It looks like travel-ready Americans’ first trip won’t be to the north, where it looks like all those damn foreigners aren’t welcome.
“Canadians support border closures more than residents of any country in the world. A full 86% of Canadians said they strongly or somewhat support closing the border to anyone from another country, while 76% said they support the idea of closing the border to anyone from another province, state or region.”
The Covid AVDaily newsletter reacts to the UK’s “green list” of countries approved for travel without the requirement for travelers to quarantine on their return. They’re unimpressed.
They note that “it includes a number of remote islands such as South Georgia, as well as countries that are right now not welcoming tourists (e.g. Australia, New Zealand and Singapore).”
Then there is talk of passengers facing immigration queues of up to seven hours. The newsletter opines that “Governments like the UK are sending signals that they’d rather people didn’t travel. One of the most revealing parts of Friday’s announcement was when … Paul Lincoln from the UK Border Force (talked) about significant border delays. Lincoln said that each officer would be taking up to ten minutes to check every passenger … listening to him talk the message seemed to be ‘these are the consequences of you choosing to travel.’
Nobody needs that. So we’ve routed ourselves through Amsterdam Schiphol for our July visit to Finland.
Here’s a photo that says a lot about how Canadians and Americans are treating the virus. Top is a Maid of the Mists ship, one of a fleet of sightseeing ships that set out for Niagara Falls from the New York side. Bottom, the Hornblower, is a Canadian counterpart.
Via the Monocle Minute.
The aviation consultancy Simpliflying reaches some fairly downbeat conclusions about the swift resumption of tourism in 2021. It thinks:
1 – It’s likely that there will be some form of air travel recovery from April. Shorter haul leisure routes (e.g from Northern / Western Europe to the Mediterranean) will recover first, especially those catering to older leisure travellers, who are higher in the vaccination queue.
2 – Widespread vaccinations of the adult population in Europe and North America however, won’t occur until after April, and we can’t expect a mass of adults to be vaccinated until the Summer.
3 – In Western Countries, vaccination schedules will not be uniform. In other countries, the roll-out may take until 2022 or 2023. This means testing is here to stay, and will work alongside vaccination certificates and biosafety measures.
4 – Reopening borders for air travel will not be a priority for Governments. Even the introduction of vaccines may not be enough.
You can download the entire report here.
“Be among the first to get Corona vaccine.” A Mumbai travel agency plans to fly “VVIP clients” to New York on 11 December for the vaccine and four hotel nights, for about USD$2369.
You’ve been working – or worrying – hard all week. You’re stressed. Take a minute to try to relax this weekend. No matter where you are.
Cambodia is requiring a $3000 “coronavirus deposit” from incoming tourists, against which fees are assessed. Then,
“Mandatory fees begin with a $5 (£4) charge for transport from the airport to a testing centre.
The Covid-19 test itself costs $100 (£80). The traveller must then pay $30 (£24) for an overnight stay at the stipulated hotel or “waiting centre,” and the same again for three meals a day while waiting for the test results.
With luck, the traveller will forfeit just $132 (£106) of the amount deposited. They must then self-isolate for 14 days in their chosen accommodation.
But if one passenger on their flight tests positive for coronavirus, everyone on the same flight is quarantined in government-approved accommodation for two weeks, at a cost of $1,176 including meals, laundry and “sanitary services”. They must also pay another $100 for a second Covid-19 test. This totals a further £1,021.
If the traveller happens to be the coronavirus-positive patient, they will have to take up to four tests at another $100 (£80) each, as well as $3,150 (£2,500) for treatment at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh.”
Any unused balance is refunded.
Read more in The Independent.
A compilation from readers of CityLab.
Nairobi, Kenya’s capital
“Nairobi Governor Includes Hennessy In Coronavirus Care Packages, Claims it’s ‘Throat Sanitizer'”
The governor of Nairobi’s curious cocktail care packages.
“A requirement forcing all air passengers arriving at Hong Kong to be tested for the coronavirus will remain in place going forward, a leading city health official said, with experts predicting the practice will become standard at airports around the world as the aviation industry adapts to a new normal once the pandemic recedes.”
From the South China Morning Post. Read the rest here.
Common Sense and Whiskey 