Category: America

Major players in Canada’s tourism and travel sectors have formed a new coalition to restore the industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Called the Canadian Tourism Roundtable, the cross-Canadian coalition is calling on all levels of government to work together to streamline and clarify rules around travel in order to ensure safe, accessible and timely travel for Canadians as early as this summer. The Roundtable comprises leaders from various sectors, including airports, airlines, hotels, chambers of commerce and others. The $102 billion travel and tourism sector, which has been devastated by the pandemic, supports some 1.8 million workers ... Read more

Tourists can return to Florida Keys from today, after a gap of two months. Highway checkpoints will come down and visitors can once again hit all the restaurants and attractions, a Miami Herald report said. But it won’t exactly be the same as before the pandemic. There will be rules to follow. Here’s what you can and can’t do if you are planning to visit: Monroe County requires masks in public. They should be worn while inside a business, working in public, on public transportation and when around people besides immediate family. They can be taken off while eating in restaurants, ... Read more

“It’s been 18 years working towards this goal, so it’s hard to believe that it’s happened.” SpaceX founder Elon Musk was understandably an emotional man, after his company launched astronauts into space on Saturday. This is the first time a private company has launched NASA’s astronauts into space. “I’m really quite overcome with emotion on this day, so it’s kind of hard to talk, frankly,” Musk said in a post-launch press conference at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from NASA’s historic launch complex 39A, carrying a Crew Dragon spacecraft along with astronauts Bob Behnken and ... Read more

President Donald Trump has said US will soon open up to travellers arriving from low-risk countries in Europe and elsewhere. Trump’s travel ban put on hold 26 European countries as well as the UK and Ireland, since March 13. With US deciding to ease the restrictions, it will now be possible for people from select nations which have fattened the coronavirus curve to travel to America. Trump said travellers coming from countries with low Covid-19 risk profiles will be given the green light. “Where they’re starting to make some progress, we’ll open it up. But only where they’re making progress.” ... Read more

Walt Disney intends to reopen the world’s largest theme park – Walt Disney World in Florida – in phases beginning July 11, if things go according to plan. Disney wants to reopen Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11 and Epcot and Hollywood Studios on July 15, according to Jim MacPhee, senior vice president of operations for the Walt Disney World Resort. When the Disney parks reopen, guests and employees will be required to wear masks and undergo temperature checks. The resort will suspend parades, fireworks displays and other activities that create crowds. It will “enable and encourage” contact-less ... Read more

For the past three months, Las Vegas wore a deserted look. No crowds, no lights, no fun. But now the famed casinos are set to open, promising to bring some life back into the city. For the past two weeks Nevada has shown a decrease in the number of new coronavirus cases, encouraging governor Steve Sisolak to set a tentative date of June 4 to reopen casinos state-wide, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Our members have spent more than two months preparing for this day,” Virginia Valentine, president and CEO of the Nevada Resort Association, said in an emailed ... Read more

LATAM Airlines Group, Latin America’s largest air carrier, has sought bankruptcy court protection in New York after the Covid-19 pandemic grounded flights across the region. The Chapter 11 petition allows LATAM to keep operating while the Chilean carrier works out a plan to pay creditors and turn around the business. LATAM, whose shareholders include Chile’s Cueto family and Delta Air Lines Inc., continues to operate on a reduced schedule. The group has secured the financial support of shareholders, including the Cueto and Amaro families, which have lasting ties to LATAM, and Qatar Airways, to provide up to $900 million in ... Read more

The US has imposed travel restrictions on foreign nationals who have been to Brazil in the last 14 days. Brazil has become a major coronavirus hotspot in recent times, registering the second highest number of cases globally. A White House spokeswoman said the restrictions would help ensure new cases are not brought into the US. “Today’s action will help ensure foreign nationals who have been in Brazil do not become a source of additional infections in our country,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement. Brazil has recorded more than 360,000 cases, while over 22,000 people have ... Read more

Outdoor partying is on in full swing in many parts of the United States, as people continue to take total advantage of the new found freedom. After several weeks of lockdown, citizens seem to have broken free causing a great deal of concern for health authorities. Despite several weeks of warnings from health officials to follow “social distancing” measures and wear face masks in public, Americans across the country crowded the beaches and partied in large numbers over the Memorial Day weekend. A video from a Volusia County Sheriff’s Office helicopter captured dozens of people blocking traffic near Daytona Beach, ... Read more

The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) has announced a new collaboration with Google to expand the industry’s efforts to meet the continued demand from first responders and healthcare workers for accommodation in hotel rooms. This joint effort comes two months after the launch of American Hotel & Lodging Association’s (AHLA) ‘Hospitality for Hope’ an initiative designed to match emergency and healthcare workers who require temporary housing in hotels during this unprecedented health crisis. More than 17,000 properties across the country volunteered to serve their communities and participate in the programme. The initiative was designed to boost collaboration between the ... Read more

US National Parks is in a structured reopening phase after the coronavirus outbreak shuttered the areas. Although wildlife was certainly enjoying the freedom to roam uninhibited, there is now a plan to restore visitor access. The US Travel Association said providing visitor access to these parks, was a welcome move. Association President and CEO Roger Dow said, “The phased reopening of national parks is a welcome sign that the country is taking further steps toward a reopening strategy that focuses on caution and safety, but begins to unshackle the devastated US travel economy. “Polling data shows that six in 10 ... Read more

Beaches in the United States are bustling with travellers, as the country heads into the long Memorial Day holiday weekend. After more than two months of coronavirus lockdowns that kept Americans homebound, the beach-area traffic has tripled compared to the low point in mid-April. According to a report by Reuters, traffic in some areas is even expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels. Passenger car travel in US beach counties has more than doubled since Easter, according to data by transportation analytics company StreetLight Data, with Maryland’s Ocean City beach resort showing four times as much activity. “That’s an indication that part ... Read more

Californian tourism has been on a growth curve for more than a decade. However, the coronavirus outbreak seems to have put the brakes on it. Tourism Economics projects California will lose $72.1 billion in state-wide travel related spending in 2020. It has also found the pandemic will affect 613,000 California jobs by the end of May, which is more than half the tourism industry’s workforce. “The coronavirus pandemic has devastated our tourism economy, but we know tourism is a resilient industry,” Ernest Wooden Jr., the president and CEO of Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, said in a statement. “It’s ... Read more

Iconic car rental company Hertz has filed for bankruptcy protection, devastated by the fall in business due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 100-year-old company which started its business with a dozen Ford models, went on to become one of the largest car rental companies in the world, before running up a pile of substantial debt. Hertz said late on Friday that it would use more than $1 billion in cash on hand to keep its business running while it proceeds with the bankruptcy process. “Today’s action will protect the value of our business, allow us to continue our operations and ... Read more

Delta Air Lines plans to boost the number of flights it will restore to service in June and July, to allow for spacing among passengers as demand increases. “Once we get close to 60% on an individual route, that’ll be the trigger for us to add more planes into the system,” Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said Wednesday on Fox Business News. The carrier will add 200 flights in June and may add as many as 300 in July, he said. Just two days earlier, the US airline had said it planned to add 100 flights next month. The airline’s ... Read more