America’s favourite place to escape is opening for business. Meanwhile, Japan and Sicily will both apparently subsidize tourists who visit their countries and aid in their economic recovery. Meanwhile, both Spain and Greece are prepared to open their doors to some visitors. My Future of Travel blog for May 25.
VEGAS COMING BACK
Mark down the date June 4 for Vegas, baby. And Reno, too.
We’ve seen some openings in Europe and elsewhere, but this is probably the biggest U.S. travel news of the last two month; word that Nevada casinos can fling open their doors on June 4; a mere 10 days from now.
Casinos have been preparing for this day for weeks, publishing updated health and safety guidelines and setting tentative booking dates online to make sure they’d have guests ready to fill rooms, The Las Vegas Review-Journal says.
“It’s been a long two months for us. It’s been a long two months for everyone in the state, but we’re ready to go back to business in Nevada,” said Boyd Gaming Corp. spokesman David Strow.
Restrictions on gaming will be in place, including four players only at roulette, six at craps. Plastic partitions will separate dealers from players and players from each other at the Bellagio, with three at each table. Some slot machines will be shut down to discourage players from sitting near each other, TravelPulse reports.
OFFERS YOU CAN’T REFUSE FROM SICILY AND JAPAN
Kyoto is home to stunnng gardens and temples. But Japan’s tourism slogan is anything but golden. – JIM BYERS PHOTO
I’ve never heard of something like this. But, then again, none of us have lived through anything like COVID-19, and things have obviously changed a great deal.
I read on several reputable websites on the weekend that Japan is willing to pay up to ONE-HALF of the travel costs for tourists who visit.
Here’s what Forbes had to say.
Last month, the Italian island of Sicily announced that it will pay a portion of travellers’ post-coronavis trip costs by covering half of airline tickets plus one out of every three hotel nights. Now Japan is also looking for similarly creative ways to fill its currently empty ryokans, bullet trains and sushi restaurants.
According to reports, the head of the Japan Tourism Agency announced this week that the government has created a plan to boost tourism by offering to subsidize a portion of travellers’ expenses. While details of the program are evolving, some sources say that the program will apply only to domestic travellers; other sources say the program could follow Italy’s lead by extending the subsidy to international visitors when travel restrictions are lifted.”
Both are extraordinary offers. Which country would you visit if you could get a significant part of your trip paid for? I’d be hard-pressed. Given the distance involved, I’d probably take Italy. But I do love Japan.
SPAIN AND GREECE ALSO OPENING UP
Madrid in the evening. FLORIAN WEHDE PHOTO/UNSPLASH
I’ve written in the past week or so about Italy and some Caribbean countries that are opening up to tourism, mostly on a gradual basis. Now I see it’s Spain’s turn, as The Guardian reports the country will reopen to overseas tourists from July, the prime minister has announced, pledging that the government will guarantee the safety of visitors and locals as the country emerges from one of Europe’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns.
“As you know, Spain receives more than 80 million visitors a year,” the PM said. “I am announcing that from July, Spain will reopen for foreign tourism in conditions of safety. Foreign tourists can also start planning their holidays in our country. Spain needs tourism, and tourism needs safety in both origin and destination. We will guarantee that tourists will not run any risks, nor will they bring any risk to our country.”
The Greek government has decided to open its borders for tourists from the Schengen zone, the European Union and Israel, from mid-June or July 1 the latest, according to official European Union reports.
Travellers arriving from abroad will not have to go through mandatory quarantine or test for the Coronavirus outbreak, according to the government’s decision. But, they must follow specific protocols that include the observance of physical distancing at airports. Besides, all travellers must have masks at airports and aeroplanes, whereas they will also need to complete a health questionnaire before the trip.
The item I spotted didn’t mention flights from other parts of the world, so it’s likely North American visitors will have to wait.
CANADIANS WANT MORE COMPETITIVE AIRLINES
A vast majority of Canadians believe a competitive airline industry is critical to the country’s economic recovery, according to a new national survey.
