Destinations
Tianguis Is Back This Fall
The Yucatan city of Merida will host Mexico's annual tourism show Tianguis this fall. Mexican Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco Marqués, and the governor of the state of Yucatán, Mauricio Vila Dosal, announced that to carry out a bio-healthy and safe Tianguis Turistico the event will be held in Merida from Nov. 21-24. The decision to move the 45th edition of Mexico’s largest tourism event from September to November was made to ensure the destination and the locations that will host Tianguis events are following the latest sanitary measures set by health officials, and allow for...
Spain Set To Reopen June 7
Spain has announced that it will allow all fully vaccinated travellers to visit the country starting June 7, regardless of their country of origin. From June 7, 2021 tourists from all over the world will be able to travel to Spain, provided they are fully vaccinated at least 14 days before entering the country. Those travellers must also have an official vaccination certificate, which must be issued in English or Spanish and be printed on paper. The announcement notes that travellers must be fully vaccinated with any of the vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency...
ACTA Wants Everyone To Get Involved In Operation Survival
Over 800 storefront agencies across Canada are now closed permanently. Most travel agencies and travel agents continue to see a revenue decline of 95%. And more than 90% of travel agents are still on CRB or EI. In this environment, ACTA is launching Operation Survival and asking everyone to get involved. ACTA president, Wendy Paradis warns that: “Government subsidies start to taper off this summer and will end by September if the industry’s cry for sector specific aid is not heard.” Should this happen, Paradis makes it clear that: “This will have tragic consequences...
Uniworld Ready To Set Sail On June 20
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises will resume cruising on June 20, 2021, debuting its recently transformed Super Ship S.S. La Venezia in Italy. Cruises will restart in France shortly after Italy, with first departures for S.S. Bon Voyage on June 27, S.S. Joie de Vivre on July 4 and S.S. Catherine on July 11. This announcement follows the news that Italy and France will reopen their borders for international travellers in June. Ellen Bettridge, president & CEO of Uniworld, said: “We’ve been waiting for this moment and are beyond thrilled to be back on the rivers, welcoming...
An Important Step Towards A ‘More Normal’
The European Council’s Permanent Representative Committee (Coreper) has given its support to the agreement reached with the European parliament on May 20 on the EU digital COVID certificate. The aim is to facilitate safe and free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing proof that a person has either been vaccinated against COVID-19, received a negative test result or recovered from COVID-19. The certificate -- which will be in use by July 1 -- will be available in digital and paper format, contain a QR code and be issued free of charge. Coreper said in a statement...
Hong Kong Preparing To Step Up Promotions
Hong Kong is preparing to step up its promotions, with plans to launch a new round of the Hong Kong Neighbourhoods campaign and it’s hopeful that it can relaunch mega-events in physical formats to prepare for tourism’s recovery. That was just some of the news that came out of the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s (HKTB) annual Tourism Update event which was held online and featured discussions of tourism trends and the sharing of details of the HKTB's latest strategic plans. About 2,700 trade representatives from Hong Kong, Mainland and overseas travel agencies, attractions, hotels,...
Unlocking The Door To International Travel
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) says that the ‘EU Digital COVID Certificate’ could be the key to unlocking the door to international travel. Virginia Messina, senior vice president of WTTC said: “WTTC welcomes the agreement reached on the EU Digital COVID Certificate, which has now been given the green light by all member states. This new certificate could be the key to unlocking international travel and save thousands of businesses and millions of jobs across Europe and beyond.” Messina continued: “It will see all 27 member states welcoming vaccinated...
The Future Is Changing For Corporate Events
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) has released the findings from a study into organizations corporate meetings and events strategy as a result of the pandemic. The study -- made possible by Cvent -- examines how US and Canada-based travel meetings and events planners are managing their corporate meetings in the year ahead, the impact of COVID-19 on their events and the use of technology to enhance the delegate experience. Key findings from the study include: Number of hybrid meetings set to double in 2021 -- The workplace in 2020 will be remembered for virtual...