four days from the weekend to today that the number of guests has decreased a lot,” he said.

The alley outside his café was quiet, in contrast to the line that formed for a cup of coffee during a major holiday in May.

GLAMPING IN HONG KONG

The difficulty of traveling abroad has made glamping — or glamourous camping — popular in Hong Kong.

Berina Tam and Vincy Lee went with We Camp, a campsite located in Yuen Long, a rural area in the north of Hong Kong.

“It’s actually a good opportunity for us to really, to try to explore Hong Kong a bit more,” Tam said.

Many glamping sites provide clean beds, showering facilities and barbeque sites for campers to grill kebabs and chicken wings. The typical charge is $65 per person a night.

Bill Lau, the founder of Hong Kong travel platform Holimood, said that glamping offers an alternative for those who find camping too primitive.

“Families and couples need to find somewhere to go during weekends,” he said. “If we are trying to recreate the experience of traveling, it must be an overnight experience.”

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/asian-tourism-sees-ups-downs-2nd-year-pandemic-79692304

Tourists, industry in limbo after EU drops US from safe travel list

It is up to individual countries to decide whether to follow the EU’s recommendation.

The EU’s decision to take the United States off its approved travel list, just months after it was included, has upset the travel industry — but it doesn’t bring transatlantic travel to a crashing halt.

EU countries agreed to take the U.S. off the list Monday, in a decision that also saw Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and North Macedonia dropped.

The move means U.S. travelers could once again face restrictions on nonessential trips to Europe, although countries can lift that ban for fully vaccinated tourists.

The “decisive” factor was a surge in coronavirus cases in the U.S., an EU diplomat said. The country, which is dealing with a daily average of 155,000 newly reported infections, had previously been placed on a “watch list” as a result of climbing case numbers, according to two diplomats.

The EU last year recommended that countries put a temporary stop on nonessential trips from outside the EU, arguing that a coordinated approach was crucial in convincing governments to lift travel restrictions within the bloc.

Its list of non-EU countries from which travel is nonetheless considered safe is updated every two weeks, based on an assessment of criteria such as the countries’ health status, their approach to the pandemic, the trustworthiness of their data and their willingness to reciprocate. 

Because the EU’s recommendation is nonbinding, the impact of the decision to remove the U.S. from the list will depend on whether individual countries choose to follow it — something that is not yet clear.

It’s in countries’ interest — and that of the EU’s free-travel zone — that they follow EU travel measures, for the sake of coherence, but “it is, and remains, a recommendation,” one EU diplomat said.

Croatia, for instance, has taken a more liberal approach to travel from outside the EU, allowing third-country nationals traveling for tourist reasons to enter with a negative test or proof of vaccination or recovery. SPONSORED BY CECIMOabout:blankSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

Mato Franković, the mayor of Dubrovnik, said in an interview earlier this month: “You see that things are pretty much under control … even if we have really a lot of people now in all destinations throughout Croatia.”

For the travel industry, the decision spells trouble.

The decision “is extremely disappointing for Europe’s airlines and our ailing tourism sector,” Jennifer Janzen, of airline lobby group A4E, said Monday, arguing that “with the spread of the Delta variant in communities on both sides of the Atlantic, it’s clear that air travel is not the source.”

The recommendation is “bad news” for travel agents, too, Eric Drésin, secretary-general of industry group ECTAA, said. Besides expected business losses, which risk “further fragilizing the companies,” the decision “shows that we are still in the midst of the pandemic,” he said, warning that it would be a blow to people’s confidence that they can travel safely.

Both called on U.S. and EU decision-makers to lift restrictions for travelers who got vaccinated, tested, or who have recovered from the virus.

Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/tourism-industry-limbo-following-eu-dropping-us-off-safe-travel-list/

Covid-hit Swiss tourism receives financial boost

The government has announced a CHF60 million ($65.6 million) programme to help Swiss tourism recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Economics Minister Guy Parmelin said the funds could help attract foreign guests back to Switzerland and boost business tourism.

“These sectors have suffered in particular from the impact of the pandemic,” he told a news conference on Wednesday.

Parmelin stressed the idea was to promote sustainable forms of tourism and stimulate innovative projects instead of attracting large groups of guests who stay in Switzerland only for a short time.

Political experts say the programme, most of which is subject to approval by parliament, is no surprise as Parmelin had indicated that the government was preparing measures to support the Swiss tourism sector.

In his role as Swiss president for 2021, Parmelin also expressed concern about perceived tensions in society regarding the government’s anti-Covid policy, notably the issue of vaccinations.

