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how to find sustainable travel companies

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People said the pandemic made them want to travel more responsibly in the future.

Now new data indicates they’re actually doing it.

According to a report published in January by the World Travel & Tourism Council and Trip.com Group:

  • Nearly 60% of travelers have chosen more sustainable travel options in the last couple of years.
  • Nearly 70% are actively seeking sustainable travel options.

But finding companies that are serious about sustainability isn’t easy, said James Thornton, CEO of tour company Intrepid Travel.  

“You see hotels saying they’re sustainable, and then you’re using these little travel bottles for shampoos and shower gels,” he said.

It’s all just “greenwashing,” he said, referencing the term that describes companies’ efforts to appear more environmentally sound than they are.

For a company to say they’re “100% sustainable” or they’re “eco-conscious” …  doesn’t mean anything.

James Thornton

CEO, Intrepid Travel

The term has risen in popularity alongside the increase in demand for sustainable products and services.

The result is a mix of those who are truly dedicated to the cause — and those who sprinkle eco-buzzwords and photographs of seedlings, forests and other “green” imagery in their marketing materials, with no real action to back up their claims.

Finding companies that are sustainable

Be wary of these tactics, said Thornton.

“For a company to say they’re ‘100% sustainable’ or they’re ‘eco-conscious’ …  doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “I would urge travelers to be very cautious when they’re seeing these words, and to really dig in and look in a bit more detail.”

Consumer interest in sustainable travel has changed considerably in the past two decades, said Thornton. He said when he joined Intrepid travel 18 years ago, “people would look at us like we’re a bit crazy” when the company talked about sustainability.

Now, many companies are doing it, whether they are serious, or not.

Thornton said he believes the travel industry is currently divided into three categories. One third have “incredibly good intentions, and [are] working very actively on addressing the climate crisis … and they’re making good progress.”

Another third have “good intentions but [aren’t] actually taking action yet. And often … they’re not quite sure how to take action.”

The final third “is just utterly burying its head in the sand and hoping that this thing is going to go away, and the truth of the matter is — it isn’t.”

To identify companies in the first category, Thornton recommends travelers look for three critical things.  

1. A history of sustainability

To ascertain whether a company may be jumping on the eco-bandwagon, examine its history, said Thornton.

He advises looking for “a long history of association with issues of sustainability, or is this something that only just appeared?”

Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton.

Source: Intrepid Travel

If the messaging is new for the company, that’s not a deal breaker, he said.

“But that would then encourage the customer to probably want to look in a bit more detail to see if what a company actually does has rigor behind it,” he said, “Or whether it’s something that’s just being done for marketing sake — and therefore greenwashing.”

2. Check for measurements

Next, travelers should see if the company measures its greenhouse gas emissions, said Thornton.

“The honest truth is that every travel company is ultimately contributing towards the climate crisis,” he said. “So the best thing any travel company can start to do is measure the greenhouse gas emissions it creates.”

To do this, Thornton advised travelers to check the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.

“The Glasgow Declaration website lists the organizations that have agreed to actively reduce their emissions … and actually have a climate plan that shows how they’re doing that,” he said.

Signatories must publish their climate plan, which is monitored by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, he said.

“Consumers can use this as a way to check if the company they’re booking with is serious about decarbonization,” he said, adding that more than 700 organizations are on the list.

Thornton said travelers can also check the Science Based Targets Initiative, which is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Its website has a dashboard that details emission-reducing commitments made by more than 4,500 companies worldwide, including American Express Global Business Travel, the United Kingdom’s Reed & Mackay Travel and Australia’s Flight Centre Travel Group.

3. Look for accreditations

Finally, travelers can check for independent accreditations, said Thornton.

One of the most rigorous and impressive is the B Corp Certification, he said.

“It took Intrepid three years to become a B Corp,” he said.

Other companies with B Corp status include Seventh Generation, Ben & Jerry’s, Aesop — and Patagonia, which Thornton called “arguably the most famous B Corp in the world.”

To get it, companies are reviewed by the non-profit B Lab and a certification lasts for three years, said Thornton.

Kristen Graff, director of sales and marketing at Indonesia’s Bawah Reserve resort, agreed that B Corp is the “most widely respected” certification.

“The other one is the Global Sustainable Tourism Council,” she said. “These actually do an audit and are legit.”

Bawah Reserve, a resort in Indonesia’s Anambas Islands, is applying for B Corp certification. The resort uses solar power and desalinates drinking water on the island.

Source: Bawah Reserve

Other travel eco-certifications are less exacting, said Graff.

“Many of them are just a racket to make money,” she said.

Bawah Reserve started the process to become B Corp certified in November of 2021, said Graff. “We anticipate it will take about a year to complete,” she said.

B Corp uses a sliding scale for its certifications fees, which start at $1,000 for companies with less than $1 million in annual revenue.

“The cost is fairly minimal,” said Thornton, especially “if you’re serious about sustainability.”

He said Intrepid pays about $25,000 a year for the certification.

Other advice

Thornton also advised travelers to ask questions like:

  • Are you using renewable energy sources?
  • Is the food locally sourced?
  • Are employees from local communities?
  • Who owns the hotel?

He said there are places that are perceived to be sustainable but that are “actually owned by a casino.”

Lastly, Thornton recommends travelers look to online reviews.

“Often a little bit of research on Google … can give you a really good indication around whether a hotel or a travel experience is doing what it says it’s doing — or whether they’re actually greenwashing.”

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Business

Royal Caribbean Quietly Brings Back Beloved Adult Event

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After the cruise industry returned to sailing from North American ports in July 2021, all the cruise lines had to make major changes based on the covid pandemic. Some were obvious like vaccine requirements, masks, and added cleaning protocols. Capacities were also limited and social distancing was enforced (as much as that’s possible on a cruise ship.

