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Is it safe to travel this summer? Optimistic travelers booking now

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Fueled by Covid vaccines, flexible cancellation policies and people yearning to break free from home, the summer travel season is already booming for some parts of the travel industry.

A survey from research company Toluna indicates Americans are gaining confidence to travel with each passing month, with 27% comfortable to travel in April and 42% by July.

But a sudden surge in bookings shows many people are locking in reservations and rates before it’s too late.

A sharp rise in summer flights

U.S. domestic flight bookings for summer travel sharply rose earlier this month, according to research from the data identity company Adara. Since Feb. 1, domestic hotel bookings have more than tripled.  

Domestic flight and hotel bookings for travel between July 1 and Aug. 31, 2021.

Courtesy of Adara

International flights originating in the U.S., while fewer in number, followed the same upward trajectory, with bookings rising around mid-February. 

International flight and hotel bookings for travel between July 1 and Aug. 31, 2021.

Courtesy of Adara

Leisure travel — particularly family travel (which is outpacing bookings by singles and couples) — is driving the growth, according to Adara’s report. The most popular destinations for summer leisure flights are to:

  1. Honolulu
  2. Denver
  3. Chicago
  4. Miami
  5. Orlando

By comparing summer bookings this year against those in 2019, preferences for smaller, outdoor destinations emerge.  

“Best Relative Performance” chart for leisure flights booked between Jan. 1 and March 14 for travel between July 1 and Aug. 31, 2021.

Courtesy of Adara

Data from the mobile booking app Hopper also shows a strong uptick in summer travel planning, with searches for mid-summer travel increasing 100% in early February. The company expects domestic airfare prices to begin rising in March, and international airfare by mid-May.   

We’re forecasting that this will be our highest volume summer on record in the history of the company.

Andrew Collins

CEO, Sentient Jet

As flights fill, so will terminals, including private ones such as PS at LAX, which caters to Los Angeles’ celebrity and wealthy flyers.

The private terminal, which costs $4,500 per year for membership plus per-use fees, reached capacity several times this month and often has a waitlist.

“We are cautiously optimistic that this summer will be one of revenge travel,” said co-CEO Josh Gausman. “Travelers will spend more on upgrades, luxury services and unique experiences.”

“We project overall travel volumes to remain lower than 2019 but spending per trip to increase,” said PS at LAX’s Gausman.

Courtesy of PS at LAX

Many charter jet companies are expecting a banner summer.

“The pandemic has exposed a lot of people to private aviation who might never have considered or tried it under normal circumstances,” said Megan Wolf, CEO of Flexjet. “This has allowed the private jet travel industry to better weather the storm.”

Sentient Jet, which sells “jet cards” for 25 flying hours, is predicting it will fly 30%-50% more volume than in pre-pandemic summers, owing to new customers acquired during the pandemic. Between April and September of 2020, two out of three card purchases came from new clients, a ratio that was reversed prior to the pandemic, said CEO Andrew Collins.

“We’re forecasting that this will be our highest volume summer on record in the history of the company,” Collins told CNBC Global Traveler.

No vacancy: Hotels that are filling fast

Located in New York’s Catskill Mountains, The Roxbury at Stratton Falls opened in February of 2020, just before the pandemic hit the U.S. 

“Last year our reservations were dismal for the summer at this time,” said co-owner Greg Henderson. “This year we’re facing the opposite problem …. demand is so high that by mid-April there will be no weekend availability left all the way into October.”

His advice for weekend travelers: “Now is the time” to book.

The Roxbury at Stratton Falls has themed mansion rooms and tower cottages.

Courtesy of The Roxbury at Stratton Falls

Another New York hotel, The Inns of Aurora, is fully booked on select weekends in July and August, said Alex Schloop, the hotel’s creative director. The hotel, comprising five boutique inns in the Finger Lakes region, doesn’t typically have this many summer bookings, he said.

“In the past, we’d usually see summer bookings pick up … closer to end of April or early May,” Schloop said.

Club Wyndham, the member-based vacation company, said three of its resorts in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina are nearly fully booked in July. The beachfront Club Wyndham SeaWatch is 99% full in June, and 95% full in July, the company said.  

