Orlando has opened many of its theme parks and attractions, including restaurants. Here’s a look at how it’s working. I also have news on new health and safety plans from WestJet, and also from The World Travel and Tourism Council I also have news about DIsney Cruise cancellations and more.
HOW ORLANDO HAS RE-OPENED
A tale as old as time: The Beauty and the Beast live performance at Disney Hollywood Studios.
Orlando is America’s favorite destination – as shown by Expedia data to be the most-searched destination for a vacation from July through December – and is now welcoming visitors with new expanded safety measures. Many attractions, hotels and restaurants are now open, with more added daily, and all major theme parks have now scheduled reopening dates in the coming weeks. The reopened businesses include enhanced safety procedures that ensure existing guidelines from CDC and health officials are followed, as well as many additional measures and formal programs from the industry’s most trusted brands.
“Our theme parks, attractions, restaurants, hotels and shopping centers have worked tirelessly for months to create comprehensive reopening plans, with even more safety measures, to welcome visitors back to Orlando,” said George Aguel, President & CEO of Visit Orlando. “Consumers know and historically trust how Orlando takes safety seriously, and many of our attractions and parks do this in a manner that is not only thorough, but also fun, such as social distancing reminders from Stormtroopers at Disney Springs, or a giant Skunk Ape character who roams around Gatorland.”
THEME PARK REOPENINGS – Orlando’s world-famous theme parks begin welcoming visitors in reduced capacity while ensuring safety is at the forefront, starting with Universal this week.
UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT
Universal CityWalk is currently open with limited operation.. Select Universal hotels reopened June 2. Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal’s Volcano Bay reopened June 5.
WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT
Disney Springs is currently open with a variety of shopping and dining locations. Theme parks: Magic Kingdom Park and Disney’s Animal Kingdom opens July 11; EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios opens July 15 Disney Vacation Club resorts at Walt Disney World reopens to members and guests and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground begins June 22.
SEAWORLD PARKS
SeaWorld Orlando, Discovery Cove and Aquatica Orlando: Reopening June 11.
LEGOLAND FLORIDA
Reopened June 1 at 50% capacity.
HOTELS & RESORTS
A variety of hotels, resorts and vacation homes are now open, from locations near Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort to the International Drive corridor. A full list of Orlando accommodations can be found here.
DINING
Restaurants are now hosting diners in outdoor seating, or indoors at a 50% capacity to ensure social distance measures, and also are meeting a host of new health guidelines from federal and local government and health officials. Reservations are encouraged to ensure a seat.
SHOPPING MALLS & OUTLETS
Several with “open air” concepts – including Orlando International Premium Outlets, Orlando Vineland International Premium Outlets and Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores – have re-opened as well as The Mall at Millenia and The Florida Mall.
WESTJET’S NEW SAFETY ABOVE ALL PLAN
Today, WestJet announced its travel hygiene program under the Safety above all umbrella, detailing what WestJet guests can expect when travelling to ensure their health and safety. The video series and WestJet’s fulsome hygiene measures can be found here.
“Safety, including hygiene and health, is above all at WestJet, which is why the already-existing mantra was selected to communicate our hygiene efforts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Billy Nolen, WestJet Vice-President, Safety, Security and Quality. “Safety is at the forefront of every decision and initiative at WestJet and our efforts on health and hygiene are no exception. As the world continues to adapt to this new environment, we will continue to adjust our health measures to ensure the safest travel experience possible as more Canadians begin to fly once again.”
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, WestJet has introduced a number of safety and hygiene best-practice initiatives based on information from domestic and global experts such as the Public Health Agency of Canada, the World Health Organization and International Air Transport Association (IATA). These measures include introducing both seat distancing and aircraft fogging, which is a cleaning procedure that provides a complete disinfection of the aircraft interior using a hydrogen peroxide-based solution cleaner. WestJet has also implemented temperature taking before boarding across its 38 Canadian destinations.
It is a misconception that COVID-19 is spread on aircraft. With WestJet’s layered approach to health, the aircraft is as safe an environment as possible. In addition to the measures detailed here, all WestJet aircraft (737, 767, 787 and Q400) are equipped with an industry-leading air circulation system containing a HEPA filter, similar to what is used in hospital environments, achieving a viral removal efficiency of greater than 99.99909 per cent. World Health Organization also recently stated the spread of COVID-19 by someone who is not showing symptoms appears to be rare.
SAFE TRAVELS: A GLOBAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAM
Toronto sign at the CN Tower. The province of Ontario is part of the new WTTC Safe Travels health and safety program. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I took part in a webinar a couple weeks ago that was sponsored by TravMedia and featured a top official with the VIrtuoso travel agent network. She was speaking about hotels and new health and safety plans and joked that “cleanliness is the new marble bathroom.”
It was a great line, and, I think, also an accurate one. Sure, fluffy bathrobes and fancy Egyptian cotton sheets are great, but the first thing on most travellers minds when they walk into that hotel lobby anytime soon will be, “HOW CLEAN IS THIS PLACE?”
With that in mind, the World Travel and Tourism Council has created what it calls “the world’s first ever global safety and hygiene stamp,” which is aimed at creating confidence in travellers and helping restore the tourism economy around the world.
Called “Safe Travels,” the program was created by the WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, and is designed to “enable travellers to identify destinations and businesses around the world which adopted its health and hygiene global standardised protocols – so consumers and holidaymakers can experience ‘Safe Travels.'”