Many popular activities were modified or canceled to comply with these rules, which were mandated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Events like dance parties, parades, and anything that caused people to gather in an enclosed space went away. That included things like laser tag on ships that have it because you can’t play without bumping into people.

Even on huge ships like Royal Caribbean Group’s (RCL) – Get Free Report Oasis-class ships, events were compromised due to CDC-related rules. It was unpleasant, but neccessary given the situation onboard and on land.

That began to change when the CDC started loosening, then dropped its pandemic-related rules. In July 2022, the CDC stopped regulating cruises making the cruise lines somewhat beholden to the ports they stopped in, but mostly leaving them fully unregulated.  

After that happened, most of the lost activities came back, sometimes in modified form at first, and later exactly as they were before the pandemic. One very popular activity, however, did not return even when all the pandemic-related rules and precautions began disappearing.

That led to fears that it wasn’t coming back, but finally some Royal Caribbean ships have been offering “The Quest,” a popular 21-and-over scavenger hunt.

Royal Caribbean

What Is Royal Caribbean’s ‘The Quest?’

“The Quest” varies based on who’s leading, but it’s a mildly adult (to sometimes very adult) game/competition designed to be more risque than traditional cruise activities. Various teams compete to be the first to get each requested item.

One member of the message board on the Royal Caribbean Blog, which is not affiliated with the cruise line, described it this way.

“It’s basically this giant scavenger hunt within your team. On Oasis it was in Studio B. There are 6ish couples who are team leads, and the cruise director shouts out tasks–things to find in the audience, or things to accomplish. For example, 6 ladies bras, or 3 shoelaces tied together. The team leads have a card with their number on it, and as soon as the task is done/found, they run up to the cruise director with the object and the card, wave it in his face. The fastest teams get more points,” shared HMills96.

Another poster, Jerel, put it this way.

“In short it’s a adult oriented game show where people willingly makes fools of themselves,” he wrote. “It doesn’t take long before they are asking for girls who are wearing red thongs and to prove it on stage, or even ask a captain to produce 4 bras, many women will quickly rip them off btw. Also it’s pretty much guaranteed to see men dirty dancing with each other and/or hairy men dressed up in women’s clothing.”

Royal Caribbean Slowly Brings Back ‘The Quest’

When pretty much every other activity had been brought back and “The Quest” had not returned, some people feared that it might just quietly disappear. It’s definitely an activity that’s not really in line with the company’s family-friendly business model.

Now, however, a number of members of a Royal Caribbean Facebook group have posted about “The Quest,” returning on their sailings (with some sharing evidence of the event announcement in Royal Caribbean app).

“Look what’s back on Brilliance tonight, supposedly first time on any ship since Covid,” shared Thomas Anglin, who provided a screen shot from the app.

A number of group members also shared that the gameshow has been on multiple Wonder of the Seas sailings.

“Wonder transatlantic had it,” Nick Miyar posted.

“We had it on Wonder a week ago. Every cruise director will claim the first one,” Scott Leonard added.

And, while “The Quest” appears to be coming back, it has so far only appeared on select ships. It does appear, though, that once a ship brings it back, it makes it a regular feature on every cruise (usually on the last night) as it was before the pandemic.



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Business

Las Vegas Casino Closing, Another Will Take Its Place

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Land has become unbelievably precious in Las Vegas and not just on the Las Vegas Strip. Yes, any buildable property on the Strip itself has been selling for exorbitant prices, but anything that’s downtown or Strip-adjacent has increased in value as well.

This has forced resort/casino operators to give deep consideration to how every property in their portfolio performs and how it fits into their overall goals. That’s at least partly why MGM Resorts International (MGM) sold Mirage and bought Cosmopolitan — the location and age of the new acquisition simply made more sense for the company compared to what it was selling.

In addition, Caesars Entertainment (CZR) , has been making big changes to its holdings on the Las Vegas Strip. This includes revamping its Ballys resort/casino under its Horseshoe brand and putting Flamingo up for sale.   

The biggest players, however, aren’t the only ones making moves in Las Vegas. Red Rock Resorts (RRR) , which operates resort casinos under the Station and Wildfire names has been busy acquiring land, developing a downtown casino on Fremont St., and closing some of its underperforming properties.

Now, the company run by the billionaire brothers who once owned the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has closed another property. In this case, however, the move may be part of a much bigger plan.

Image source: Daniel Kline/TheStreet.

Red Rock Resorts Gets Smaller to Get Bigger

Unlike Caesars and MGM, Red Rock Resorts casinos primarily target locals. That’s a niche that allows it to operate off the Las Vegas Strip. The company, however, has inched closer to competing with giants on the Strip with its plans for a Wildfire casino in the Fremont St. area.

Still, the company makes it clear that its Boarding Pass loyalty program — one aimed at locals, not tourists, remains its focus.

“Convenient local gaming and personalized service is what we’re all about — but it’s the Station Casinos Boarding Pass that elevates the Wildfire experience even further,” the company says on its website.

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The company recently permanently closed three properties that used the Station Casinos name — Texas Station, Fiesta Rancho and Fiesta Henderson. All had been shuttered since 2020 due to the pandemic and the company, which may redevelop the land those casinos sat on, believes their customers have migrated to other Station properties.

In addition to those three closures, Red Rock Resorts has also made the decision to shut down the Wild Wild West, and property located on Tropicana Avenue west of Interstate 15. That property may be shutting down because it’s a unique piece of land that could become a much larger resort/casino.

Red Rock President Hints at Big Plans

Red Rock Resorts shared the news of the closing in a memo to employees. The company promised that workers at the about-to-close Wild Wild West, would be offered jobs at the company’s other properties.

The Wild Wild West site had been a possible location for the Las Vegas Raiders stadium and it was, prior to the financial crisis of 2008, rumored to be in the running the be developed as a major three hotel, three casino property, Casino,org reported.