He made a passionate appeal to citizens to respect other people’s opinions and to refrain from denigration and personal attacks against politicians.

“The enemy remains the virus, not fellow citizens of a different opinion,” he said.

Postponement

In a separate development, the government has delayed a decision about extending the use of Covid certificates to contain a new wave of infections and a potential overcapacity in hospitals.

The number of new hospital admissions of Covid patients was high but stable and it was difficult to assess the situation, the cabinet spokesman said.

The government reserved the right to take measures to relieve hospitals if necessary, he added.

A consultation among political parties, institutions, cantons and organisations had found that a majority was in favour of widening the use of the certificate, notably to sporting and cultural events as well as restaurants, the government said.

Source: https://www.expatica.com/ch/health/sw-covid-hit-swiss-tourism-receives-financial-boost-219219/

Is Now The Time To Ban Travel Bans?

An article this week in EuroNews reported that Belgrade, Serbia is seeing an influx of travelers from India who are arriving for a two-week pit-stop–a sort of ‘quarantine holiday’–in order to be allowed entry to the U.S.

Whilst travelers from India are banned in many countries around the world at the moment, due to recent spirals in Covid-19 infection rates (India has registered more cases than any other country, except the U.S.) they are allowed into America–if they spend 14 days in another ‘safe’ country first.

Crucially, Serbia is not part of the EU (nor the accompanying Schengen area allowing free movement across the bloc), so whilst EU residents cannot go to the U.S. on its current travel ban, Serbians can–as can Indian residents who spend two weeks there (the first week must be in quarantine). The irony is that vaccination rates are lower there than across the EU or the U.K.

Loopholes such as this one have been a recurring theme during the pandemic, with The Economist arguing this week that “most covid-19 travel restrictions should be scrapped” and The Atlantic making a case to rethink current international travel restrictions, which currently “make little sense.”

Many people think that Covid-19 will impact upon travel for a long time to come. Indeed, Bloomberg has launched its Travel Reopening Tracker which will now track 1,538 travel combinations between 40 major business and tourism destinations so that travelers can try to keep up–at present, incidentally, only 20% of those destinations are currently considered “more accessible.”

Does that mean, therefore, that travel bans will be with us for some time, or should they be scrapped altogether?

A new report from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) called Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic has identified possible scenarios for how the world might travel, post pandemic. (The MPI is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the analysis of the movement of people worldwide).

The report states that countries make decisions based upon their risk tolerance, vaccination rollouts, as well as the progression and mutation of the virus but crucially, without working together, countries will find themselves creating exclusive tiers of people with different rights regarding travel.

Meghan Benton, the Director for International Research at MPI states that whatever scenario happens to occur, “international mobility will have to navigate a seismic shift in approaches to border management under all plausible scenarios.” Benton adds that “many countries are looking inwards, focused on reducing the threat of the latest troubling variant, but they need to look ahead and work together to safely get the world moving again.”

International travel has always been a function of wealth–which passport someone owns dictates how many countries someone is allowed to enter (and how easily). Note the increase in applications for second passports by the wealthy during Covid-19, particularly from the U.S. or how travel bans altered the nature of people smuggling routes in Europe.

There is a fear, therefore, that travel restrictions will exacerbate the inequalities in the world–note the additional cost of almost £500 (almost $700) for a family of four when arriving into the U.K. from an amber list country during July because of testing requirements. The Economist believes that “international travel could come to feel exclusive, much as it used to in the middle of the 20th century.”

Arguments for rolling back travel restrictions

Many arguments are given for rolling back travel restrictions by advocates who believe they don’t ultimately work and because they increase global inequalities:

• World Health Organization experts were always loathe to recommend the introduction of travel restrictions during a pandemic pre-Covid-19, as reported by Axios, because of discriminatory impacts and because diseases continue to spread underground rather than in plain sight.
• Research conducted at the end of 2020, reported in Nature, showed that travel restrictions worked when they were first introduced during the pandemic, but then lost their effectiveness over time.
• Travel restrictions are difficult to understand, an issue compounded by the fact they change constantly (in response to the virus and internal, political decisions) and are updated every one or two weeks, making it hard to keep up. New research by the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics found that almost 50% of British arrivals into the U.K.–when questioned at the beginning of 2021–said that they found it “difficult” to understand international travel rules (foreign travelers incidentally said they found it much easier when polled).
• Decisions can often feel capricious or badly managed–such as the U.K. reimposing quarantine on fully vaccinated arrivals from 12 August onwards, if they have had two different doses of vaccine, which was originally not the rule when it was changed on 2 August. (It has been common to use two different vaccines across several EU countries, particularly those who started with the AstraZeneca vaccine and then changed to another upon the advice of health regulators).
• The Economist argues that travel restrictions are only valid with new variants of Covid-19, such as the Delta variant, to slow the speed at which it inevitably arrives in a new country. These restrictions should be temporary and then be lifted once the new variant is established (as is the case with the Delta variant now in the U.S.).
• The Economist also makes the case for universal travel rules, which don’t favor political friends over established scientific facts and knowledge–such as accepting all vaccines approved by the WHO. The Economist states, “the right to move around is one of the most precious of all freedoms. It should be curtailed only when limits will clearly save lives. It should be restored as soon as it is safe. In most cases that means now.”

