Destinations
A Bleak Future Facing UK International Travel
According to GlobalData, international travel faces a bleak future in the United Kingdom with the government there announcing that outbound tourists will have to make a declaration proving their journey is for essential purposes. If successful, inbound UK residents will be faced with a mandatory 10-day hotel quarantine when returning from 22 high risk countries including South Africa, Portugal and South American nations; GlobalData’s travel & tourism analyst, Johanna Bonhill-Smith said that: “With no end-date in sight for the new travel restrictions on both outbound and...
Industry Needs To Be At The Table: TIAC
The head of the Canadian Airports Council is questioning whether Ottawa should have a blanket approach when it comes to people arriving in this country during the coronavirus pandemic. Daniel-Robert Gooch told a Tuesday Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) webinar that there's a uniform policy in place for arrivals, even though the countries they're coming from may have very different levels of success when it comes to coping with coronavirus. This country needs to "be more nimble in how we evaluate risk," said Gooch, wondering whether someone arriving here from New Zealand...
What’s Next For The Travel Industry
Yesterday was a busy day and the travel industry was the focus of a large part of the discussions. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continued to warn Canadians against any and all non-essential travel, reinforcing that message with a warning that new travel restrictions could be announced at any time. Ontario Premier Doug Ford called for testing of all passengers on arrival in Canada and he also continued to demand a temporary ban on direct flights from countries where new variants of COVID-19 have been detected. In Manitoba, Premier Brian Pallister announced that travellers coming...
Not A Moment Too Soon For A Vacation
If it wasn’t obvious already, the latest research confirms it: Americans need a vacation. More than six in 10 Americans (63%) report that they “desperately” need a vacation after the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data prepared for the U.S. Travel Association by the research firm Destination Analysts. Destination Analysts has also found: Close to six in 10 American travellers (59%) miss traveling “very much” and 55% are excited about leisure travel in the next six months. (Destination Analysts, Coronavirus Travel Sentiment Index Report, 1/18) Close to...
Anguilla Opens New E-Visa Portal
Anguilla’s Department of Immigration has introduced a new online portal, e-Visa Anguilla, to facilitate the application process for visitors who need a visa to travel to Anguilla. The island’s e-Visa portal offers visitors detailed information on the island’s visa requirements, and guides prospective applicants through an easy, 3-step process. Travellers who log on to e-Visa Anguilla can complete and submit the application form, check the status of the application, and receive the electronic visa authorization that must be presented on arrival. Citizens of the United...
Quarantine And Destroy
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is warning that the introduction of new hotel quarantines by the UK government would force the complete collapse of Travel & Tourism as we know it. In a statement, the WTTC said that it feared the crippling impact of the new proposals being considered by the UK government would cause irreparable damage to a sector which contributes nearly £200 billion to the UK economy. The concern follows nine months of devastating travel restrictions, which has left scores of businesses crushed, millions of jobs lost or put at risk, and confidence...
Winners of ‘Webinar on Japan’ Prize Draws Announced
Last Wednesday, Baxter Media and the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) jointly hosted a webinar for all interested travel professionals. We had travel agents and consultants from all over the world in attendance, but primarily from various cities across Canada. Starting off the webinar was a short introductory presentation by Priscilla Portsmouth, Senior Assistant Manager of JNTO, followed by an inspiring video from Air Canada. Next up was a presentation from Adam Waxman, Journalist & a Member of the Advisory Board, Japan Tourism Agency of MLIT, and finally agents got to...
DWHSA Urges Quick Action On Testing Rules
The Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Association (DWHSA) is making it clear that travel advisors who sell destination weddings, honeymoons, and all types of romantic getaways need immediate information and support from suppliers and tourism offices in light of new U.S. and Canadian Covid-19 testing rules affecting airline passengers. Those new rules include presenting proof of negative results from Covid-19 tests taken within 72 hours of departure for passenger arriving in Canada (which took effect on Jan. 7) and the United States (beginning Jan. 26). Lisa Sheldon, president of...