Red Rock was not specific about its development plans for the site, but Station Casinos President Scott Kreeger did share a statement with the website that suggest Red Rock Resorts plans to develop, not sell the property.

“Development parcels of this caliber are simply not available in Las Vegas any longer,” he said. “We are excited to take this first step to reposition the property for future development.”

Kreeger noted that the 20 acres which Wild Wild West sits on have “excellent visibility and access to Interstate 15 and the Las Vegas Strip.”

Red Rock Resorts owns about 100 total acres at the site, which would allow for a much larger, Las Vegas Strip-style development.

 



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Business

Norwegian Drops Covid Testing. Will Royal Caribbean, Carnival?

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The cruise industry has faced a public perceptions problem ever since the pandemic began.

Like Walt Disney’s (DIS) – Get The Walt Disney Company Report theme parks and many other travel destinations, the cruise industry ceased operations almost as soon as the covid pandemic was declared in March 2020. 

Once vaccinations became widely available, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) very cautiously allowed ships to begin sailing again last summer, though it still labeled cruising as a Level 4 high-risk activity at first.

While the major cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean International  (RCL) – Get Royal Caribbean Group Report, Carnival Cruise Lines  (CCL) – Get Carnival Corporation Report and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings  (NCLH) – Get Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Report always opt for high safety standards, the CDC still took a very cautious approach, gradually lowering the risk level for sailing until doing away with it this spring.

The major lines all have rigid protocols in place, and all spent millions during the pandemic to upgrade their ships to make them safe for guests. 

But even then, the industry has a built-in public perception problem, as The Street’s Daniel Kline recently explained that “cruises last from three days to seven days or even longer and that means that some people will get covid onboard and that will be blamed on the cruise industry.”

So that means the industry is well aware that even as we all collectively want to get back to normal and put the pandemic behind us, reality just isn’t cooperating, as the highly infectious BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants have been surging lately. 

The big three cruise lines have been reluctant to be the first to make any big changes. But now that the relatively small Holland America cruise line (which is owned by Carnival Corp.) has dropped pre-cruise covid testing on a handful of cruises, one of the big players has decided to follow in its footsteps with its actual main brand.

Image source: Shutterstock

Which Cruise Line Has Dropped its Testing Requirement?

Norwegian Cruise Line has now followed Holland America’s lead, and announced that, as of Aug. 1, all of its lines (which include Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruise) will drop pre-cruise covid test requirement, unless the country the ship sails from requires it.

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But that last part is key here. 

The U.S. recently dropped covid testing requirements for international travelers. This means that people no longer have to test negative before they can board a flight. 

In response, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which represents the majority of the cruise industry, requested a reconsidering of the pre-cruise testing requirement. But so far, the CDC has not made the requested change.

Holland America still requires proof of vaccination for guests who are 12 years or older, a rule that is also still followed by Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian.

So What Does The Change Mean?

At the moment, there are no real changes for Norwegian Cruise Line ships that leave from U.S., Canada, Greece, or Bermuda, which will still require a pre-cruise covid test before getting onboard a ship. (Technically, the CDC does not require that, but the cruise lines have opted into optional rules that do require a pre-cruise covid test).

But as pointed out by the Royal Caribbean Blog, the change will “make it easier for North Americans headed to Europe for a cruise to book a cruise, since it eliminates one more hoop to jump through.”

It’s unclear if Royal Caribbean or Carnival will follow Norwegian’s lead, or if the CDC will opt to do away with the testing requirement in the near future. But experts seem to think that it will be a while before there are any major changes.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley recently stated that “I think pre cruise testing is going to be around for another couple of months,” and “we obviously want it to go back to normal, but we’re incredibly cognizant of our responsibilities to keep our crew, the communities and our guests safe.”

Carnival has also clearly begun testing the waters, so to speak, with Holland America, but has not made the change on a sailings of its namesake cruise line. Royal Caribbean has not dropped testing on any of the lines it owns.

 



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World

Travelers can now go to Japan but domestic tourists remain its focus

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After more than two years of closed border policies, Japan is set to welcome back international travelers this week.

Come June 10, foreign tourists traveling via packaged tours can enter Japan.

However, the government’s priority still lies in boosting domestic tourism numbers, said Tadashi Shimura, president of Japan Association of Travel Agents.

Even before the pandemic, domestic tourism contributed far more to Japan’s overall gross domestic product than foreign tourism, according to JATA.

Tourism numbers

Overall tourism contributed 28 trillion yen ($211 billion) to Japan’s economy in 2019, with nearly 80% — or 22 trillion yen — coming from domestic tourists, according to a report by the Japan Tourism Agency.

Despite a rise in Covid cases in 2021, tourism spending from those living in Japan still managed to bring in 9.2 trillion yen that year, JTA said.

Nevertheless, boosting international arrivals to Japan is still vital, especially for the heavily hit hospitality, transportation and travel sectors, said Shimura.

Japan welcomed about 32 million foreign visitors in 2019 and had been on track to achieve its goal of 40 million in 2022, said Ejaz Ahmed, a research analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, during a webinar on June 1.

However, the pandemic caused arrival numbers to plummet rapidly, and there were only 250,000 foreign visitors in 2021, government data previously showed.

The loss of international travelers cost Japan “about 10 trillion yen over the past two years,” said Shimura, as spending from international students and long-term foreign residents brought in an average of 4.3 million yen per person per year, he said, citing a report by Nomura Research Institute.

Travel agencies in Japan are gearing up for the return of tourists with packaged tours to famous destinations across the country.

All Japan Tours has six tour packages, including the “Golden Route Japan Tour” which takes participants on an eight-day tour around Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto for $2,698.

What are the rules? 