Ultimately, it is extremely difficult to seek international cooperation on the free movement of people during a global pandemic (global climate change accords give an indication of the difficulty and offer an interesting parallel) and it’s politically challenging to reform existing policies, which have already been rolled out and marketed.

There is also a line of thought that believes that when faced with a resurgence of Covid-19 and new variants (and a possible rise over winter 2021), confusing travel rules and regulations might just deter people from traveling, which might be best in the short term, if not the longer term.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2021/08/15/is-now-the-time-to-ban-travel-bans/?sh=7bcc7dff6004

Unvaccinated People Facing More Travel Restrictions Across EU

With the introduction of the COVID-19 Passport, holding a certificate that proves vaccination or previous recovery from the virus has become a norm in order to be allowed restriction-free entry in several European Union countries.

Currently, the majority of the EU countries keep in place strict restrictions against travellers who have not been vaccinated or recovered from the COVID-19 disease in order to protect public health and avoid an upsurge of infection cases.

As such, in most cases, the strictest restrictions are imposed against those travelling from countries that are placed on the red and yellow list, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

Lithuania is one of the EU countries that has in place a double testing requirement for all travellers entering its territory from a country that is placed on the yellow list. This means that all unvaccinated and unrecovered travellers must take a test before entry and another one three to five days after their arrival.

Just recently, Lithuania imposed a double testing requirement for arrivals from Bulgaria, Liechtenstein and Slovenia.

As for unvaccinated and unrecovered travellers arriving from a country on the red list, Lithuania keeps even more stringent restrictions. Except for the testing requirement, those arriving from a red country need to stay self-isolated for ten days.

Similarly, the Czech Republic also keeps tightened entry rules for all persons who have not been vaccinated or recovered from the virus. – Advertisement –

According to the Ministry of Health of Czechia, all persons that arrive from a red country and who do not meet the vaccination and previous recovery requirements need to undergo testing before entry and follow quarantine rules as soon as they enter the latter’s territory.

From today, tightened rules apply to all unvaccinated travellers entering Czechia from Belgium, Denmark and several other countries.

Except for the two countries mentioned above, the Danish authorities have also announced that persons who have not been vaccinated or recovered from the virus arriving from several EU/Schengen Area, and third countries must follow testing and quarantine requirements.

Travellers arriving in Denmark from a country placed on the yellow list are obliged to undergo double testing, whereas those arriving from a country placed on the orange list need to stay self-isolated, apart from the testing requirement.

Yesterday, Denmark revealed that unvaccinated travellers from Italy and some regions of Switzerland are obliged to undergo double COVID-19 testing.

On the other hand, Finland has decided to ban unvaccinated travellers arriving from specific countries.

Source: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/unvaccinated-people-facing-more-travel-restrictions-across-eu/

Delta Variant Travel Restrictions Update

The Delta variant continues to spread across the United States and the world. As infection rates and hospitalizations increase to the highest levels since most places began reopening for nonessential travel, various destinations are reintroducing travel restrictions.

United States Travel Restrictions

So far, no United States state or territory is closing its borders to nonessential travel as they did in 2020. However, more places are introducing indoor mask mandates, limiting crowd capacity and requiring proof of vaccination to combat what’s becoming known as “the fourth wave.”

Proof of Vaccination For Indoor Activities

So far, four cities across the country require guests to show proof of vaccination to enter certain indoor facilities. The list of cities includes:

• New York City
• San Francisco
• Los Angeles
• New Orleans

Each city policy may have some variations regarding which business types must comply. There may be exemptions for qualifying circumstances in some cases, and a negative COVID-19 test result is necessary instead.

The Los Angeles mandate appears to be the most flexible of the four major cities. The current language allows the partially vaccinated with a single dose to enter.

