Hong Kong is ending it’s two-year ban on visits from Canadians, Americans and British residents, and also slashing its quarantine requirement. The city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, announced during a press conference Monday that Hong Kong on April 1 will lift flight bans on nine countries, including Canada, Britain, Australia, India and the U.S., as well as reduce quarantine times at special hotels from 14 days to seven. Travellers would have to test negative for COVID-19 on the sixth and seventh day of quarantine to end their isolation before 14 days. In addition, all visitors to Hong Kong must be Read more
Asia
By Jim Byers Member, Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) There’s further evidence of a travel rebound in Canada and around the world. Air Canada today announced an expanded Summer 2022 international schedule with 34 routes relaunching across the Atlantic and Pacific. Starting next month, non-stop services will begin resuming from Toronto to Tel Aviv, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna and Edinburgh, signs that recovery is well underway. Service from Montreal to Casablanca, Nice, Rome, Tel Aviv and Tokyo will also be resuming. From Vancouver, Air Canada will be offering service to Frankfurt, Dublin, and Zurich. Air Canada is also relaunching Read more
Two great countries for foodies and travelers on a budget are moving to open for visitors. Vietnam this week announced plans to fully reopen its borders to foreign visitors “ideally at the end of March and no later than the end of April.” “We may be facing a further rise of omicron and possibly other new variants,” Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said recently. “However, with higher rates of vaccination along with other measures, we will be able to reopen the country safely, for the sake of economic recovery and development.” The Points Guy website says visitors will need to Read more
The CBC says four First Nations, along with the municipalities of Vancouver and Whistler, have signed an agreement with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees to start exploring the feasibility of hosting the 2030 Winter Games in British Columbia. The agreement, announced in a written statement on Tuesday, means officials from the Lil̓wat7úl (Líl̓wat), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations, along with the mayors of Vancouver and Whistler will work with the Olympic and Paralympic committees to assess the possibility of making a bid. There are few countries willing or able to make winter Olympic bids these days, which means Vancouver/Whistler Read more
A website called Build Your Aquarium has come up with a list of the most photographed islands in the world. From Bali to Santorini, and Hawaii to Sicily, here’s the top 10.