The daily cap on the number of visitor arrivals — which includes Japanese nationals and returning foreign residents — doubled from 10,000 to 20,000 on June 1, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Local reports indicate the government may increase the limit to 30,000 people in July.

Still, Shimura said, those limits are too low, as the country used to welcome “140,000 [visitors] per day.”

Countries are classified into three categories — blue, red and yellow — and travelers may be subjected to additional restrictions depending on where they are coming from, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 

Travelers from 98 countries and regions — including the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and China — fall under the “blue” category and are not required to test or quarantine on arrival or be vaccinated to enter.

Travelers from any of the 99 countries in the “yellow” category are also exempted from testing and quarantining upon arrival if they have had three doses of an accepted Covid-19 vaccination. The category includes countries such as India, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

Those coming from “red” countries, such as Fiji, Pakistan and Sierra Leone, must test on arrival and quarantine for a period of three to seven days.

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Business

Royal Caribbean Gets Ready to Bring Back a Guest Favorite

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Royal Caribbean (RCL) – Get Royal Caribbean Group Report dropped its mask requirement for vaccinated guests as of Friday. Guests still need masks while boarding their ship — cruise terminals are federal transportation hubs that require masks — but can ditch them as soon as they get on board.

That’s because the cruise line’s ships, as will ones belonging to rivals Norwegian Cruise (NCLH) – Get Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Report Line, and Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) – Get Carnival Corporation Report, now operate under new voluntary guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control instead of the CDC’s previous, mandatory Conditional Sail Order.

Under the new rule, cruise lines can opt into having mostly-vaccinated cruises.  These require that 95% of crew and passengers be vaccinated. That’s not an issue with crew — Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian have been using 100% vaccinated crews —  and it should not change much for passengers since vaccinations have been required on most cruises since cruising returned to U.S. ports in July.

The change in rules, and the slowing omicron variant, have allowed cruising to return to mostly normal. Royal Caribbean hinted that a true return to normal — including bringing back some beloved onboard activities — may happen soon.

Image source: Daniel Kline/TheStreet.

Royal Caribbean Plots a Comeback

While cruises have returned, some typical cruise activities have not. You can’t social distance while playing laser tag or taking part in Royal Caribbean’s adult scavenger hunt, The Quest, so those things have not been part of cruises since they returned in July. The same has been true for Royal Caribbean’s Royal Promenade street parades and parties.

Nick Weir, senior vice president of entertainment for Royal Caribbean International, posted on Twitter a video of a street party rehearsal that took place recently. In the tweet, he added, “yeah, they will be back, hopefully soon…,” Matt Hochberg of the Royal Caribbean Blog reported.

Street parties include everything from 70s and 80s parties, to balloon drops, and other festive activities. These have not happened since the return to sailing because they require guests to pack together tightly. The changed guidelines make it possible for Royal Caribbean to bring these much-loved events back.

These are a “Times Square on New Year’s Eve kind of party,” wrote Hochberg, whose blog is not affiliated with the cruise line.

Royal Caribbean Tries to Bring Back Normal

Street parades and parties in the Promenade add a festive, celebratory feeling to a cruise. They’re not a huge part of cruising for most people, but they do attract a crowd and their return would also bring back a sort of communal sense of fun that sort of screams “we’re all on vacation.”

Royal Caribbean (and Carnival and Norwegian) have walked a bit of a tightrope during the post-shutdown days of the pandemic. They have to not only create a safe atmosphere — something arguably done by requiring not just proof of vaccination but also testing no more than two days before your cruise — but they also have to look like the environment is safe.

Two tested, vaccinated adults may pose very little risk of transmission playing at slot machines in a cruise ship casino without masks, but a picture of that creates bad optics for the cruise lines. That left all three major cruise lines having to balance actual health needs and perception.

Now, the CDC has loosened its mask recommendations on land as well. That makes it easier for the cruise lines to do the same onboard their ships. Bringing back street parades may seem like a small thing, but cruise bookings have been hurt somewhat by people not wanting to spend the money — even at depressed pricing — for an experience that’s not fully normal.

Changes like this bring normal a little bit closer. That should be good for Royal Caribbean and its CEO expects better days ahead. 

“We have also seen a change in the mindset of consumers coming out of the pandemic with the desire to travel and reengage with the world being stronger than ever,” said Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty during his company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. “In fact, the U.S. traveler organization research confirms that leisure travel will continue to increase at higher levels than business travel. All of this, coupled with consumer resilience and easing travel restrictions, provides tailwinds for our recovery.”



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World

Australia, New Zealand, Bali, Malaysia, Philippines reopen for travel

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Another day — another border reopens.      

In the past two weeks, a slew of countries announced plans to reopen or relax border restrictions. This includes places that have maintained some of the strictest pandemic-related border controls in the world. 

The announcements come on the heels of a record-setting period of global infections. According to the World Health Organization, Covid-19 cases peaked worldwide in late January, with more than 4 million cases registered in a single day. 

However, many countries are signaling that they can’t economically afford — or are no longer willing — to stay closed.

The pervasiveness of the omicron variant, which started spreading in countries — both open and closed — late last year, caused people to question the utility of locked border policies.

In addition, more than half (54%) of the world’s population is now vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. Medical treatments can successfully thwart and treat severe infections. And, many experts are now “cautiously optimistic” — as top American medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has stated — that a new phase of the pandemic may be within reach.

Australia

Arguably the biggest announcement of the past week came Monday, when Australia declared plans to reopen to vaccinated travelers from Feb. 21.

The news signaled the end to “Fortress Australia,” a moniker applied to the country’s controversial closed border policy that locked out foreigners and citizens alike.

Visitors to Australia must be vaccinated, a requirement underscored by the country’s much discussed ouster of tennis player Novak Djokovic in January.

