The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is urging governments to accelerate relaxation of travel restrictions as COVID-19 continues to evolve from the pandemic to endemic stage. IATA this week called for removing all travel barriers (including quarantine and testing) for those fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine, enabling quarantine-free travel for non-vaccinated travelers with a negative pre-departure antigen test result, removing travel bans, and accelerating the easing of travel restrictions in recognition that travelers pose no greater risk for COVID-19 spread than already exists in the general population. “With the experience of the Omicron variant, there is mounting scientific evidence Read more
Canada
To kick off the new year, Vrbo® has released its top drive-to destinations for 2022 based on vacation rental demand. Vrbo is the vacation rental site and app, part of the Expedia Group Brands, where families and travellers can book cottages, condos, waterfront properties and every space in between. With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, an increase in flight disruptions and cancellations, and changing international travel restrictions, families are again opting for domestic road trip destinations within a few hours’ drive from home. Vrbo’s top drive-to destinations from major city areas across Canada include [1]: From Toronto: Collingwood, Ontario Read more
TRAVEL NOTEBOOK JANUARY 25, 2021: Great Britain and Australia easing travel rules, Calgary hotel owners cry for help, and American travel confidence grows. My first item of the day is a very big story out of Great Britain. Associated Press reports that the British government announced Monday “that it is scrapping coronavirus testing requirements for vaccinated people arriving in England, news hailed by the travel industry as a big step back to normality.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the move is being made “to show that this country is open for business, open for travelers. You will see changes so Read more
Many of us in the travel industry can feel it; that sense of pent-up travel demand. And now we’re seeing proof. Canadian government statistics show that 742,400 Canadians flew back into the country via Canadian airports in December of last year. That’s nearly 70% of the pre–pandemic figure of 1.1 million from 2019. It’s also nearly eight times more than the 93,800 Canadian travellers in December of 2020. Tour companies and cruise ship owners are bumping up their public relations efforts of late, sensing a soon-to-arrive boost in travel. Conventions and meetings are coming back in some parts of the Read more
If you’re a Canadian who hoped to drive to Florida this winter, you better have your proof of vaccination. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security quietly issued a statement on Thursday that, starting today (Jan. 22, 2022), it will require non-U.S. individuals seeking to enter the United States via land ports of entry and ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination. These new restrictions will apply to non-U.S. individuals who are traveling for both essential and non-essential reasons. They will not apply to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, or U.S. nationals. The U.S. requires proof of a negative COVID test taken within a day Read more
