COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are losing their importance for world travelers. According to data from Kayak.com, there are now more countries and territories—118—that welcome any US traveler without restrictions. Of the 109 destinations that still do not require testing, quarantine, or both for unvaccinated travelers, 17 do not allow US tourism anyway.
It is a welcome turning point for a global tourism economy marked by the novel coronavirusAnd a bright note for those looking for signs of the end of the pandemic.
“The pullback in sanctions is an acknowledgment that we are in a new phase of this pandemic, where things are more stable,” says David Downey, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. As recently as 14 September, the head of the World Health Organization declared that the “end is in sight” for the pandemic.
“The world wants to move rapidly from the point where covid Everything we are doing is overpowering our daily lives with it,” says Kathryn Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
On Tuesday, Japan began accepting visitors from 68 countries without a visa for vaccinations, ending nearly three years of strict travel restrictions that kept tourists out of the island nation; Unvaccinated visitors will still have to test negative and possibly be quarantined upon arrival.
Bhutan, a top destination for its awe-inspiring mountain scenery, spicy cuisine and gold-coloured temples, completely phased out its epidemiological entry requirements for international tourists by September 23, adding 30 destinations that have hit the streets in the past. Days ended the testing and isolation mandate. seven weeks. The Himalayan Kingdom was joined by Canada, the Bahamas and New Zealand, which recently withdrew the requirements for travellers.
Apart from mainland China, which remains off-limits to tourists, the US, the Philippines, and Indonesia are now the only major tourism markets in the world that have limits entirely to unvaccinated visitors, except for age or health-related exceptions. are closed.
Experts attribute the change in policy to a relative stabilization in the death rate, despite a rise in infections. omicron Known as the subvariant BA.5. This is the result of massive vaccination and booster campaigns, he says.
“We are in a very different place today than we were two years ago or even a year ago,” says Dr. Wafa Al-Sadr, professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “We have a deeper understanding of this virus, how we can better manage it, and we have several vaccines that are increasingly available, which help ease concerns about COVID.”
Of course, getting vaccinated is still the safest and easiest way to see the world. This opens up US passports to a possible 190 stamps without any test complications.
As a result of the easing of restrictions, the urge to wander has made a strong comeback. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are planning a trip during the next three months, despite skyrocketing prices and operational unrest in an industry grappling with the lingering effects of Covid. For example, according to Official Airline Guides, a global travel data provider, international air capacity is currently down about 12% in 2019, while domestic capacity has almost caught on around the world.
“Countries that rely heavily on visiting tourists are seeing a slow rebound,” Charuta Phadnis, vice president of research and product strategy at travel industry research company Focusrite, said in an email. “For example, many markets in Asia are heavily reliant on Chinese travellers, and restrictions on outbound travel from China affect the speed of their recovery.”
Focusrite projects that China’s travel market will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024. Still, Phadnis said Southeast Asia is “showing a good pace of recovery,” while Japan’s reopening “will give a boost to the region.”
As much of Asia begins to reopen, holiday-hungry tourists have funneled elsewhere. “It was really the summer of Europe,” says Josh Geller, a travel consultant at New York-based agency Embark Beyond. “We had endless customers in the south of France and Italy,” and those destinations “are still hot.”
Even when temperatures are cooler, and travelers typically seek out warm-weather destinations, Geller says customers are still booking European vacations. He predicts that next fall and winter, Asia will overtake Europe as the top destination for jet-setters.
Geller says client bookings have doubled compared to 2019 levels. And now that Japan has reopened, it is pressing demand to travel to Asia in general. “Customers would call me saying, ‘I heard Japan is opening; what do you think about the trip to Vietnam?'” he says.
Although the removal of vaccination requirements has taken some guesswork out of travel, Adventure Travel Trade Association president Casey Hanisko warns that the trade group partners with many operators and companies that still require travelers to show proof of vaccination or negative test results. is required. Book places to stay or activities like guided tours. And, Hanisko says, the onus is now on individuals to travel responsibly.
“Effectively, it’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,'” Geller says, referring to the possibility of tourists traveling with COVID. Customers generally seem to be using judgment, he says, noting that those showing symptoms or testing positive for Covid are rescheduling trips.
With winter on the way, the seasonal character of most respiratory viruses makes it important to be a good person regardless of official border policies. “This virus is still mutating. It is still a threat,” says Chicago epidemiologist Wallace. As reported on October 3, WHO attributes 9,126 deaths to Covid-19 a week earlier. “It’s really hard to put the horse back in the barn.”
