Destinations
Laying The Foundations For Recovery
Canada’s ministers of tourism were hosted by the honourable Mélanie Joly and the honourable Caroline Wawzonek -- Co-Chairs of the Canadian Council of Tourism Ministers (CCTM) – for a virtual meeting designed to continue the dialogue and collaboration that has taken place amongst the CCTM since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. New Brunswick was not able to attend the meeting due to the provincial election being held in the province. The ministers recognized that the travel and tourism sector is one of the most heavily impacted sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic. According...
Tourism Ireland Makes Changes
Tourism Ireland is making some changes at its offices in Toronto and New York. Dana Welch will be taking on the role of Vice President Marketing, USA, and will lead the Trade & Industry and Publicity teams. Welch will relocate from Toronto -- where she has successfully led Tourism Ireland’s operations in Canada as Marketing Manager since 2014, and delivered strong growth – to New York. Prior to joining Tourism Ireland Welch held the position of Senior Marketing Manager at Cineplex Entertainment in Toronto. Here in Canada, Sandra Moffatt has been appointed to the...
Quintana Roo Continues Its Reopening
The state of Quintana Roo has updated its epidemiological traffic light system in the northern region of the state to yellow, allowing for more public spaces to reopen. Governor Carlos Joaquín González announced the move that applies to the northern region of the state of Quintana Roo, which includes Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Riviera Maya, Isla Mujeres, Costa Mujeres, Puerto Morelos and Holbox. However, the state’s southern region will remain orange. This transition is mainly due to two key factors: the decrease in active cases of COVID-19 and...
When Will The Domestic Travel Recovery Begin?
In Canada, we have now completed our fifth month of fighting COVID-19, while we wait on a possible vaccine and try to establish the “new normal.” Our border to the US remains understandably closed, while our federal government takes no progressive action in opening our air borders to “safe” countries such as the EU Schengen countries, and most of us in the travel industry are trying to stay optimistic about the future, despite all the obvious encumbrances. For Canadian hoteliers, we have all been hoping for a resumption of domestic short haul travel as most of the country...
Staying Safe And Sound In Dominica
The director of tourism for Dominica says visiting Canadians needn't fear that a Dominica vacation will be a confining experience during these days of the coronavirus pandemic. Colin Piper told a Sept. 4 webinar that Dominica has placed Canada into the "medium" category when it comes to ranking countries on how well they've handled the pandemic. "Even as a medium classified country ... you do have a lot of freedom (when visiting Dominica)," Piper said, adding there's no need for Canadians to "despair... "We're keeping you safe and sound." Dominica reopened to international...
Looking Forward In The Bahamas
The Bahamas Minister of Tourism & Aviation, Dionisio D’Aguilar unveiled additional details of the forward-looking recovery and reopening plan for The Islands of The Bahamas. D’Aguilar reiterated the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism’s commitment to revitalizing the country’s tourism industry while emphasizing that the health and wellbeing of citizens, residents and visitors of The Bahamas remain paramount. Beginning Oct. 15, The Bahamas will enter Phase 3 of the Tourism Readiness & Recovery Plan ahead of the busy holiday season, which will include the reopening of beaches...
St. Kitts & Nevis Gets CDC Upgrade
In its latest update on travel recommendations by destination, the CDC has upgraded St. Kitts & Nevis COVID-19 Risk Assessment Level as “No Travel Health Notice: COVID-19 Risk is Very Low.” The CDC’s assessment classification reinforces that St. Kitts & Nevis is among the safest destinations worldwide for individuals considering travel at this time. St. Kitts & Nevis is one of only 10 Caribbean countries to have this CDC classification. The Hon. Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism & Transport, said that: “The recent assessment by the CDC is a...
Easing Restrictions, But With Extreme Caution
According to the UNWTO, in the seventh edition of its ‘COVID-19 Related Travel Restrictions: A Global Review for Tourism,’ 53% of destinations around the world have now begun to ease travel restrictions that were introduced in response to the global pandemic. And while many of those destinations remain cautious in view of the development of the pandemic, there is an ongoing trend towards the gradual restart of tourism. Up to Sept. 1, research carried out by the UNWTO found that a total of 115 destinations (53% of all destinations worldwide) have eased travel restrictions, an...