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) also embraced the WTTC Safe Travels stamp, which have the safety and hygiene of travellers as their top priority, according to the WTTC website.
Major destinations around the world have joined in, including Jamaica, Turkey, Barcelona and my home province of Ontario in Canada.
INSTAGRAM TRAVEL GUIDE
A view of New York City from a Circle Line Cruise ship tour. JIM BYERS PHOTO
This is fun. A new report from a company called Inkifi shows some of the top Instagram spots in the world for armchair travellers. Note that New York City came out on top in two categories: landmarks and skylines. Fair enough.
DISNEY CRUISE CANCELLATIONS
Disney has been forced to cancel its Europe cruises for 2020.
This comes courtesy of my friends at TravelPulse in the U.S.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Disney Cruise Line has announced the cancellation of its remaining Europe and Alaska sailings for this year.
Transport Canada’s temporary ban on cruise ships carrying more than 100 passengers means that Disney’s 2020 Alaska sailings out of Vancouver will not be able to take place. The cruise line has also canceled its 2020 Europe sailings, including the 10-night trans-Atlantic repositioning cruise from Dover to New York.
The rest of the fleet also remains docked through July. The Disney Dream is scheduled to set sail for its first post-pandemic cruise on July 31, and the Disney Fantasy will tentatively set sail on August 1.
Disney will be offering customers who have paid for their cruise in full the choice of a 125 percent future cruise credit to be put toward a future sailing within 15 months of their original sail date or a full refund.
LUFTHANSA BEEFS UP CANADA SERVICE
Munich, Germany. photo by luis-fernando-felipe-alves–unsplash
The Lufthansa Group of airlines will be significantly expanding its services in Canada and abroad over the next few months. This applies to both short and long-haul flights. The airline is expanding its flight schedules to offer its customers as many destination choices as possible.
In Canada, Lufthansa began offering three weekly, non-stop flights from Toronto to Frankfurt and back the week of June 1. On June 22, three weekly flights between Munich and Montreal will resume. On July 2, the airline will begin operating three weekly flights to and from Vancouver via its hub in Frankfurt. Edelweiss – a leisure-focused air carrier and SWISS subsidiary – is planning to resume service to and from both Calgary and Vancouver to Zurich in early July.
“We are excited and optimistic about the future,” said Hans DeHaan, Senior Director Canada, Lufthansa Group. “Canada has always been one of our most important and loyal markets and we are eager to get Canadians back in the air and travelling.”
AMSTERDAM: A POST-COVID CLEANUP?
Will COVID-19 put an end to over-tourism in cities such as Amsterdam? JIM BYERS PHOTO
I spotted a great story in the Japan Times this morning that talks about how Amsterdam residents want to use COVID-19 as a way to push for a nicer city centre. I couldn’t agree more. I don’t have a moral issue with the sex trade, but last time I was in Amsterdam there were far too many rowdy visitors and loud, obnoxious folks trolling about the red light district.
It’s such a stunning city; one of the world’s most beautiful urban centres, and it’s a shame to see it all shabby like that. Here’s to hoping the locals can turn things around. It’s something they’ve been trying to do for years (as is Venice, which I wrote about recently), but perhaps the coronavirus will help spark a permanent change.
AMERICANS GROWING MORE CONFIDENT ABOUT TRAVEL
The Statue of Liberty. JIM BYERS PHOTO
According to the latest study from Longwoods International, Americans are growing much more confident about travel.
Their latest pool found that 46% of American travelers support opening their communities to visitors. That’s up 15 percentage points from May 13. Similarly, 44% would feel safe traveling outside their communities. That’s up 9 percentage points from May 13.
Almost half of those surveyed (44%) would feel safe dining in local restaurants and shopping at local stores, up from 31% on May 13th. Dining at restaurants, shopping and outdoor activities top the wish list of desired experiences for travelers this summer.
The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, was fielded June 3, 2020 using a national sample randomly drawn from a consumer panel of 1,000 adults, ages 18 and over.
AEROPLAN PARTNERS WITH UBER EATS
Aeroplan is launching a new partnership wi th Uber Eats, where members can now earn Aeroplan Miles this summer when ordering food with Uber Eats.
“As you know, we’re doing our best to create relevance and engagement for our Aeroplan members while they’re staying at home. With our new Uber Eats partnership, our members will earn Aeroplan Miles on every Uber Eats food order purchase in Canada and the U.S. via the Aeroplan eStore,” officials said.
“To celebrate this launch, today, (June 9) through June 15, we’ll be offering an unprecedented 10 Aeroplan Miles for every dollar spent at Uber Eats via the Aeroplan eStore for orders placed in Canada and the U.S. After that, members will earn at least two Aeroplan Miles per dollar spent.”
Aeroplan status members will earn even more miles when ordering with Uber Eats, and members who pay with any Aeroplan credit card will earn additional miles.
How it works:
- Visit aeroplan.com/ubereats
- Click on the ‘Shop Now’ button and enter an Aeroplan Number and last name to be automatically redirected to Uber Eats.
- Complete you purchase as normal through the Uber Eats app or website using a new or existing Uber account.
Food delivery and food security are especially relevant topics in today’s context. As part of their new partnership, Air Canada and Uber Eats will make a donation of 500,000 Aeroplan Miles to the Breakfast Club of Canada COVID Emergency Fund. So far this year, Air Canada and its Aeroplan members have donated over 100 million miles to support important causes supporting the recovery from COVID-19 throughout Canada and around the world.
