Air Canada today announced a strategic expansion of its South Pacific schedule with the return of daily service to Sydney and resumption of services to both Brisbane and Auckland. Air Canada’s Australia and New Zealand flights operate from its trans-Pacific hub at Vancouver International Airport. which the carrier has built to conveniently connect its international network to its vast North American network. Seats are available for purchase now at aircanada.com, via the Air Canada App, Air Canada’s Contact Centres, and travel agents. Australia re-opened its borders last month. New Zealand on Monday said they’ll reopen to international visitors from visa Read more
Australia/New Zealand/PAC
The New Zealand Government today (March 16, 2022) announced the country’s borders will reopen on May 1 at 11:59 pm allowing international manuhiri (visitors) from visa waiver countries, including Canada and the U.S., to travel to Aotearoa (New Zealand) without needing to self-isolate on arrival. From May 1 travelers will be able to travel to New Zealand without self-isolation on provision of a negative pre-departure test. Vaccinated Australians will be allowed to enter without needing to isolate on arrival from 11:59 p.m. on April 12, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Wednesday in Wellington, Yahoo Finance reports. The country will open Read more
By Jim Byers Member, Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) After nearly two years of closed borders and virtually no tourism, Australia is flinging open the doors to visitors on Monday, Feb. 21. It’s a momentous occasion for a country that has always placed a high value on attracting tourists. “There is no doubt that a full recovery will take time, but we are confident that the demand for Australia is strong,” Phillipa Harrison, the managing director of Tourism Australia, the country’s tourism board, told The New York Times. The Times said tourism was one of the fastest growing sectors Read more
Switzerland is easing travel restrictions on Thursday, making it much easier for Canadians and others to visit. Swiss tourism officials tell me that fully vaccinated Canadians (vaccinated within the last 270 days) may enter Switzerland. They no longer need a Swiss Covid Certificate or a Passenger Locator Form. There are no more mask requirements in shops, restaurants or other public settings, such as event spaces, and there are no more restrictions on private gatherings. Masks are required for public transportation and health institutions until March 31. NEW HEAD HONCHO AT WESTJET Alexis von Hoensbroech is officially the new CEO at Read more
Australia today said it will open to fully vaccinated visitors as of Feb. 21. New Zealand has a plan to welcome foreign travellers over the next six months or so. And then there’s Canada, which continues to treat the tourism and travel industry like some kind of pariah. While other countries recognize the value of travel and tourism to their economies, Canada continues its over-the-top testing regulations, which discourage Canadians from travelling abroad and also discourage visitors from spending their money in Canadian cities and towns that are desperate for tourism dollars. WestJet last month clipped its flight schedule by Read more