James D. Morgan | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

The economic toll of Australia’s insular border policy was highlighted in January, when soon after backpackers were granted permission to enter, Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledged to refund some $350 in visa fees to those who moved swiftly. As it turned out, the about-face toward “working holiday maker” visa holders was part of an effort to reduce severe labor shortages.

Darryl Newby, co-founder of the Melbourne-based travel company Welcome to Travel, said the pandemic “not only affected the travel sector but every single industry” in Australia.

Pressure mounted when Covid infections skyrocketed in December, leaving an open question as to the purpose of keeping vaccinated and tested travelers locked out.

“Negative sentiment,” which began showing up in market research, may have been another factor, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The article quoted Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison as saying the country went from being “envied” to “ridiculed” over its border policies, with some fearing lasting damage to Australia’s touristic appeal.

The state of Western Australia, home to Perth, is not reopening to either foreigners or Australian tourists yet. It scrapped plans to reopen amid a rise in Covid cases in January.

Percent of peak*: 38%

 *Reuters’ rolling 7-day daily case average compared with the country’s all-time highest infection rate.

New Zealand

Another so-called “fortress” announced plans to welcome back vaccinated international visitors.

Unlike Australia, New Zealand last week outlined a five-step phased reopening plan that won’t allow international travelers to enter until July, at the earliest. Vaccinated travelers must also self-isolate for 10 days upon arrival.

With some exceptions, the plan first welcomes citizens and residents to enter later this month, if they are traveling from Australia. Citizens and residents coming from other places, plus eligible workers, can enter in mid-March, followed by some visa holders and students in mid-April.

Vaccinated travelers from Australia and those from countries who don’t need visas — including people from Canada, the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Israel, Chile, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates — can enter from July. Others will be allowed to visit starting in October.

Percent of peak: At peak and rising

Philippines

After closing its borders in March of 2020, the Philippines announced plans to reopen today to vaccinated travelers from more than 150 countries and territories.  

The country suspended its color-coded country classification program in favor of opening to vaccinated travelers who test negative via a PCR test. Facility-based quarantines were also replaced with a requirement to self-monitor for seven days.

Travelers to the Philippines must have valid return tickets and travel insurance with medical coverage of at least $35,000.

Rouelle Umali | Xinhua News Agency | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

Covid cases in the Philippines peaked last month with more than 300,000 daily cases at one point. Cases dropped as quickly as they rose, with 3,543 confirmed cases in the past 24 hours as of Feb. 10, according to the WHO.

Despite the surge, the Philippines’ Department of Tourism indicated the decision to reopen was related to economic hardship and, possibly, to match the policies of other Southeast Asian countries.

“The Department sees this as a welcome development that will contribute significantly to job restoration … and in the reopening of businesses that have earlier shut down during the pandemic,” said Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat in an article on the department’s website. “We are confident that we will be able to keep pace with our ASEAN neighbors who have already made similar strides to reopen to foreign tourists.”

Percent of peak: 19% and falling

Bali 

Despite rising infections, Bali, Indonesia, opened to vaccinated international travelers last week.

“It is known that currently the positivity rate is already above the WHO standard of 5% … the number of people who are checked and tested on a daily basis has also increased significantly,” according to a news release published on Jan. 31 on the country’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs office.

A woman meditates sitting in a bale in Bali, Indonesia.

Ted Levine | The Image Bank | Getty Images

Yet the decision to reopen to international travelers — which has been postponed in the past — was made to “re-invigorate Bali’s economy,” according to the website. 

Travelers face a five-day quarantine requirement, though they can isolate in one of 66 hotels, that include many of the island’s well-known luxurious resorts like The Mulia Resort and Villa and The St. Regis Bali Resort.

Bali, however, isn’t reopening to foreign tourists for the first time. It opened last October to travelers from 19 countries. Yet few people turned up due, in part, to a lack of international flights and the island’s stringent entrance requirements.   

Percent of peak (Indonesia): 68% and rising

Malaysia

Malaysia’s National Recovery Council on Tuesday recommended that the country reopen to international travelers as early as March 1, according to Reuters.

Travelers are not expected to have to quarantine on arrival, similar to tourism policies enacted by Thailand and Singapore.

Nearly 98% of Malaysia’s adult population is vaccinated, according to the country’s Ministry of Health, with more than two-thirds using vaccines produced by Pfizer or AstraZeneca, and one third on the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine.

Malaysia may be on its way towards an omicron-induced case peak. A steep uptick in daily cases began two weeks ago and has yet to decline.

Percent of peak: 41% and rising

Relaxing travel restrictions

Countries that are already open to international travelers are moving to further relax entrance requirements.

Though Europe is the regional leader in new Covid cases according to the WHO, countries such as Greece, France, Portugal, Sweden and Norway have announced plans to drop incoming test requirements for vaccinated travelers — though some apply only to E.U. residents.

Last week, the islands of Puerto Rico and Aruba enacted similar measures.

Other places are moving in the opposite direction. After shuttering bars and banning some incoming flights in late January, Hong Kong this week instituted new restrictions, including limiting public gatherings to two people. The restrictions are causing city-wide food shortages, inflated prices and a rising public anger, according to The Guardian.  

China also reinstituted strict measures ahead of the Winter Olympic Games, with lockdowns affecting some 20 million people in January, according to The Associated Press.   

Though both relaxed border restrictions, the Philippines and Bali also announced heightened local restrictions this year.

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Business

Go big, spend big on bucket list trips

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‘New sense of urgency’ to hit the road

There’s a “new sense of urgency” to travel, said Stephanie Papaioannou, a vice president at the luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent. 

“Guests feel they have lost two years, and older clients are concerned about having fewer healthy years left to travel,” she said.

A couple pose in front of Machu Picchu, a destination in Peru that tops many travelers’ bucket lists.

