(Re)-open for business?
Welcome to our ninth media and communications newsletter, designed to help you track travel- and coronavirus-related developments that continue to affect our industry at large.
Over the past week, we’ve seen stark contrasts in what “reopening” looks like for tourism around the globe. Some countries are opening borders, while others are tightening restrictions. Select travel companies are reopening for business, though what that means for travellers – and ultimately, their bottom lines – has yet to be seen.
Some EU countries have started to welcome regional tourists, Delta, Emirates and Lufthansa are planning their return to international service, and cruise companies and theme parks alike are taking reservations for summer.
Conversely, Canadian officials have announced that the U.S.-Canada border will remain closed to non-essential travel until June 21. Hawaii officials are planning to tighten regulations for visitors, Norway is likely to remain closed to visitors until late August, and the Seychelles have banned cruise travel until 2022.
Meanwhile, the question “when will tourism recover?” lingers; New Orleans reported a slow start to its phased reopening, Mediterranean countries are debating how to keep safety measures in place without scaring away tourists before they have even returned, and a new survey has revealed most Americans will want to wait at least 60 days after restrictions lift to start travelling again.
Below is our weekly roundup of news, expert insights and food for thought…. If you can’t access an article due to a pay wall, let us know and we may be able to send it through to you.
Stay safe and healthy,
Your friends at Bannikin
The week at a glance
Tuesday, May 19
- Canada-U.S. border to remain closed to non-essential travel for another month
- Robots and electrostatic sprayers: Air travel industry looks to technology to bring back wary passengers
Monday, May 18
- Delta resuming several major US and international routes in June
- Domestic tourism could return by July, Australian PM says
- Hawaii officials plan to toughen travel rules for visitors
- US cruise companies hope to start operations as early as June
- Disney announces new leadership for parks, experiences and products
Sunday, May 17
- As New Orleans reopens, tourists and residents are hesitant to return
- Some [EU] borders are beginning to reopen to travelers
Saturday, May 16
- Reviving New York’s economy means luring back tourists. Will they want to come?
Friday, May 15
- Americans won’t rush to travel post-Covid, survey suggests
- Seychelles bans cruise ships until 2022
- Coronavirus: How ‘overreaction’ made Vietnam a virus success
- Norway likely to keep travel restrictions until Aug 20
- Chinese airlines may see a U-shaped recovery in air travel, as global carriers slog through 2023 to see the earliest glimpse of hope
- Disney Cruise Line extends suspension to July 27
- Lufthansa to resume Toronto-Frankfurt service next month
Thursday, May 14
- A whole new world awaits theme park guests
- Carnival Corp. announces layoffs and furloughs
- CDC offers brief checklists to guide businesses, schools and others on reopening
- Mexico sees largest 1-day coronavirus case rise, at 2,409
- Emirates resumes passenger flights to 9 destinations, including connections between UK and Australia
- Scenic scraps summer tours and cruises
- Ryanair passengers will have to ask to use lavatory
Wednesday, May 13
- As some countries ease up, others are reimposing lockdowns amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections
- Coronavirus “may never go away,” a top W.H.O. official warns
- Machu Picchu to reopen with free admission to Peruvians
- Emirates will resume flights to the U.S. this month
- United to notify flyers when flight is crowded
- When will cruise lines really resume operations?
- From digital room keys to no-contact check-in: How hotels are redefining cleanliness and safety
Tuesday, May 12
- Italy is reopening in bits and pieces—here’s what it feels like
- What is the future for travel and migration in age of Covid-19?
- EU may reopen borders between countries with same virus risk levels
- Temperature checks are becoming part of the airline boarding process
- Vietnam races ahead of other southeast Asian countries in tourism reopening
- Disney World accepting hotel reservations for July
- This is how Portugal is planning to safely open hotels and restaurants
- Air New Zealand is boosting domestic flights as lockdown eases
- WTTC unveils “Safe Travels” – new global protocols to restart the Travel & Tourism sector
- Spain orders two-week quarantine for incoming travellers from Friday
- China proposes fast-track entry for Japanese business travelers
- Some Caribbean islands begin phased openings of businesses
What the media is saying…
The Guardian – What is the future for travel and immigration in the age of Covid-19
Snippet: Mass international travel only emerged a couple of decades ago; it is possible that habits could change dramatically again. Its easy to forget that it was only around the turn of the century that levels of travel we now accept as normal started to emerge. So a reset that changes our presumption around travel is not as radical as it might appear.
AP News – Beaches, nightclubs? Europe mulls how to get tourists back
Snippet: Across southern Europe, in places where tourism drives much of the economy, officials are weighing how to entice travelers to come back, even while the pandemic remains a threat. Juggling the sometimes-competing needs of health and business, authorities are introducing measures to reassure visitors that taking a holiday is safe again.
Skift – Learning to walk again: 20 hopeful signs for reopening the travel economy
Snippet: As our world expands again bit by bit, we are relearning it all over again. Yes, there may be regression as we go along, we all have to be ready for that, but crawl forward we will from here until we start cruising, then walk the first tentative steps … well, you know the drill from here.
What experts are saying…
PhocusWire – Possible futures for a post-pandemic travel industry, part 1
Snippet: Travel companies are fighting for their lives. Being at the bleeding edge of the storm has violently thrown us from a predictable risk environment into the deep uncertainty of uncharted waters. Nobody has a playbook, and only with a clean-sheet mindset and the proverbial “out-of-box” thinking will we manage to find our path out of this mess. We might not come out stronger from it, but hopefully faster, leaner and a little wiser.
Skift – Debate rages over empty middle seat as airlines take to the skies again
Snippet: Travelers, airlines and airports are grappling with a hodgepodge of rules put in place during the pandemic that will make flying different in almost every country.
EventMB – Event industry split on restarting business
Snippet: The latest data and research point to a very complex comeback for the event industry. Physical distancing, sanitation, and thermal scanning are just some of the items giving headaches to planners around the world. Yet a bigger question is looming over the industry: is reopening the right thing to do?