Pandemic travel news: Asia-Pacific vacations on the horizon
Here’s what we learned on pandemic trips this week.
1. You may be able to start planning your Asia-Pacific vacationTourists on the Kuala Lumpur Tower Observation Deck in Malaysia on October 1.
Vincent Thian / AP
On October 10, Singapore added eight new countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, to its vaccinated and non-quarantined traffic routes.
The next day, its Southeast Asian neighbor, Malaysia, lifted its domestic and international travel restrictions for fully vaccinated residents after reaching its goal of full vaccination for 90% of the adult population.
Spain – Palma beach in Palma de Mallorca is pictured – has seen a drop in Covid cases.
Jaime Reina / AFP / Getty Images
It joins other popular European tourist destinations on the Tier 3 list including France, Germany, Italy and Portugal.
Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Cyprus and the UK are still in the highest risk category of Level 4, where not all non-essential travel is advised. Meanwhile, Hungary and the Madeira Islands are the only European destinations below level 2 (“Moderate”).
3. Fully vaccinated foreign visitors will be able to begin entering the United States from November 8.The US-Mexico border wall in Otay Mesa, California on August 13, 2021.
Sandy Huffaker / AFP / Getty Images
Kevin Munoz, deputy White House press secretary, tweeted on October 15: “The new United States travel policy that requires the vaccination of foreign travelers to the United States will begin on November 8. This announcement and date apply to both international air and land travel. to travel.”
The first phase will allow fully vaccinated visitors traveling for non-essential reasons, such as visiting friends or for tourism, to cross US land borders. The second phase, which will begin in January 2022, will allow entry to all incoming fully vaccinated foreign travelers.
4. EU offers free rail passes to 60,000 young peopleThe European Commission offers free rail passes to 60,000 European citizens between the ages of 18 and 20.
Passengers line up at the Southwest Airlines counter at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport on October 11.
Joe Cavaretta / South Florida Sun-Sentinel / AP
Beautiful beaches and stunning scenery in this island getaway. Take a 60 second vacation to the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic is at “Level 2: Covid-19 moderate” on the CDC’s travel advisory list.
7. Dubai had the busiest international airport in the worldCalculated using total airline capacity, there are over 2.7 million seats on scheduled flights at the airport this month. Much of this will be linked to the opening in October of the Dubai Expo 2020, which was delayed by the pandemic. The six-month extravagance will run until March 31, 2022.
8. An American woman was the only tourist allowed in BhutanMonks at Punakha Dzong in Bhutan.
Adobe Stock
“Bhutan is a gift of perfect deals,” Bak told CNN from Thimphu’s apartment where she spent a few weeks before hitting the road to do gong workshops in rural villages.
9. New Zealand allows people to get vaccinated on a plane (but it doesn’t take them anywhere)New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is announcing that the country is moving away from Covid-19 elimination, amid a persistent Delta variant outbreak, and will instead shift to a ‘living with the virus’ strategy.
October 16 is billed as Super Saturday in New Zealand, where the government urges eligible unvaccinated New Zealanders to get vaccinated.
Passengers love the A380, but airlines have abandoned it. Your window to fly in is now closing that many are in storage.
Thanks to Covid-19, most of the Airbus A380s around the world have been grounded. Airbus had already announced its intention to stop production of the superjumbos in 2019 and their high operating costs had no place in the pandemic’s minimal and profitable international flight schedules.
While their days are still numbered, some airlines, including Singapore Airlines and British Airways, have announced plans to put the plane back in the air.
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez, Marnie Hunter, Masrur Jamaluddin, Betsy Klein, Ramishah Maruf, Lilit Marcus, Rhea Mogul, Kocha Olarn and Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.
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Cnn