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
Jamaica
This was from a visit to Sandals Royal Caribbean a few years ago. It wasn’t the chilled Champagne. It wasn’t the hammock suspended over the lagoon. And it wasn’t the see-through glass floor in my room that allowed me to peer down into the warm Caribbean. Those were all great. But the biggest thrill of staying at Sandals Royal Caribbean overwater villas or bungalows, the first in Jamaica – and in the Caribbean – was the joy of silence and space; of soaking in my private pool and sipping an adult beverage as the sun dipped into the inky Caribbean while Read more
I love the Caribbean. The weather is fabulous almost all the time, the food is terrific, and the people are warm and welcoming. There’s also a huge variety of things to do. Here’s a look at a few of my fave spots.
The Caribbean has been performing very strongly late in 2021 and is poised for a great year in 2022, Caribbean tourism officials and other experts say. Speaking at a Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association virtual meeting this week, Nicola Madden-Greig, president of the CHTA, said things have improved drastically in the region since the height of the pandemic. “We are recovering, and we are recovering well,” she said. Madden-Greig said tourism levels late this year are roughly 70% of what they were in 2019, which was a phenomenal year for Caribbean tourism. She also noted that testing of travellers in Read more
Jamaica celebrated the launch of Swoop’s new non-stop service from Toronto to Kingston with a special welcome reception at Norman Manley International Airport on Wednesday, December 8. Passengers and crew on the airline’s inaugural Kingston flight were greeted by senior government officials and representatives from Jamaica’s tourism sector, including Peter Mullings, Acting Deputy Director of Tourism, Marketing; Joy Roberts, Executive Director, Jamaica Vacations Limited (JAMVAC); Her Excellency Emina Tudakovic, Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica; Camille Needham, Executive Director, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association; and Dale Davis, Director of Operations and Maintenance, PAC Kingston Airport (PACKAL). “Now more than ever before, Read more