Marina Herrmann | Moment | Getty Images

Lee Thompson, co-founder of the adventure travel company Flash Pack, agreed.

“People are desperate to get away,” he said. “They’ve been waiting to get back out there and are not shying away from those international destinations and big, once-in-a-lifetime adventures.”

The year of the ‘GOAT’

Expedia is calling 2022 the year of the GOAT, or the “greatest of all trips.”

In a survey of 12,000 travelers in 12 countries, the company found that 65% of respondents are planning to “go big” on their next trip, according to a company representative. As a result, it named the desire for exciting and extravagant trips “the biggest travel trend” of the year.

A survey of 12,000 travelers by Expedia found that Singapore residents were the least likely to have traveled during the pandemic (59%) and the most likely to want to splurge (43%) on their next trip.

Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images

Amadeus is seeing a jump in searches to “epic destinations,” according to a company report published in November. Searches to Tanzania (+36%), flights to Jordan’s Petra (+22%) and bookings to cities near Machu Picchu (nearly +50%) rose from 2020 to 2021, according to the report.

These trends are expected to grow this year, along with interest in islands in the Indian Ocean as well as Antarctica, according to the report.

The pandemic has changed the “mood of travelers,” said Decius Valmorbida, president of travel at Amadeus.

“We have people just say: “Look, what if another pandemic happens? What if I’m locked in again?'” he said. There’s “a psychological effect that now is the moment.”

Searches for stays in vacation homes abroad are now on pace with 2019 levels, according to HomeToGo’s travel trends report, released in late November.

The international destinations drawing the biggest search increases this year, compared with 2019, are Tuscany, Italy (+141%), the Bahamas (+129%), French Polynesia’s Bora Bora (+98%), the Maldives (+97%) and the south of France (+88%), according to the report.  

The top-searched international destinations for Americans for 2022 travel are Rome, Bali, London, Paris and Mexico’s Riviera Maya — which includes Playa del Carmen and Tulum — according to Expedia.

Emily Deltetto / EyeEm | EyeEm | Getty Images

Research shows that those aged 18 to 34 are driving the trend, and families are also getting in on the act, said Abercrombie & Kent’s Papaioannou.

“Families are choosing destinations they have always dreamt of, especially those centered around outdoor experiences like Nile River cruises, Machu Picchu, safaris and barge cruises in Europe,” she said.

Loosening purse strings

While financially devastating for some, the pandemic has allowed others — namely, professionals who have been able to work from home — to sock away more savings.

Some 70% of leisure travelers in major countries — such as the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Japan and Spain — plan to spend more on travel in 2022 than they have in the past five years, according to a November joint report by the World Travel & Tourism Council and travel website Trip.com.

Travelers are “more willing than ever before” to splurge on future travels, according to Expedia.

James O’Neil | The Image Bank | Getty Images

Globally, HomeToGo’s average booking expenditures increased by 54% last year, compared with 2019, according to company data. But average nightly rates haven’t gone up nearly that much — around 10% — for bookings this year compared with before the pandemic, said the company’s co-founder and CEO Patrick Andrae.

“Pent-up demand for travel led to travelers taking longer vacations, many opting to do so in a spacious vacation rental versus a hotel,” he said.

U.S. travelers are also seeking quieter, more luxurious destinations this summer — Maui over Honolulu, Nantucket over Cape Cod — despite the higher costs, according to HomeToGo’s data.

Travelers may be willing to pay more to go to certain places, rather than to make the trip itself more luxurious. Twice as many U.S. respondents indicated they were willing to spend more to see “bucket list” destinations (32%) rather than book luxury experiences (15%) or room or flight upgrades (16%), according to Expedia.

The willingness and ability to spend more are likely a good thing, since travel costs have increased in some places. The U.S. Travel Association’s December Travel Price Index, which measures travel costs in the United States, shows that prices have increased for food (+10%), hotels (+13.3%) and motor fuel (+26.6%), compared with 2019.

Airfare, however, was lower than 2019 levels (-17%), according to the index — but that may soon change, partly because of rising jet fuel costs.

Family reunions and ‘friendcations’

People are celebrating missed milestones, often with extended family, said Papaioannou. Abercrombie & Kent’s data shows a 26% increase in future bookings of five or more guests as compared with 2019, she said.

Family reunion-style vacations will be popular this year, agreed Mark Hoenig, co-founder of the digital travel company VIP Traveler.

People are expected to travel more with friends and family this year.

Hinterhaus Productions | DigitalVision | Getty Images

“People are still catching up for lost time with family,” he said. “Destinations that provide for large multi-generation families, such as those with a high inventory of large villas — including the Caribbean, Mexico and Maldives — are seeing an uptick in bookings.”

The U.K. saw an explosion of bookings by large groups once restrictions eased, according to Amadeus. Bookings to party spots, such as Las Vegas; Cancun, Mexico; and the Spanish island of Ibiza, led the company to name “friendcations” a top travel trend for 2022.

Renewed demand for travel agents

Big trips often require big plans, which is resulting in a renewed demand for travel agents, said Elizabeth Gordon, co-founder of the tour and safari operator Extraordinary Journeys.

Professional planners can help travelers navigate “Covid-19 tests, restrictions, changes in entry requirements, visas, flights, accommodation, activities and backup plans,” she said.

Even “DIY travelers,” who normally plan their own trips, are nowadays seeking professional help to make sure their upcoming travels are seamless, said VIP Traveler’s Hoenig.

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Business

Travel is ‘roaring back’ — That’s good and bad for travelers

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Last year wasn’t a stellar year for travelers.

Perhaps that’s why so many are pinning their hopes on 2022. 

Travel bookings and inquiries are surging, say travel insiders, in an upward trajectory that, if realized, may both benefit and challenge travelers in the coming year.  

