Category Archives for Destinations.
Malta is giving a new reason to visit: a payment to tourists of up to $261 to encourage the trip, provided hotel accommodations are booked direct.
The country plans to re-open to tourism June 1 and intends to allow anyone that’s vaccinated to enter without testing, or welcome unvaccinated tourists with negative test taken ‘a few hours’ prior to arrival.
All arrivals from outside the state will have to undergo a rapid test at the airport or go into 10-day quarantine. That’s in addition to the required test 72 hours prior to travel, and regardless of vaccination status (even as the state has discussed proof of vaccination in lieu of testing).
The specific date this will begin hasn’t announced yet, noting that it will take ‘at least 10 working days’ to get the program up and running, but it’s expected to start prior to end of April.
Brexit has meant a more decisive U.K. Covid response than in continental Europe, but there are real costs to Brexit as 40 British expats was sent back to Manchester after the British citizens residing in Spain were rejected for entry into Alicante last week.
Thailand’s cabinet formally approved re-opening and you can now plan to visit parts of the country if you’ve been vaccinated in just a matter of months.
Serbia is giving vaccines away free to visiting foreigners this weekend. Thousands of people have “flooded” Belgrade.
So visit Serbia for the shot, stay and visit Belgrade Fortress and Saint Petka’s Chapel. Grab a Rakija (fruit brandy) and then stroll Knez Mihailova. Return home protected from severe disease.
Thailand has approved the re-opening of Phuket starting in July for visitors who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, provided that 70% of its population is also vaccinated. And “[b]y the fourth quarter, the quarantine waiver is expected to be implemented in five holiday destinations..”
Don’t go planning July travel to Phuket just yet.
As easy as most travelers have it going through immigration and customs – most U.S. citizens, anyway, I wouldn’t want to be Indian arriving in Japan – flight crew are usually given even more flexibility. That’s one reason why flight crew make attractive smugglers.
Airline employees aren’t always given a free pass, though.
Iceland is opening its borders to vaccinated Americans tomorrow, but they won’t accept a CDC vaccination card as proof rendering the change problematic.
There’s clearly still a lot to work out in terms of the role that vaccination plays in re-opening international borders, and what proof will be accepted, however that Iceland is doing this – and doing it tomorrow – gives me hope that Greece’s plan to open to Americans this summer will hold, and that other countries will join as well.
Thailand is expected to roll out ‘vaccine passports’ this month, but this would only allow those who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 to reduce their required quarantine from 14 days to 7 days.
Two popular resort areas are planning to re-open fully to vaccinated tourists by October, though: Phuket and Koh Samui.
China has announced its first ‘vaccine passport’ policy reducing restrictions for people traveling from Hong Kong to mainland China but only for people who have had Chinese-made vaccines. The 50% effective Sinovac vaccine qualifies, while vaccines from the West do not.
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 »
