Category Archives for Destinations.
Greece is already open to Americans. France says it is opening June 9. Spain has said it is opening. Now the European Union has come to an agreement to accept vaccinated visitors this summer, and this is expectted to be passed by member states. The specific re-opening date when Americans will be able to enter without a Covid-19 test or quarantine remains to be set, as countries determine how they plan to verify vaccination.
When I wrote about travel agencies promoting US tour packages to get vaccinated I assumed this was a marginal play, that a few people might be doing it.
However South American carrier and Delta partner LATAM reports this is what’s filling their planes to the U.S. right now.
Australia won the first round of the pandemic, but appears to be losing overall.
Promoted as a VACCation, wealthy foreigners are booking trips to the U.S. to get their vaccines. Even though getting Johnson & Johnson is cheaper (one shot means they don’t need three or four weeks of hotel stays) about 90% prefer Pfizer or Moderna.
New York City is expected to approve rules that would prevent opening new hotels.
This will mean fewer hotel rooms in the city, higher room rates, and fewer visitors as a result. It will therefore mean less tax revenue. It will mean less business for Broadway, for restaurants, for taxi cabs. Even the city’s own experts think this is insane.
The new ban on most travel by non-U.S. citizens or permanent resident who have recently been in India which goes into effect Tuesday is symbolic – porous and giving people advance notice to get into the country under the wire – was meant to appear that the administration is ‘doing something’. Covid-19 variants spreading in India are already here in the U.S. Travel bans won’t keep them out.
Hawaii is considering restricting access to the most desirable areas on its islands for locals only on weekends. Tourists would be shut out on peak tourist days.
Iceland and Greece are open. France says they’ll open this summer, and this was backed up by the European Union. Spain says they’re testing things in May and expect to welcome the world starting in June.
So where should you go, how should you book, and what should you expect?
Spain isn’t just planning to re-open to vaccinated travelers this summer, it’s planning to re-open to everyone in June.
European travel won’t be completely ‘normal’ this summer. Here’s how to think about planning a trip.
A delay of a little more than 5 hours caused a planeload full of passengers to be sent into 14 day mandatory hotel quarantine when they reached their destination.
Virgin Australia flight VA469 had departed from Perth, in Western Australia, enroute to Brisbane. But while the plane was in the air, the Australian state of Queensland where Brisbane is located closed its borders to incoming Perth traffic.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