It is a welcome turning point for a global tourism economy marked by the novel coronavirusAnd a bright note for those looking for signs of the end of the pandemic.
“The pullback in sanctions is an acknowledgment that we are in a new phase of this pandemic, where things are more stable,” says David Downey, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. As recently as 14 September, the head of the World Health Organization declared that the “end is in sight” for the pandemic.
“The world wants to move rapidly from the point where covid Everything we are doing is overpowering our daily lives with it,” says Kathryn Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
On Tuesday, Japan began accepting visitors from 68 countries without a visa for vaccinations, ending nearly three years of strict travel restrictions that kept tourists out of the island nation; Unvaccinated visitors will still have to test negative and possibly be quarantined upon arrival.
Bhutan, a top destination for its awe-inspiring mountain scenery, spicy cuisine and gold-coloured temples, completely phased out its epidemiological entry requirements for international tourists by September 23, adding 30 destinations that have hit the streets in the past. Days ended the testing and isolation mandate. seven weeks. The Himalayan Kingdom was joined by Canada, the Bahamas and New Zealand, which recently withdrew the requirements for travellers.
Apart from mainland China, which remains off-limits to tourists, the US, the Philippines, and Indonesia are now the only major tourism markets in the world that have limits entirely to unvaccinated visitors, except for age or health-related exceptions. are closed.
Experts attribute the change in policy to a relative stabilization in the death rate, despite a rise in infections. omicron Known as the subvariant BA.5. This is the result of massive vaccination and booster campaigns, he says.
“We are in a very different place today than we were two years ago or even a year ago,” says Dr. Wafa Al-Sadr, professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “We have a deeper understanding of this virus, how we can better manage it, and we have several vaccines that are increasingly available, which help ease concerns about COVID.”
Of course, getting vaccinated is still the safest and easiest way to see the world. This opens up US passports to a possible 190 stamps without any test complications.
As a result of the easing of restrictions, the urge to wander has made a strong comeback. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are planning a trip during the next three months, despite skyrocketing prices and operational unrest in an industry grappling with the lingering effects of Covid. For example, according to Official Airline Guides, a global travel data provider, international air capacity is currently down about 12% in 2019, while domestic capacity has almost caught on around the world.
“Countries that rely heavily on visiting tourists are seeing a slow rebound,” Charuta Phadnis, vice president of research and product strategy at travel industry research company Focusrite, said in an email. “For example, many markets in Asia are heavily reliant on Chinese travellers, and restrictions on outbound travel from China affect the speed of their recovery.”
Focusrite projects that China’s travel market will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024. Still, Phadnis said Southeast Asia is “showing a good pace of recovery,” while Japan’s reopening “will give a boost to the region.”
As much of Asia begins to reopen, holiday-hungry tourists have funneled elsewhere. “It was really the summer of Europe,” says Josh Geller, a travel consultant at New York-based agency Embark Beyond. “We had endless customers in the south of France and Italy,” and those destinations “are still hot.”
Even when temperatures are cooler, and travelers typically seek out warm-weather destinations, Geller says customers are still booking European vacations. He predicts that next fall and winter, Asia will overtake Europe as the top destination for jet-setters.
Geller says client bookings have doubled compared to 2019 levels. And now that Japan has reopened, it is pressing demand to travel to Asia in general. “Customers would call me saying, ‘I heard Japan is opening; what do you think about the trip to Vietnam?'” he says.
Although the removal of vaccination requirements has taken some guesswork out of travel, Adventure Travel Trade Association president Casey Hanisko warns that the trade group partners with many operators and companies that still require travelers to show proof of vaccination or negative test results. is required. Book places to stay or activities like guided tours. And, Hanisko says, the onus is now on individuals to travel responsibly.
“Effectively, it’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,'” Geller says, referring to the possibility of tourists traveling with COVID. Customers generally seem to be using judgment, he says, noting that those showing symptoms or testing positive for Covid are rescheduling trips.
With winter on the way, the seasonal character of most respiratory viruses makes it important to be a good person regardless of official border policies. “This virus is still mutating. It is still a threat,” says Chicago epidemiologist Wallace. As reported on October 3, WHO attributes 9,126 deaths to Covid-19 a week earlier. “It’s really hard to put the horse back in the barn.”