‘People want to make up for lost time’

Travel in 2022 will be even busier than before the pandemic, said Brandon Berkson, the founder of the New York-based travel company Hotels Above Par.

“People want to make up for lost time,” he said, adding that potential customers have stated their desire to travel next year is greater than ever before.

Ben Drew, president of the TripAdvisor-owned travel company Viator, said in December that the demand for upcoming travel is “extraordinary.”

Beach and mountain destinations are popular, with bookings rising 1,665% to Tulum, Mexico (seen here) and nearly 700% to Denali National Park from 2019 to 2021, according to Viator.

M Swiet Productions | Moment | Getty Images

“Travel came roaring back,” he said. “Even in the face of omicron, travelers are booking more experiences than at this time in pre-pandemic 2019.”

Viator’s 2022 data shows bookings are also increasing from summer to fall, a time when travel typically slows down.

While acknowledging 2022 may “come with challenges,” Drew said he expects it to be “a chapter of resilience, resurgence and growth for the travel industry.”

Is the industry ready?

While news of a business boom is likely music to the beleaguered travel industry’s ears, it could be problematic if it happens too quickly, said Manoj Chacko, executive vice president of the business management company WNS.

“The speed and force of demand could catch some travel industry players off guard,” he said. “Airlines, for instance, could struggle to re-hire pilots. Moreover, pilots might need additional training and skill refresher programs.”

Airlines aren’t the only part of the travel sector that may struggle to hire staff this year.

Some 62 million travel-related jobs were lost in 2020, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. While many of these jobs are now returning — in October, the WTTC estimated the industry’s employment levels would rise 18% in 2022 — former employees aren’t rushing back to their old roles.

Burned by industrywide layoffs, some workers settled into other industries. Others are unwilling to take front-line positions in an era of rising customer anger and aggressive behavior.

Spain, Italy, France, the U.K., Portugal (seen here) and the U.S. are some of the countries facing staff shortages in the tourism industry, according to the WTTC.

Gonzalo Azumendi | Stone | Getty Images

One in 13 travel-related jobs in the United States is expected to remain unfilled, according to a WTTC staffing report published in December. In Portugal, the numbers rise to 1 in 9, according to the report.

“It’s hard to find cooks and enough servers to deal with the surge and the recovery of demand in the industry,” Jon Bortz, the CEO of the U.S.-based Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, told CNBC’s “The Exchange” last year.

To fill the gap, employees are working overtime and managers are “taking shifts,” he said.

For travelers, worker shortages can spell travel delays and a reduction in services, from fewer restaurant reservations to the elimination of daily housekeeping services.

“We were one of the first industries to be hit; we’ll be probably one of the last to recover completely,” said Bortz. “We would certainly ask customers to be patient.”

A push for tech

A dearth of workers underscores the industry’s shift, which started long before the pandemic, to using technology to perform certain jobs in the travel sphere.

Tasks such as delivering room service and cleaning airports can be done by robots, said Rachel Fu, chair of the University of Florida’s Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management department. Hotels can also use “concierge robots” to help customers make reservations, she said.

“Using AI wisely can significantly reduce labor costs without sacrificing the level of personalized services,” said Fu.

We will be seeing many more touchless elevators next year.

Nima Ziraknejad

NZ Technologies, founder and CEO

This may help businesses close some labor gaps, but innovations that directly affect travelers may be even more important as companies continue to battle for tourist dollars.

Some hotels let guests check in and out, book airport transfers and make spa appointment via apps, like the one by luxury brand Four Seasons.   

“Unlike many other hospitality apps, Four Seasons Chat is powered by real people on property,” said Ben Trodd, senior vice president of sales and hotel marketing at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

A technology called “HoverTap” makes elevators touch-free. Created by the tech company NZ Technologies, these elevators are in use in Canada, according to company representatives.

“We will be seeing many more touchless elevators next year,” said Nima Ziraknejad, the company’s founder and CEO.

Here’s how they work:

Elevators are just the beginning. The technology can be used on any high-touch surface, said Ziraknejad. The company plans to expand into self-service kiosks in airports, restaurants and hotels, as well as ATMs and airplane seatback entertainment systems, he said.

Soon companies that have these technological advancements will have an advantage over those that don’t, said WNS’ Chacko.

“In some countries, passengers are still expected to fill out paper forms and adhere to the norms of officials physically handling their passports and other travel documents,” he said. “Elsewhere, for instance, in Spain, most information … can be uploaded onto a single app.”

As customer expectations and the availability of touchless technologies increase, these advancements “will surely emerge as a key competitive differentiator,” he said.

Correction: HoverTap’s elevator technology is currently in use only in Canada. A previous version of the story misstated the countries where it’s used.

 

 

 

 

              

 

 

 

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World

The longest Christmas celebrations in the world

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In the centuries-old carol “The 12 Days of Christmas,” celebrations span less than two weeks.  

Today Christmas is regularly celebrated throughout December, and in some places, a good portion of November too. 

But four months of festivities in the Philippines gives new meaning to the term “holiday season.”

The ‘ber’ months

Christmas is celebrated during the “ber” months, as it’s called in the Philippines — that is, September, October, November and December, said Robert Blancaflor, president of the Manila-based events design company Robert Blancaflor Group.

“Christmas is the longest celebrated season in the Philippines and … our country celebrates it the longest globally,” he said. “Can you imagine a whole nation willingly sharing warmth and love … this long?”

“Everywhere you look here is just pure Christmas,” said Robert Blancaflor, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, adding he’s “glad to be living in such a joyous country.”

Courtesy of Robert Blancaflor

But the parties don’t end in December.  

“Christmas fever starts on Sept. 1 and ends the first week of January,” said Marot Nelmida-Flores, a professor of Philippine studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

This is, however, “a recent phenomenon,” she said. And the reason why is a familiar one.