Club Wyndham Ocean Boulevard resort is 93% booked in July, according to the company.

Courtesy of Club Wyndham

An uptick in bookings is keeping travel companies busy too.

“InteleTravel experienced several record-breaking days last week where we booked more transactions in a single day than ever in our 30-year history,” said James Ferrara, the company’s president. “In Mexico, we’re … seeing an emerging preference for ‘swim-out’ suites found at some all-inclusive resorts, so travelers have less contact during their vacation.”

Last December, Sandals opened this style of suite at its South Coast resort in Jamaica. These “suites are essentially sold-out for the next 12 months,” Adam Stewart, executive chairman of Sandals Resorts International said.

The Rondoval swim-up suites at Sandals South Coast, which come with river pool access and butler service, are sold out for the next year.

Courtesy of Sandals Resorts

Three Sandals’ resorts in Jamaica are fully booked on various dates in June and July, and all three of the brand’s family-themed Beaches resorts — two in Jamaica and one in Turks and Caicos — are sold out from mid to late June.

The surge in bookings is causing some hotels to raise prices for remaining rooms.

After a big uptick in summer bookings, The Foundry Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina, decided to increase rates, said Julie Bivings, the hotel’s revenue manager.

“We feel confident in our rate structure to price both weekdays and weekends at higher levels than usual because of this increase in demand,” she said.

Where home rentals are hottest

Airbnb is reporting travelers are looking to rent homes near small beach towns and state and national parks this summer. Vacationers are searching for patios, backyards and barbecue areas (for Fourth of July gatherings) at higher rates than before.  

Vacation home rentals and villas are in high demand due to social distancing concerns and growing demand for “bubble travel,” said Inteletravel’s Ferrara, who cited Florida, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico and Hawaii as domestic hotspots.

Though travelers are largely expected to travel domestically this year, Americans are searching summer home rentals in Aruba; the U.S. Gulf Coast; Tulum, Mexico; and Reunion, Florida, according to HomeToGo’s “2021 Summer Travel Forecast.”

Massive availability issues … are going to play out … as the weather warms up.

Jonathan Weinberg

CEO, AutoSlash

The travel search engine named Orlando, Florida; the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and New York City as the most searched “most affordable” locations. With a $234 average nightly rental rate, the inclusion of New York City on a budget list illustrates the lack of travelers to the once-thriving metropolitan areas in the United States.

This year, only 12% of summer travel searches are for urban destinations, according to HomeToGo.   

Bookings at luxury travel agency Virtuoso are gaining steam each month, said Misty Belles, the company’s managing director of global public relations. Villas of Distinction, one of Virtuoso’s partners, is adding villa rentals in the Florida Panhandle, North and South Carolina, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Arizona and Hawaii, she said.

“Hotels with villas are also pacing well, particularly those with strong drive-to markets like Southern California,” she said.

One location was mentioned by nearly everyone who spoke to CNBC for this report — Florida.

Fourteen of the 24 locations with the biggest growth in booking interest (defined as searches and clicks) on VacationRenter are in Florida, the company said. The home rental website, which aggregates home rentals from VRBO, Booking.com and other websites, highlighted Key West and Orlando, as having nearly tripled in booking interest from last year.

Train and rental car shortages

Train tour operator Vacations By Rail is expecting Alaska, Colorado and the U.S. national parks to be the most popular destinations for train travelers.

“This is not unusual for us, but the demand is huge,” said the operator’s president Heather Leisman, who added the company “is working hard to add capacity to meet the overwhelming demand.”

Additional departure dates are being added to Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park and on the company’s “Great Parks of the Southwest” tour, which includes the Grand Canyon.

Guided tour operator Trafalgar is reporting a 56% increase in travel to Alaska this summer.

Dagny Willis | Moment | Getty Images

Car rental shortages may be a bigger problem.

“Massive availability issues … are going to play out … as the weather warms up,” said Jonathan Weinberg, CEO of rental car website AutoSlash. He said there was a “de-fleeting” by rental car companies (selling of cars or deferring or canceling plans to buy new ones) last year and the difficulty and cost to buy new cars this year due to vehicle production and semiconductor shortages.

