Air Transat workers are calling for the Justin Trudeau government to ease travel restrictions. “The airline sector is without a doubt one of the most restricted by federal public health regulations. Our members and passengers must be vaccinated, PCR tests are required before boarding a flight and a test is required upon arrival in Canada,” said Dominic Levasseur, president of the Air Transat Flight Attendant Union. “These measures are extremely costly for travellers as well as for the government. If these measures are not eased out soon, hundreds of jobs are at risk in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. The government’s Read more
travel restrictions
Two prominent Canadian doctors are calling for an end to Canada’s “futile” and “obsolete” PCR testing rules. Speaking at a Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable press event at Toronto Pearson Airport, Dr. Zain Chagla, Infectious Diseases Physician and Associate Professor at McMaster University, said COVID-19 testing at the border doesn’t make any sense. “Travel is no more risky than other activities and there is no scientific reason to single it out,” Chagla said. “When first put in place, Canada’s travel rules were designed to keep COVID-19 out of the country. Now that the virus is here and community spread is 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
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
Australia says it will open to fully vaccinated travellers on February 21. In welcome news for the battered and bruised Australian tourism industry, as well as Canadian and other airlines and worldwide tour companies, the Australian government today (Feb. 7) said it will end a nearly two-year-long ban on foreign travellers. Reuters reports the announcement means that people can travel to Australia from anywhere in the world as long as they are double vaxxed; the first time that’s been allowed since March, 2020. “If you’re double-vaccinated, we look forward to welcoming you back to Australia,” said Aussie Prime Minister Scott Read more