Some of the venues requiring proof of vaccine can include: 

• Restaurants
• Bars
• Museums
• Arenas
• Concert halls
• Theaters
• Casinos

Businesses may also require proof of vaccination even if there isn’t a local mandate. 

Hawaii Capacity Limits

Hawaii continues to have the strictest travel restrictions of the 50 states. Due to rising case counts, the state is reducing the maximum crowd capacity to 50% for high-risk indoor activities. 

The maximum number of attendees is as follows:

• Indoor activities: 10
• Outdoor activities: 25

Affected businesses include restaurants, bars and gyms, among other activities.

The state requires proof of vaccination or a negative test result to waive the mandatory quarantine when flying to Hawaii.

There are currently no inter-island travel restrictions like in early 2021.

Indoor Mask Mandates

A growing number of cities across the United States have indoor mask mandates. While the fully vaccinated and unvaccinated can visit these cities, the high transmission risk can discourage travel.

Philadelphia is one of the most recent cities to require wearing masks indoors again. However, it is possible to waive the mask requirement by showing proof of vaccination at participating businesses. Some cities may have similar exemption policies.

National Park Service Mask Mandate

The National Park Service reinstated its mask mandate on August 16, 2021, for all indoor facilities and crowded outdoor spaces. This mandate remains in effect until further notice.  

Canada

Canada requires travelers to be fully vaccinated for these commercial travel methods:

• Air
• Rail
•  Cruise

This requirement goes into effect as soon as September, according to the Canadian government.

The travel mandate is more likely to affect Canadian citizens than visiting Americans. United States citizens and lawful residents can only see the country quarantine-free when they have complete vaccination.

Fully vaccinated Americans can now fly to Canada or cross the land border for nonessential travel reasons. The travel policy became effective on August 9, 2021, after a total closure since the early weeks of the pandemic in 2020.

While Canada is again welcoming Americans, the United States continues to have travel restrictions for Canadians wishing to enter the U.S. by land. As a result, Canadian residents must continue flying to the United States to enter but do not have to quarantine.

Germany

Germany is the latest European country to require Americans to be fully vaccinated to enter the country. 

Unvaccinated and partial vaccinated travelers must self-quarantine for the first ten days of their visit. It’s possible to waive the second half of the quarantine with a negative test result on day 5.

This policy also affects other countries on Germany’s high-risk list. 

Iceland

Iceland was one of the first European countries to reopen international travel for Americans. The nation also continues to require all age-eligible visitors for the coronavirus vaccine to be fully vaccinated or show proof of a recent recovery.

A recent entry requirement change is needing a negative pre-arrival test, regardless of your vaccination status.

While the nation has a 90% vaccination rate, its infection rates are among some of the world’s highest at the moment. United States officials are discouraging leisure travel to Iceland until the situation improves.

France

Americans can fly to France and tour the country by showing vaccine proof or a negative COVID-19 test from the past 72 hours. A recent change is that citizens and visitors must use a digital health pass to visit bars, restaurants and tourist attractions. 

Current laws require proof of vaccine or a negative test result for outdoor dining in addition to the indoor requirements most vaccine mandates impact.

Health pass users will present a QR-code the merchant can scan to verify their health status.

Caribbean Travel Restrictions

There are a couple of new travel restrictions for the Caribbean islands that can impact a tropical vacation.

Turks And Caicos

The Turks and Caicos will require eligible travelers aged 16 years or older to be fully vaccinated. This travel change goes into effect on September 1, 2021.

A negative pre-arrival test and health insurance covering Covid-19 remain necessary to enter restriction-free.

Martinique And Guadeloupe

The French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe are currently in a 3-week lockdown beginning on August 7, 2021. Visitors and island residents cannot travel more than a half-mile from home.

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands are one of the last destinations to still prohibit nonessential travel. 

Fully vaccinated can begin returning to the island by plane in September. Unfortunately, a mandatory 5-day quarantine is necessary for all guests so other nearby islands will remain a better travel option.

Starting October 14, 2021, fully vaccinated travelers will no longer need to quarantine upon arrival. Unvaccinated travelers over age 12 can also begin flying to the island in mid-October but must quarantine for 14 days.

Cruise travel to the Cayman Islands will not resume until January 27, 2022 or later.

New Zealand

New Zealand recently stated its borders would not open to tourists until 2022 under current circumstances. When tourists can again fly to the country, they will need to be fully vaccinated but can waive any mandatory quarantine.

Oceania remains to have some of the strictest travel restrictions in the world for nonessential travel. For example, New Zealand recently enforced a nationwide lockdown. Australia also has several lockdowns currently impacting the most popular tourist spots.