Car rental shortages are already occurring in the metro Phoenix area, Las Vegas, Denver, Hawaii (especially Maui and the Big Island) and “the entire state of Florida,” said AutoSlash’s Weinberg.

RUSS ROHDE | Cultura | Getty Images

Last weekend, 18 out of 20 commercial airports in Florida had zero availability, and off-airport locations “were similarly slammed,” said Weinberg, who said those who could rent cars were paying upwards of $500 a day.

“It’s almost a certainty that it’s going to get worse before it gets better, and it’s likely going to be the back half of the summer into the fall before things truly return to ‘normal,'” he said.

Weinberg’s advice: “Book early – way earlier than you would ever think. You can make a pay-later reservation where you don’t have to even give your credit card.”

Camping and outdoor travel

Part of the pleasure of camping is getting away from crowds and sold-out scenarios. But, that may change now that outdoor travel is one of the hottest travel trends of 2021.  

Reservations for the yurts — or rounded tents — at Snow Mountain Ranch in Granby, Colorado opened in January and are now nearly fully booked, the company said.

“The yurts are very popular for guests as a glamping option, and this year the demand to get outdoors and out of the city is even higher,” Trueman Hoffmeister, the ranch’s general manager said.

At $104 a night, the 24 yurts at Snow Mountain Ranch are dog-friendly and popular for those who prefer to camp “light,” said Snow Mountain Ranch’s Hoffmeister.

Courtesy of YMCA of the Rockies

Campgrounds have more availability, however, ones located near top national parks are filling up, according to booking website Kampgrounds of America. The West Glacier KOA Resort, near Glacier National Park, is mostly full for summer and is already taking reservations for the 2022 travel season, the company said.

Another booking website Campspot said campgrounds in the U.S. Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states are booking the fastest, with reservations for cabins, RV sites and tents all having increased from last year.

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Health

Hawaii gets tourism surge as coronavirus rules loosen up

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Tourists are traveling to Hawaii in larger numbers than officials anticipated, and many are wandering around Waikiki without masks, despite a statewide mandate to wear them in public.

Hawaii’s “Safe Travels” program reported that about 28,000 people flew into and throughout the islands on Saturday, the highest number of travelers in a single day since the coronavirus pandemic began, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.

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Before the pandemic, Hawaii had about 30,000 arrivals daily. When quarantine rules were put in place early in the pandemic, arrivals plummeted and the state’s tourism-dependent economy tanked.

In October, state officials launched a pre-travel testing program that allowed visitors to sidestep quarantine rules. But travel remained sluggish until the second week in March, when spring break tourists started arriving in the islands.

Travel company Pleasant Holidays president and CEO Jack Richards told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the agency’s bookings increased 30% over the last two weeks.

“We haven’t seen travel demand for Hawaii this strong for over a year,” Richards said. “I thought we would have a U-shaped recovery; it’s V-shaped. January and February were terrible, but we’ve gone from zero to 150 mph in two weeks.”

SANDALS CARIBBEAN RESORTS SEES VACATION BOOKINGS OUTPACE PRE-COVID NUMBERS

Hawaii News Now reported that officials are receiving complaints about visitors not wearing masks. With a few exceptions, people in Hawaii are still required to wear masks while in public.

“I’m a believer that if you’re outdoors, you can remove it,” said Glenn Day, a visitor from Indiana.

Visitors said rules in their home states are different than those in place in Hawaii.

“We carry our masks around and if we walk into an establishment we’ll wear one, and if people look like they’re uncomfortable with us around, we’ll put one on. But otherwise, like I said where we come from, people are really not required to wear them,” Wisconsin visitor Larry Dopke said.

“I’m not wearing one right now, I’m outdoors,” said Todd Hasley who was visiting from Idaho. “Boise city has an indoor mask mandate. The rest of the state has a mask recommendation.”

SPRING BREAK TRAVEL: AIRPORTS SEE RECORD NUMBER OF FLYERS SINCE PANDEMIC SLOWDOWN

Some lawmakers expressed concern about a possible backlash from residents.

“I think we’re all going to have to be prepared for a potential surge in tourism,” said Hawaii state Rep. Scott Saiki, a Democrat. “I think we have to be prepared because the public may have a response to a sudden surge.”

Such a reaction could hinder economic recovery.

