Category: America

Airlines for America (A4A) – the industry trade organization representing the leading US airlines – has welcomed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to adopt the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standard for future aircraft. EPA’s proposal to adopt the ICAO standard will further enable US airlines to meet the industry’s goals to achieve carbon neutral growth in the near term and to cut net carbon emissions in half in 2050 relative to 2005 levels. The standard, which takes into account safety, technological feasibility and environmental benefit, applies to new models of commercial ... Read more

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is offering free admissions for US military veterans and their families to safely visit its SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld San Antonio, and Busch Gardens Tampa parks. The US military veterans and retirees can redeem their complimentary single-day ticket(s), valid through November 11, for themselves and up to three friends or family members online at www.WavesofHonor.com. This offer will be valid at SeaWorld San Diego and Busch Gardens Williamsburg upon the parks’ reopening. In addition to enhancing the parks’ already strict health and safety measures, capacity at each park is carefully limited to create even more open space for guests to enjoy ... Read more

Like governors in at least 15 states of the USA, New Mexico’s governor Lujan Grisham has ordered out-of-state tourists to self-isolate, citing data that about one in 10 of the state’s spiking COVID-19 cases comes from visitors. According to a Reuters report, enforcing the orders is proving difficult, given the lack of a national plan, police reluctance to take on the massive task, and Americans’ penchant for driving hundreds or thousands of miles to vacation, even in a pandemic. A US road trip this summer means navigating through a patchwork of quarantine regulations across various states, most of them voluntary. ... Read more

In an effort to persuade more travellers to visit a portion of Eastern Montana, a coalition is seeking improvement to facilities along a 163-mile stretch of the Yellowstone River between Hysham and the North Dakota border. The 12-member Lower Yellowstone River Coalition — composed of business people, conservationists, politicians and recreation-minded individuals — sees the initiative as a way to boost tourism at a time when outdoor recreation is surging amongst a pandemic-anxious public, Billings Gazette has reported. “Outdoor recreation along the Yellowstone has not been promoted, nor seen its potential fully developed east of Billings, and it’s time to improve that situation ... Read more

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, has warned that tourism entities that fail to comply with health and safety protocols designed to facilitate the phased reopening of the tourism sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic, will be shut down. Speaking at the Golf View Hotel in Manchester, during a tour of the newly opened South Coast Resilient Corridor on the weekend, the Minister stressed that: “If you are not COVID compliant we are going to shut you down and whether you’re big or you’re small, because we cannot compromise on health security.” Minister Bartlett said: “The start of the South Coast ... Read more

As Canada’s COVID-19 infections and deaths moderate, the explosion of new cases in the United States presents a challenge for Canadian authorities who must deal with both unwanted tourists slipping through the border and legitimate travellers who break the strict quarantine laws. The problem is compounded by a recent jump in crossings. More than 187,000 truck drivers and individuals entered last week from the US, a 30% increase over the end of May, according to news agency Reuters. While the border has been closed to non-essential travel since March 21, returning Canadians, essential workers and truckers, foreigners coming for family ... Read more

Delta Air Lines told pilots on Friday that it would avoid furloughs if they agreed to reduced guaranteed minimum pay, according to a memo seen by Reuters. Delta is still struggling due to a dramatic decline in travel demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This week it reported second quarter revenue fell 91 per cent and a US$3.9 billion adjusted pre-tax loss. The airline is working to further cut costs and more than 17,000 employees are taking voluntary departure packages, including more than 1,700 of 7,900 pilots ahead of a Sunday deadline for pilots to accept voluntary packages, Reuters said ... Read more

Radisson has announced the opening of its new property near the Atlanta Airport. The hotel named Radisson Hotel Atlanta Airport is located just minutes from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and a short drive from downtown Atlanta. Guests can enjoy access to a complimentary 24-hour airport shuttle, unique dining experiences at the hotel’s onsite restaurant, ample meeting space and modern amenities. With the health, safety and security of guests and team members as its utmost priority, the hotel has begun implementing the Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol program. “We couldn’t be prouder to open this incredible hotel near one of the ... Read more

Hawaii has decided to delay reopening its tourism sector for another month. It will now open on September 1. The move comes in the wake of the rising Coronavirus cases in the Aloha State. It was earlier decided to allow tourists into Hawaii from August 1. Hawaii Governor David Ige stated that all travellers who enter the state, even those who have tested negative for coronavirus, will be undergoing a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The previous plan was to allow tourists, who have tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of entering Hawaii, to bypass the mandatory 14-day quarantine starting from ... Read more

Many leading companies in the travel and tourism industries were ranked high on the Disability Equality Index’s (DEI) list for their level of disability workplace inclusion. According to the DEI’s ‘Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion list’, major brands in the aviation, cruise, hotel and theme park industries all scored a perfect 100 in this year’s rankings. Airlines such as American, Delta, Southwest and United all finished at the top of the list, while Royal Caribbean International was the only cruise line to reach a perfect score, Travel Pulse reported. As for the hospitality industry, Choice Hotels International and Marriott International both ... Read more

With many tourists putting a halt on travelling, the economy in the state of Nebraska has been affected. During crane season, boardwalks and pathways surrounding Rowe Sanctuary are normally packed, but due to COVID-19 this year, they haven’t seen the number of visitors they normally would, Nebraska TV reports. “Well during crane season, you’d normally see 25 to 30 thousand through the door in six weeks,” said the Director for the Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary Bill Taddicken. As COVID-19 swept the nation, Taddicken said they were barely open for one week before having to shut down. “It’s been a ... Read more

As Michigan hits its peak tourism months, owners of resorts and restaurants are saying a quiet prayer. They have immense concerns on what lies ahead and many say they have one goal for 2020: survival. According to a report by CBS News, many tourism entrepreneurs are still optimistic about the summer, although business was down in June compared to last year. A few of them are finding it difficult to budget their business without knowing what’s ahead. “Everybody knows this will not be a year to thrive, it’ll be a year simply to survive as a business,” said Dave Lorenz, ... Read more

California has clamped new restrictions on businesses as coronavirus cases and hospitalisations soared, forcing the governor to close all popular entertainment destinations. Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, ordered bars closed and restaurants, movie theatres, zoos and museums across the nation’s most populous state to cease indoor operations. Gyms, churches and hair salons must also close in the 30 hardest-hit counties, Reuters reported. “It’s incumbent upon all of us to recognize soberly that COVID-19 is not going away any time soon, until there is a vaccine and/or an effective therapy,” Newsom said at a news briefing. The governor called the move ... Read more

More than 500 Nicaraguan workers in the tourism and hotel industry, who have lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 health crisis, have been stranded for more than three months in the Cayman Islands,  because of the government’s refusal to allow them their right to return home, says a report by Confidencial, a leading weekly newspaper. “We want to return to our homeland; it is our constitutional right. We are out of work, and we are surviving thanks to the good heart of the government and the people of the Cayman Islands who have been supporting us”, said Earny Atly, ... Read more

United Airlines has warned that 36,000 employees, nearly half its US staff, could be furloughed in October in a clear indication of how deeply the virus pandemic is hurting the airline industry. The outlook for a recovery in the airline industry has dimmed in just the past two weeks, as infection rates rise in the US and some states impose new quarantine requirements on travellers, according to a PTI report. Airlines say they must shrink to match falling travel demand. American Airlines executives have said they could have 20,000 more employees than the airline will need this fall. United told ... Read more