European Union and Schengen countries have slowly relaxed internal travel once the first peak of the Covid-19 passed, and the infection rates within the bloc have significantly reduced.
The goal of the European Union was to completely reopen the travel within the Schengen by the end of June (won’t happen), and decide what third country visitors, both tourists and business people, to let in from July.
Remember the piece (read more here) we ran the other week about the Australian caterer Gate Gourmet that was offloading excess airline meals that otherwise would go to waste?
Australian 9News on Friday run a story about these airline meals being sold to consumers (access here), and an Ozbargain website has a long thread about what meals people got (access here).
Japan, a country whose borders have been closed for most incoming visitors since March, is in talks with four states to allow their citizens to travel to Japan perhaps starting this July.
Prime Minister Mr. Abe made the announcement today that they were working with Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Vietnam to facilitate incoming tourism.
Denmark is in the process of following the EU’s suggestion to open the country’s borders to European Union and Schengen nationals and permanent residents by July 1, 2020.
Danish foreign ministry announced today that the country would welcome all visitors from the European Union and Schengen, excluding Sweden and Portugal, effective June 27, 2020.
The hopes of Australians traveling to oversees or visitors to the country in 2020 were crushed today by Tourism Minister Mr. Birmingham.
There have or at least were talks about a trans-Tasman travel bubble that perhaps could have included some if not all the Pacific island nations, but the minister advises people not to get their hopes up.
Many European Union and Schengen-member countries started to close their borders in March even for intra-block travel when Covid-19 was rapidly spreading around Europe and overwhelming the healthcare sector in most hard-hit areas in Italy.
Now, once the first peak of the Covid-19 appears to have passed, EU commission has signaled to member countries that they would like to see the internal borders restrictions withdrawn by the end of June, and possibly travel to the block from other countries allowed in stages starting in July.
Now it is Anatara’s and Avani’s turn to offer accommodation vouchers for stays in Thailand through June 30, 2021.
These vouchers on sale are inclusive of tax and service charges and must be purchased June 15 – 21.
The Spanish Prime Minister announced on Sunday that the country would bring forward the reopening its Schengen borders to June 21, 2020.
The border with Portugal will stay closed until July 1, 2020, by the request of the neighbor. The country will also start welcoming select other country nationals from July 1.
Australia had banned its citizens overseas travel until June 17, 2020, that the government without any fanfare extended by an additional three months late last week.
There are travel bans by state governments within Australia (well – at least you can travel intrastate), and possible travel bubble in the making with New Zealand and other Pacific Island countries.
Cambodia made some news late this week when the country’s Health Ministry indicated entry requirements for incoming tourists that would be soon implemented.
It seems that some countries are competing with each other who can have the most draconian and traveler unfriendly entry requirements.
Gate Gourmet, one of the worldwide caterers that supply a variety of airlines, has launched a frozen (economy) meal sale in Australia.
The public can buy breakfast, dinner, or combination sets at a reasonable price. All you need to do back home is to pop them inside the microwave or conventional oven, and your plane meal is ready!
Hawaii instituted mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for all out of state arrivals back in March (read more here) that was extended through the end of July on Wednesday.
Visitors are required to self-isolate for 14-days and are subject to a $5,000 fine or imprisonment if they fail to observe this. Inter-island travel will reopen on June 16.
French Polynesia, an island nation highly dependent on tourism, will reopen for non-resident arrivals on July 15, 2020.
You are required to have Covid-19 tests before departure and may be administered another one four days after arrival at a hotel or resort.
We are now on month six of the estimated 18 to 24 month long global COVID-19 pandemic that started in Asia late 2019, hit Europe in February, moved to North America a month later, and is now ravaging countries in Latin America and Africa.
Most of long-haul travel came to a complete halt in March sans few repatriation flights due to countries closing their airports even for transits and all the travel and entry bans in place.