“Pushing back against tourism is the same thing as telling your neighbor they shouldn’t have a job,” said Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Hawaii’s Economic Research Organization.

Hawaii requires all visitors and returning residents to get negative pre-travel COVID-19 tests before flying to the state to be exempt from the 10-day quarantine rule.

The island of Kauai has additional measures that will be in place until April 5. All visitors to Kauai must either spend three days on another island or quarantine at a county-approved resort for three days and then get second, post-arrival tests.

DELTA ADDS NEW ROUTES, EXPANDS FLIGHTS TO OVER 20 VACATION DESTINATIONS

Violating the state’s coronavirus mandates, which are outlined in Hawaii Gov. David Ige’s latest emergency proclamation, is a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to a $5,000 fine, a year in prison, or both.

Each island county’s police are responsible for enforcing the rules. Messages from The Associated Press seeking comment from the Honolulu Police Department regarding enforcement of mask rules in Waikiki was not immediately returned.

Tim Sakahara, a spokesman for Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, said in an email that the city recently put up banners throughout Waikiki reminding people to wear masks and remain socially distanced.

“These banners provide a tool to help Honolulu Police officers do their jobs in gaining compliance with COVID-19 rules,” Sakahara said. “The majority of residents and visitors are compliant with the rule or are cooperative when informed of it.”

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However, some residents have also opposed wearing masks. Two people were arrested and two others were cited during a weekend anti-mask rally in Waikiki.

Hawaii has had among the lowest rates of confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S.

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Business

Companies Wrestle With Hybrid Work Plans—Awkward Meetings and Midweek Crowding

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Big U.S. companies are discovering that “hybrid” work comes with plenty of complications.

As employers firm up plans to bring white-collar workers back into offices while still allowing them to do some work at home, many are encountering obstacles. Companies are grappling with what new schedules employees should follow, where people should sit in redesigned offices and how best to prevent employees at home from feeling left out of impromptu office discussions or being passed over for opportunities, say chief executives, board directors and others.

The insurer

Prudential Financial Inc.,

PRU -0.08%

which expects most of its roughly 42,000 employees to work in the office half the time starting after Labor Day, wants to make certain not all staffers choose to stay home Mondays and Fridays and then work in the office midweek. At the travel company

Expedia Group Inc.,

EXPE -2.41%

executives are trying to figure out how to have in-person meetings that don’t disadvantage those who aren’t in the room. Other employers, including the software company

Twilio Inc.,

predict that the new era of work could lead to shuffling between teams, with staffers gravitating to bosses who embrace their preferred styles of working.

Hybrid work “is going to redefine expectations, rules, permissions,” says Kevin McCarty, chief executive officer of the Chicago-based consulting firm West Monroe, which employs 1,360 people, and is rethinking when its employees should work at home or come into its offices.

The new style of work is bound to be another transition for workers who a year ago had to adjust to life at home. Though executives say it would be easier to manage if every employee returned to an office, or all stayed remote, surveys have repeatedly shown that most workers want a mixed approach as more adults are vaccinated. In a February survey of 1,000 companies commissioned by LaSalle Network, a national staffing and recruiting firm, the majority of companies said they would adopt a hybrid model.

Companies have also polled their organizations to find out how employees feel. At

Prudential,

PRU -0.08%

most employees indicated that they enjoyed working remotely but missed the planning, ideation and collaboration that takes place in person, says

Rob Falzon,

vice chair of the company.

Prudential has been redesigning its office space floor by floor and repurposing most of it for meeting rooms, collaboration and open space so people will be more likely to interact. Mr. Falzon says he insisted on adding video capacity in more small meeting spaces, not just conference rooms, so people working from home won’t feel excluded.

Like many employers, the company is reducing its physical footprint so there won’t be available desks for people who want to go to the office more frequently, with exceptions for some employees including traders. “We don’t have a desk for you every day,” Mr. Falzon says. “We have a desk for you three days a week.”

Hybrid models range by company. The technology company

Adobe Inc.

plans to allow employees to work from home up to two to three days a week, with staffers able to make reservations for office desks, says

Gloria Chen,

the company’s chief people officer. Other companies are hesitant to put out a specific number on days allowed at home. Factors including the length of a commute, type of job and an employee’s seniority could determine how often an employee needs to visit an office, executives say.

