Category: America

Costa Rica’s government will halt reopening the country’s economy due to an increase in the number of coronavirus cases over recent days, a senior official said on Friday. The Central American nation which has already lost 100,000 jobs due to the pandemic, and this decision will hit the economy hard. “These are not numbers to think that nothing is wrong and that we can continue with the reopening,” Health Minister Daniel Salas said during a news conference. Over the last 24 hours, Costa Rica has registered a record 119 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to ... Read more

Jamaica, which reopened its borders to international travellers on June 15, is looking to scale up tourism back to pre-coronavirus levels. Like many Caribbean islands, Jamaica’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, accounting for 35% of GDP and 120,000 jobs. The country’s tourism sector saw record breaking growth in 2019, but hopes of repeating that this year was put on hold when the coronavirus pandemic halted travel globally, Travel Market Report said. As the country once again begins to welcome visitors, it’s with a rigorous and thorough set of protocols in place to protect workers and guests. Jamaica’s Director of ... Read more

Aruba has announced that the country will welcome tourists from the Caribbean (with the exception of Dominican Republic and Haiti), Europe, and Canada from July 1. Visitors from the United States will be allowed from July 10. Official opening dates for other markets, including South America and Central America are yet to be determined. The decision to reopen borders, which were closed due to COVID-19 restrictions in early-March, was made in conjunction with the Department of Health, taking into consideration the ongoing guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States. “The safety ... Read more

Machu Picchu, the jewel of Peruvian tourism, is all set to reopen in July. But there will be restrictions on the number of visitors. Given the need for social distancing and other measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, only 675 visitors will be allowed in each day – one-quarter the usual number, Jean Paul Benavente, governor of the Cusco region said. Guides will lead tours of only seven visitors, and people will be required to wear masks. The July reopening is linked to a lifting of national confinement measures in place since March 16, online news agency MercoPress ... Read more

Hilton Hotels is laying off 2,100 employees, or roughly 22% of its corporate workforce, as the pandemic continues to drive down demand for leisure and corporate travel. The hotel chain is also extending the existing furloughs for many of its corporate staff for an additional 90 days, CNN Business has reported. Hilton had announced the initial furloughs, as well as temporary pay cuts for executives, in March. “Never in Hilton’s 101-year history has our industry faced a global crisis that brings travel to a virtual standstill,” CEO Christopher Nassetta said in a press release, adding he was “devastated” by the decision. Covid-19 all ... Read more

The Mexican Caribbean has begun to gradually reopen itself to tourists from June 8, and is on track to have 75% of hotel rooms ready by July 1, according to the Travel Market Report. The region currently has about 45% of inventory reopened, according to a Quintana Roo Tourism Board virtual conference last week. The Quintana Roo Tourism Board handles the marketing for 12 destinations under the umbrella of the Mexican Caribbean and the Grand Costa Maya, including Cancun, Riviera Maya, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Isla Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, and Costa Mujeres. The region is using a “traffic light system,” said Dario ... Read more

Foreign visitors have begun to get back to the white sands and warm waters of Mexico’s Caribbean coast. The resort town of Cancun is especially in demand, despite Mexico reporting record infection levels in recent days. Cancun’s Hard Rock Hotel re-opened on June 8 along with 16 other beachside resorts. All of these resorts have installed hand sanitizer stations, ramped up cleaning and are enforcing distancing rules at the pool and beach areas. Although hotels can allow guests into the water, public beaches remain closed. “The most important thing right now is to revive the state’s economy, but we have ... Read more

Home rental firm Airbnb has entered into a partnership with Brazil’s state of Sao Paulo, to encourage tourism once the coronavirus crisis has passed. Virus hotspot Sao Paulo is the first destination in Latin America chosen by Airbnb as part of a global push to revive its business as authorities ease coronavirus-related restrictions on tourism. “Sao Paulo is at the core of our Brazil strategy,” Airbnb’s director of governmental and institutional relations for Latin America, Flvia Matos, told Reuters in an interview. Airbnb will have an exclusive page on Sao Paulo state’s destinations in its platform and will also share ... Read more

SeaWorld Entertainment, one of the world’s leading theme park and entertainment companies, has announced a phased reopening of SeaWorld San Antonio on Friday, June 19.The reopening of the park will include enhanced health and safety protocols for cleaning and sanitizing, physical distancing, face covering requirements, and temperature screening. A new online reservation system will also help manage capacity so that guests can enjoy a safe and fun experience while maintaining physical distancing. The phased reopening plan was approved by the State of Texas.”We thank Governor Abbott, Representative Cortez, and San Antonio Mayor Nirenberg for their support of tourism in Texas ... Read more

In Chile’s port city of Valparaiso, people are perhaps facing more ups and downs than almost anywhere else, as the city’s funiculars have been turned off. With no tourists in town because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the city’s unique public transport system has ground to a halt. A lack of ticket sales to fund their operation has led officials to close these urban lifts, which typically whisk travellers and residents through the steep, hilly terrain of Valparaiso. This means residents are having to tackle the city’s unforgiving terrain on foot. The unique cable car funiculars are designed to make travel ... Read more

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation (BMOT) has been hosting a series of virtual sales missions in the US and Canada during the entire time of quarantine in an effort to continue promoting the islands. BMOT brought together all of its international partners in the US and Canada for two days of virtual meetings hosted by Director General, Joy Jibrilu.   “While grappling with the effects of COVID-19, all travel was put on hold,” said Director General Jibrilu. “But we remain committed to providing our travel suppliers, travel agent communities, key meeting planners and destination wedding planners, flying ambassadors, boating community and all of ... Read more

Etihad has landed a plane in Cuba for the very first time. The airline flew from Abu Dhabi to Havana, helping Cuban nationals return home. Taking off from Abu Dhabi International Airport, Etihad pilots flew the Boeing 777-300 jet for over 21 hours to land at Jose Marti International Airport, just outside Cuba’s capital. It’s the first time that the airline has ever flown to the island nation in the Caribbean Sea. Passengers on board observed social distancing measures and wore face masks and gloves throughout the flight, while Etihad crew wore personal protective equipment during flight services. Cuba has ... Read more

The US government has said it will block Chinese airlines from flying into the US in response to what it says is a policy that has prevented US carriers from service between the two countries. The Transportation Department restrictions will take effect June 16 but could be enacted earlier if President Donald Trump decides to do so. It says the Chinese government is violating an agreement between the two countries for international travel by preventing United Airlines and Delta Air Lines from resuming the trans-oceanic flights. Those airlines had asked to resume service on June 1. United, Delta, and American ... Read more

Marriott International, which has reopened all its hotels in China, is seeing a steady recovery in the United States, its biggest market. Chief Executive Officer Arne Sorenson said, “It’s not just leisure travel growing, but it is business travel. Chinese are flying again.” Sorenson said the occupancy rate in China was 40% currently, up from 7% to 8% in February, when COVID-19 started spreading. In the United States, Marriott’s hotels that have remained open, crossed the 20% occupancy threshold and continue to see an improvement, Sorenson said. The company had an occupancy rate of about 12% in North America in ... Read more

The Mexican Caribbean state of Quintana Roo is preparing to reopen itself to tourism from June 8, Governor Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez has announced. In the interim, area tourism and hospitality companies, particularly in the popular holiday hotspots of Cancun and Riviera Maya region, are bringing back employees to begin training in the ways of the “new normal”, Travel Pulse has reported. “We are getting ready to restart operations,” said Roberto Cintrón Gómez, president of the Hotel Association of Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres. While Covid-19 has not yet been eradicated in the region, Quintana Roo has just instituted a new certification programme to help ... Read more