Category: America

Snowy hills without skiers, closed hotels, empty shops. At the foot of the Andes mountain range, the city of Bariloche in Argentina is covered in snow but there will be no avalanche of tourists this winter amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “Today we are closed, with zero activity,” Belén García Bertone told news agency AFP. The 36-year-old is a third generation of hoteliers and president of the Chamber of Tourism of Bariloche. Located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park, set among mountains and lakes, 1,800 km southwest of Buenos Aires, San Carlos de Bariloche is Argentina’s fourth-most visited tourist destination by foreigners. ... Read more

Mexico’s oldest legacy airline, Aeromexico, has said that it has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization, a form of bankruptcy in which the carrier can keep operating while its debts and obligations are sorted out. The airline said “this legal process will not interrupt the airline’s operations” and that all tickets, reservations and bonus points would continue to be honoured, news agency AP has reported. Like many airlines throughout the world, Aeromexico has been squeezed by a decline in travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Aeromexico General Director Andrés Conesa said “the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the ... Read more

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation is preparing for the phase-2 of reopening, starting July 1, which allows for the resumption of international travel. All travellers visiting The Bahamas beginning July 1, must: Present a COVID-19 RT-PCR Negative (Swab) Test. Those arriving between July 1-7 must present results less than ten (10) days old. Those arriving after July 7 must present results less than seven (7) days old. Select individuals will not be required to provide a test: Children under two (2) Children between 3-10, if state or county of residence does not administer tests under that age. Parents or guardians must provide proof of testing restriction ... Read more

The fifth edition of the Music Tourism Convention, originally scheduled for this September in Cleveland, Mississippi, has been postponed until 2021. Due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, event hosts Visit Mississippi, the city of Cleveland and Music Cities Events decided to move the dates of the convention to Sept 29 – Oct 2, 2021. The event will feature tourism organizations, the music and events industry and academics from around the world. “We’ve looked at all of the factors created by COVID-19 which are impacting this year’s event, and have decided alongside our partners that we need to postpone to ensure ... Read more

A new interactive has been designed to help Canadians navigate travelling in a world still plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic. Created by the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable with the goal of promoting safe travel and “to help save the summer travel season,” the map allows users to enter where they’re travelling from, as well as their province of residence – at which point it will indicate where all they’re currently allowed to visit.  Quebec residents travelling from Quebec, for example, are allowed to visit British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatoon, and Ontario, as indicated by a green colour on the map. Manitoba and ... Read more

People who planned to travel to Las Vegas are increasingly having second thoughts about their vacations as coronavirus cases have shot through the roof in Nevada. Members of the Nevada Commission on Tourism met by videoconference earlier this week to hear how hard tourism has been hurt by coronavirus and how to move forward. Steve Hill, head of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said the demand for Vegas visits was higher than expected when casinos reopened earlier this month but a drumbeat of bad news has chilled the enthusiasm. “That information has started to cause the numbers that ... Read more

American Airlines will book flights to capacity effective July 1, the company said in a press release on Friday. The airline said it will notify customers and allow them to move to more open flights if they are available at no extra price.  “As more people continue to travel, customers may notice that flights are booked to capacity starting July 1,” the airline said, adding that customers can also move to another seat if space is available once boarding is complete. American has blocked off 50% of the main cabin middle seats and has been notifying customers if their flight ... Read more

All but one of Puerto Rico’s 18 golf courses and many of its resorts have reopened in advance of July 15, when the island can begin welcoming back visitors. Some of the golf courses only allowed members to play when they reopened on May 26. Since then, the majority now welcome public play, including Royal Isabela, Costa Caribe Golf & Country Club, Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Golf & Beach Resort, Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico (home of Coco Beach Golf Club), El Legado, Deportivo del Oeste, and more. The St. Regis Bahia Beach is allowing public play on weekdays, reserving Friday-Sunday and holidays for ... Read more

In an effort to encourage domestic travel and offer much-needed support to Canada’s tourism sector, the Canadian government has announced that it would be committing a total of over $70 million. The funding includes $30 million towards domestic marketing through Destination Canada, and a little over $40 million towards destination marketing organizations (local tourism groups like Tourism Toronto) and select tourism-related projects in Southern Ontario, Northern Ontario and the West. There are also discussions to distribute funds to other regional development agencies for Atlantic Canada, Quebec and the North. “Our tourism sector and the 1.8 million people it employs across ... Read more

Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading US airlines, announced that its member carriers will voluntarily pledge to refund tickets for any passenger who is found to have an elevated temperature, during a screening process conducted by federal authorities prior to travel. Last month, A4A and its member carriers announced they are supporting the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to begin conducting temperature screenings of the traveling public and customer-facing employees as long as necessary during the COVID-19 public health crisis. As all screening processes for the traveling public are the responsibility of the US government, having temperature checks ... Read more

Texans travelling to New York, Connecticut or New Jersey will have to quarantine for 14 days under travel restrictions announced by governors in those states. The governors put the restrictions in place to prevent a new wave of coronavirus-infected visitors arriving from states where there has been a sharp uptick in cases following the reopening of businesses, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. Texas is one of nine states with infection rates high enough to fit into the required quarantine category, but other states could be added if rates increase, Dallas News has reported. ”We now have to make sure the ... Read more

Expedition cruise specialists Rainforest Cruises has announced conservation-themed Amazon River Cruises in Peru, this year. Guests will have the rare opportunity to participate in critical pink river dolphin research and raise their awareness of conservation issues in the region, said Rustourismnews in a report. Two voyages aboard the Zafiro vessel will be hosted by the Rainforest Trust to promote conservation awareness. A representative from the charity will lead the cruise and guests will have the opportunity to learn about their initiatives and hear from guest speakers from the local Amazon Rescue Centre (CREA) about their conservation efforts, with a special focus on ... Read more

The Bahamas has reversed itself on COVID-19 tests for tourists. After announcing that foreign visitors and Bahamians returning home will not need to obtain a negative COVID-19 test when the country reopens on July 1 to international commercial flights, Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar told Parliament that a negative test will now be required, Miami Herald has reported. “There has been much concern expressed about the reopening of the country to foreign visitors,” D’Aguilar said. “The Bahamas, which now requires a COVID 19 test to enter the country up to July 1, will also require a COVID-19 test after ... Read more

Bermuda is reopening its doors to all visitors from July 1, Forbes has reported. Located only 650 miles off the coast of North Carolina, Bermuda is ready to welcome even American guests, who are restricted from entering several other countries. But there are, of course, conditions to be met. Travellers need to have a negative COVID-19 test done within 72 hours of their flight, wear face masks and practice social distancing at their departure airport and in the flight, and upon arrival undergo another coronavirus test at the airport or their accommodation and quarantine until the results are in. Temperature ... Read more

The Dominican Republic will reopen for tourism starting July 1 as part of the fourth phase of its reopening plan. The multi-step plan saw shopping centres reopen in late May and the reinstatement of private transportation company operations on June 3. Phase four includes resuming international tourism, as well as the reopening of hotels, airports, gyms and restaurants. The Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic has confirmed a series of sanitization and cleaning measures will be in place for reopening. Upon reopening, hotels will be required to adhere to “strict protocols to offer a clean, safe environment, promote social ... Read more