Aruba and Barbados open in the next week, as does Dubai and the Louvre in Paris. I’ll take a look at reopenings today, as well as the Atlantic Travel Bubble in Canada and concerns about Toronto folks visiting Kingston, Ontario.
What’s Re-Opening This Week
The eastern coast of Barbados is a quiet, beautiful place to relax. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I just today discovered a terrific tourism and travel re-opening timeline created by friends at Skift, one of the leading travel/tourism news websites in the world.
According to their timetable, here are some of the key re-openings taking place in the next seven days. Of course, given the tenor of the times, all these dates are subject to change (especially, ahem, in the U.S.)
Here’s what they said about the period from today, July 5, to Sunday, July 12:
July 5: Qantas Airlines in Australia to re-start up to 50% of domestic routes.
July 6: The Louvre opens in Paris, presumably with proper social distancing (especially near the Mona Lisa)
July 6: Non-essential travel from the UK to some Euro countries begins
July 7: Dubai opens to tourism, provided visitors have proof of negative tests or take a test when they arrive
July 10: Aruba opens for international tourism
July 11: Walt Disney World in Florida hopes to re-open (hmmm……..)
July 12: Barbados plans to open for international visitors
Atlantic Bubble Now Open in Canada
You’ll get great views at Around the Sea, a rotating house/B & B in North Rustico. It’s built on a platform that rotates, giving guests a variety of views over the course of their stay. #Brilliant.
I’m happy for the folks in Atlantic Canada, but a little jealous. As much as I love the Rockies and Quebec and Toronto and Vancouver Island and other parts of central and western Canada, to me the most distinctive region, and almost certainly the most fun-loving region, to visit is Atlantic Canada.
For those who need a geography lesson, there are four provinces in Atlantic Canada: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island (collectively known as the Maritime provinces or simply Maritimes) and then Newfoundland & Labrador.
The new rules, which came into effect on Friday, mean that residents of any of those four provinces can freely visit the others without having to quarantine. The rest of Canada? Sorry, you’ll need to self-isolate for 14 days if you come for a visit.
I understand completely why Atlantic Canada is insisting on quarantines for visitors from Ontario and Quebec, especially. But it’s a shame, as I suspect that tourism operators in all four Atlantic provinces could use a shot of income from folks who live in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and other big cities.
We’ll just have to wait and see. But I don’t see any groundswell of support for a change in the rules just yet. Maybe later in July or early August, but not just yet.
Kingston, Ontario: Toronto Folks Not Welcome?
A Thousand Islands boat tour near Kingston, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Here’s an interesting item from CTV News in Ottawa.
After three new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Kingston, Ont on Saturday, there continues to be mixed reaction from residents regarding opening the city’s tourism sector.
Residents like Bruce Baker saying it is just too soon for people from Toronto, which have more cases, to start entering this smaller city.
“My granddaughter is from Toronto and loves Kingston and wants to come and I have to say no not yet. I don’t feel safe having you here,” Baker explained. “And that’s the decision I have to make. It breaks my heart but that’s what I have to do.”
Other people interviewed said they welcome Torontonians as the city’s tourism sector is suffering from a lack of visitors.
“The number one industry has been tourism. We should welcome tourism as much as possible,” said local resident Dimitri Senis.
It’s an interesting argument, and I can’t say who’s right. I was in Muskoka last week for a couple days for a socially-distant visit at the behest of the local tourism board. We went kayaking and hiking, sat outside at tables that were set well apart for our meals and wore masks in public areas (although not on our kayaking or hiking trips).
This past Friday and again yesterday I was in Waterloo Region, about 75 minutes northwest of Toronto, again at the request of a local tourism board. We wore masks on our canoeing trip down the Grand River at the request of the company that had hired our guide, who rode alongside us in a kayak at a safe distance. We also ate lunch and dinner at tables that were set outside and a good deal apart from other diners, and did a walk along the Conestogo River in St. Jacob’s (without masks, as there was hardly anyone around).
We wore masks when we checked into our hotel, and we wore them on Saturday as we toured St. Jacob’s Market. The market had plenty of hand sanitizing stations set up and had special markings on the ground for social distancing, as well as new entry and exit points to help avoid mingling. I’d say maybe half the visitors at the market were wearing masks, but all the vendors had them on and we certainly did.