Summary

The Delta variant is discouraging domestic and international travel. Several popular tourist destinations are launching stricter entry requirements and health safety protocols to reduce transmission risk but are more lenient than the opening months of 2021 for most places.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffwhitmore/2021/08/18/delta-variant-travel-restrictions-update/?sh=71421aab3b62

Lifting restrictions on hospitality sees record job losses and record job vacancies simultaneously

Pre-pandemic the hospitality industry employed 3.2 million people. This month the Office for National Statistics shows that figure as 1.8 million, a contraction of 1.4 million or -44%.

If more than a million people that worked in hospitality pre-pandemic are now not, why is the ONS showing there are currently 117,000 job vacancies in hospitality?

ONS figures researched in partnership with ESCoE also show at least 355,000 people that worked in hospitality pre-pandemic were forced during the pandemic to leave the UK under Brexit legislation.

The so called ‘pingdemic’ did impact but has diminished, and in the past month as those people returned to work job vacancies continued to increase.

Exactly a month ago to the day all Covid restrictions were lifted, businesses reopened, customers came back, and the attempt to operate without a full team proved futile. Businesses were forced to limit trading and ‘freedom day’ transpired to be nothing of the sort as job vacancies continued to rise.

Why would vacancies rise as business reopened? The vacancies are open to skilled and experienced people, the sort of people that Brexit dispelled.

The exact same people trained as HGV drivers, also ‘sent home’ by Brexit, that today is impacting hospitality’s supply chain to such an extent more restaurants are unable to open.

Just as HGV drivers need to be trained so do chefs and many other roles in hospitality, and that takes time. The hospitality industry needs a constant pipeline of people being trained to fill positions in future. But training people for the future does not fill today’s vacancies, and businesses will continue being unable to trade fully as a consequence.

As was recently said by Professor Peter A Jones MBE FIH in conclusion to his writings in – Key historical issues facing hospitality compounded by Covid-19 – “The only short term solution to the diminishing hospitality workforce is through relaxing immigration restrictions on EU nationals.”

Enabling Professor Jones’ conclusion is an opportunity presented to hospitality through asking government to: “Ease immigration restrictions on EU nationals and other migrant workers with experience of working in the UK hospitality industry, at least temporarily, immediately. This could be achieved by creating a new hospitality visa, or exempting non-UK nationals with relevant experience from immigration requirements.”

Source: https://www.hospitalityandcateringnews.com/2021/08/lifting-restrictions-on-hospitality-sees-record-job-losses-and-record-job-vacancies-simultaneously/

No North America tourism recovery until 2025

Destinations across North America are at different stages of tourism development.

However, one common factor between the United States, Mexico and Canada is that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 have been felt hard.

That is accord to GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

A report, Tourism Destination Market Insight: North America (2021), found that total international arrivals to the region declined 67 per cent year-on-year in 2020 and inbound expenditure by 74 per cent.

North America’s forecast recovery follows the general global travel consensus that domestic tourism will recover first (2022), but international arrivals will not recover until 2024.

Forecasts for inbound tourism expenditure, however, suggest this will not surpass pre-pandemic levels until after 2025. 

Johanna Bonhill-Smith, travel and tourism analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Covid-19 can still be identified as the greatest threat to growth within the travel sector, and in North America this is no different.

“The loss of inbound tourist spending in 2020 to North America was significant.

“GlobalData’s forecast suggest this is not expected to fully recover until after 2025, and this will be one of the greatest factors affecting economic recovery for the region over the next few years.”

One of the major benefits of inbound tourism is spending, which can boost economic revenues, stimulate employment and act as a catalyst for infrastructure development.

Each destination does hold a strong domestic tourism offering, but this cannot be relied upon alone to offset the collapse of international travel.

Bonhill-Smith continued: “Travel to North America from other destinations worldwide can be expensive.

“GlobalData’s survey found that 23 per cent of global respondents have reduced their household budgets in the past year and 27 per cent have ‘somewhat’ reduced them.

“Reduced budgets mean less expenditure on recreation affecting the ability to travel.

“Budget constraints are going to be more important in purchasing travel experiences over the next few years, which could jeopardize North America’s tourism recovery in comparison to other regions worldwide.”

Due to proximity, connectivity and competing low-cost carrier operators, travel between the US, Canada and Mexico can be relatively low-cost, spurring travel across the destinations.

Intra-regional travel will be vital in North America’s tourism recovery.

Each destination already relies heavily on neighbouring destinations as important sources for economic income.

Source: https://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/no-north-america-tourism-recovery-until-2025/