The Nanos Research survey, commissioned by Flair Airlines, also found that Canadians believe providing lower-cost flights is an important contributor to the national interest and making Canada a stronger country. More than that, the survey revealed a strong majority of Canadians support access to flights for under-serviced communities and increasing competition across Canada in the airline industry.
The results are part of a hybrid online and telephone omnibus survey of 1,001 Canadians aged 18 years and older, conducted by Nanos Research between May 17-19, 2020. The margin of error for this survey is ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Three times as many Canadians say they need more rather than fewer airline options
Asked whether Canada has the right number of airline carriers when COVID-19 travel restrictions are relaxed, 36 per cent of Canadians said they need more options compared to 11 per cent who said they need less.
Canadians most frequently say that having a competitive airline industry to help the economic recovery is an important or somewhat important contributor to the national interest
More than four in five Canadians say that having a competitive airline industry to help the economic recovery is an important (47 per cent) or somewhat important (39 per cent) contributor to Canada’s national interest.
A majority of Canadians think that discount airlines play an important role in the Canadian air travel industry
More than eight in ten Canadians agree (47 per cent) or somewhat agree (35 per cent) that discount airlines play an important role in the Canadian air travel industry.
Three quarters of Canadians agree or somewhat agree that they will be nervous about flying until a vaccine is developed for COVID-19
Nearly three in four Canadians agree (44 per cent) or somewhat agree (30 per cent) they would be nervous about flying until there is a vaccine to protect them from COVID-19. Intensity of worry is stronger among older Canadians (84 per cent agree or somewhat agree compared to 65 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 34).
ALBERTA TOURISM: NOT A PRETTY PICTURE
Canmore, just outside Banff, offers a series of remarkable golf courses with great views. This was taken at Silvertip Resort. JIM BYERS PHOTO
As if the remarkably low price of oil wasn’t bad enough, Global News has an interesting report on trouble in Alberta’s tourism sector.
Shelley Grollmuss, the vice-president of industry development with Travel Alberta, said a study found two-thirds of operators have indicated that they expect to lose 50% of their revenue or more this year.
Even if hotels and restaurants start to reopen, limited flights and mandatory quarantine makes international travel nearly impossible, she noted.
“We’re making adjustments to plans for visitors who were coming into the province for this summer,” Grollmuss said. “The Rockies are going to be significantly impacted with the international visitation.”
AMERICANS FLYING MORE
The Transportation Security Administration says it screened more than 300,000 fliers on both Thursday and Friday, May 21 and 22, the first time since March 23 that more than 300,000 people traveled through U.S. airports, according to CNN,
Although 318,449 travelers were screened on Thursday and 348,673 on Friday, that’s still far below what air travel was a year ago, when 2.6 million passengers were screened on both May 21 and May 22 of 2019.
The International Air Transport Association the other day said that any comeback by the beleaguered airline industry will extend into 2023.
Long-haul travel will continue to lag behind and passenger fears about flying in general will contribute to the delay, according to Lonely Planet.
VEGAS POKER COMING BACK
The Venetian poker room on the Las Vegas Strip will reopen on June 5, despite new restrictions that allow for only four players at a time. While many other card rooms won’t reopen right away, Sheldon Adelson’s property will give it the old college try, according to the website cardschat.com.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) recently released guidelines poker rooms must adhere to upon reopening. Among the COVID-19 safety restrictions, casinos must limit poker to four-handed games. That, of course, puts the card rooms in a bit of a predicament, given there’s only a small market for four-handed poker. Most cash game players prefer a full table of 6-9 players.
The Wynn, Venetian’s neighboring casino, has already announced its poker room won’t reopen with the casino. Station Casinos, which owns five card rooms in Las Vegas, also won’t be bringing back poker right away. But the Venetian poker room, one of the most popular places to play in Sin City, is going to try out four-handed poker.
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This is a great update for travel. Everyone is itching to travel and we need to know where to go and who has the best deals. thanks for sharing
Thanks, Esther