Commercialization of the holiday

“With the proliferation of shopping malls, first in metro Manila which later on mushroomed far into the provinces, Christmas carols started to be heard soon after All Saints Day [on] Nov. 1,” said Joven Cuanang, a neurologist and respected art and culture enthusiast in the Philippines. “This was to attract people to start shopping for Christmas gifts — it was commerce-driven.”

Retail stores pushing out Christmas-themed merchandise earlier than in the past is responsible for so-called “Christmas creep” in many countries. A significant difference is that while others condemn the practice, Filipinos largely embrace it.   

A Manila vendor sleeps among Christmas “parol,” or lanterns made of paper and bamboo that are shaped to resemble the Star of Bethlehem.

NOEL CELIS | AFP | Getty Images

“Filipinos start to make parol, or Christmas lanterns, as early as September,” said Nelmida-Flores. “Now, many parts of the islands have their own trademark parol and Christmas theme plazas and parks.”

Families reunite

A sculpture in Manila pays tribute to overseas Filipino workers, many of whom are parents who spend years away from their children and loved ones to earn wages to financially support them.

JAY DIRECTO | AFP | Getty Images

That likely won’t happen this year. Many of the overseas workers, who live in places like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, aren’t traveling this year due to the global pandemic.

Marites Rheme Lopez Javier, who has been living and working in Singapore for 18 years, hasn’t seen her family in the Philippines since 2019. She plans to celebrate Christmas with them, including her first grandchild born last month, via video chat.

Javier said radio stations begin to play English and Tagalog Christmas songs in September. This is also when decorations — including Christmas trees — go up. Festivals and beauty pageants, a controversial yet wildly popular activity in the Philippines, start in October, she said.

L: Ramiro Hinojas, known as the “dancing traffic cop” directs Manila traffic in a Santa Claus costume; R: Marites Rheme Lopez Javier said Santa isn’t as popular in the Philippines as in other countries. “It’s the aunties [female relatives] who slide money into kids’ stockings.”

L: TED ALJIBE | AFP | Getty Images; R: Courtesy of Marites Javier

She said as a child her family made their Christmas tree from manila paper and cardboard. Now, inexpensive plastic trees are the norm in her village.

When asked if she feels there’s “too much Christmas” in the Philippines, the 45-year-old native of Luzon island said, “No, we enjoy it! It’s a very happy time.”

Shifting celebrations earlier

The Peninsula Manila used to light its 45-foot Christmas tree in early November, but “we’ve moved it a tad earlier to the second Friday of October,” said Mariano Garchitorena, the hotel’s director of public relations.

He said “there’s no reason for delaying Christmas, since Christmas is always a good idea,” adding that this is what “any good Filipino, like myself, would say.”

The Peninsula Manila’s staff starts planning for Christmas in June, said Mariano Garchitorena.

Courtesy of The Peninsula Manila

The hotel includes al fresco dining in its holiday plans “to take advantage of the nippy weather,” said Garchitorena. The average temperature in Manila in December is 25 C (78 F), according to Climate-Data.org.

Nina Halley, founder of the Manila floral and décor company The Love Garden, said she starts receiving Christmas orders in July.

“Philippines is very much influenced by the West, particularly the U.S.,” said Halley. “So the same pines and cypresses, pinecones and dried oranges are heavily used in our décor. Believe it or not, we import fir trees … from Europe.”

A nation of faith

Religion is the foundation of the Philippines’ long festive period, said Blancaflor, adding that “the country is celebrating [its] 500th year of Christianity” this year.

Some 92% of people in the Philippines are Christian, according to the Stanford School of Medicine. Among the population of 110 million, more than 80% identify as Roman Catholic — a figure greater than that of Italy.

Some 88% of Filipinos said they were very or moderately religious, according to a 2020 survey by the Philippines social research institution, Social Weather Stations.

Catholics who attended nine days of pre-dawn “Simbang Gabi” masses in 2020 had to socially distance or attend sessions virtually in some areas, due to the global pandemic.

Ezra Acayan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Many of the devout engage in the tradition of Simbang Gabi, a nine-day period of pre-dawn mass attendance that lasts from Dec. 16 to 24, said Blancaflor. The practice is thought to have been introduced by Spanish missionaries in the 17th century.

This used to mark the start of Christmas, said Cuanang, who recalled participating as a child: “Every dawn for nine days, we would huddle in the chill, going to church, culminating in the midnight mass on Christmas Eve.”

Joven Cuanang said when he was growing up in Ilocos in Luzon, children went house-to-house singing Christmas carols in exchange for tupig, a type of sweet rice cake, like the young Filipino carolers, circa 1955, shown here.

Evans | Three Lions | Hulton Archive | Getty Images

Back then, celebrations were only about three weeks long, he said.

“Most people of my generation find the four-month period a little too long,” said 81-year-old Cuanang.

What so much celebrating says about the culture

“Filipinos are a happy people,” said Halley, who added that her fellow citizens will find “any reason to celebrate and prepare food, gather around a table, sing, dance and be merry.”

Nina Halley and her “Pink Roses Christmas Tree” arrangement, made with roses, carnations, gypsophila (baby’s breath) and eucalyptus.

Courtesy of Nina Halley and The Love Garden

Linda Abella, 63, fixes the decorations on her Christmas tree outside her house in typhoon-hit Palo, Philippines on Dec. 23, 2013.

Ezra Acayan | NurPhoto | Corbis News | Getty Images

The country, comprising some 7,100 islands, is also prone to typhoons. On average, it’s hit by 20 a year, five of which are destructive, according to the Asian Disaster Reduction Center.

“Filipinos are quick to respond and channel the Christmas spirit to urgently [help] affected people above all else,” said Blancaflor. “One of the most beautiful things about the Filipinos [is] being able to smile through the downside of life and still be thankful amidst obstacles — knowing there will be a better day.”

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