“We won’t prescribe” from a company level, says

David Henshall,

CEO at the technology company

Citrix Systems Inc.

“Based on the type of role you have, you’ll find that right balance.”

Prominent tech companies are embracing remote work in the midst of an exodus of skilled labor from Silicon Valley. WSJ looks at what that could mean for innovation and productivity and what companies are doing to manage the impact.

With flexibility can come challenges. If a team comes together in-person, but not all can make it, that potentially creates a subpar experience for those not in the room, says Expedia CEO

Peter Kern.

The travel company opened the first phases of an expansive campus—complete with Wi-Fi-equipped rocks —on the shores of Seattle’s Elliott Bay before the pandemic, and plans to initially permit spaced group team meetings at its headquarters.

Mr. Kern, though, says he has questions about whether those on Zoom will get the same level of learning, encouragement and career growth as those in the room. Then there are the scheduling issues.

Managers may need to “set up group meetings according to some crazy algorithm of: Who’s available when? Who’s got a flexible day, when?” Mr. Kern says. “There’s a lot of friction in all of that. It’s a lot easier to say, ‘Everybody go to work.’ Now someone calls a meeting, and you’re all there.”

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A new way of working will require the company to think differently about performance, Mr. Kern says. Managers must be careful not to have biased judgments against those who may spend less time in the office, requiring the company to be “really thoughtful about how we assess people and give people opportunity so that we don’t end up with skewed outcomes.”

Training and onboarding might be more challenging in a hybrid environment, especially if new employees have a harder time grasping the company’s culture without regular, in-person interaction with colleagues, says Tom Gimbel, CEO of LaSalle Network. With younger employees, “for them to learn anything, they need to be around the more experienced people,” he says.

Other companies have said they would allow for remote work in limited circumstances. In a memo, executives at the

New York Times Co.

said the company planned to reopen its main offices in September and didn’t intend to become fully remote. The company would “approve remote work only in places where the team and nature of the work can accommodate it.”

Some human-resources professionals say companies will have little choice but to accommodate workers’ demands, as an inflexible workplace could drive employees away as the economy rebounds, and because many workers have proven themselves adept at working anywhere.

“The employer before just could say, ‘Our culture is this,’” says

Tara Wolckenhauer,

a human-resources executive at the payroll processor

Automatic Data Processing Inc.

“Employers have to take a step back and think about it very differently.”

—Krithika Varagur contributed to this article.

Write to Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com and Chip Cutter at chip.cutter@wsj.com

How the Reopening Will Affect You

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Business

Ticket? Passport? Add a Covid Vaccination Card to the List of Must-Have Travel Documents

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LONDON—The world’s airlines are betting on vaccinations to restart international travel.

Two of Europe’s biggest airlines, British Airways and budget carrier Ryanair Holdings PLC, have started allowing fliers to provide Covid-19 vaccination and test-result details alongside personal data, like passport numbers and visa information, during bookings. The airlines say the move will eventually help passengers show they have been inoculated when landing at destinations that have started to welcome vaccinated travelers.

Across the U.S., domestic travel is picking up amid stabilizing or falling Covid-19 cases and a relatively quick vaccination drive. That rebound isn’t yet happening with international traffic, where a patchwork of travel bans, quarantine rules and testing requirements have stymied cross-border flights.

U.S. domestic carriers have increased scheduled capacity by more than 50% between September and March, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Global capacity across all international routes, meanwhile, has increased just a little over 7%.

British Airways, Ryanair and other airlines dependent on international travel are hoping to boost ticket sales by capitalizing on nascent optimism over vaccinations. Their move isn’t quite the sort of vaccination passport that some governments and international agencies are exploring to help unlock pandemic-stricken economies. Countries have considered documents that would allow vaccinated residents to visit bars and restaurants, or go to the office or a sporting event.

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World

Thailand allowing tourists to quarantine on yachts in bid to revive Phuket tourism

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If you have to quarantine, you might as well quarantine in style.

Thailand’s government is testing a program that would allow tourists to complete their mandatory quarantine periods on yachts off the coast of Phuket. Previous guidance stipulated that visitors remain on their yachts for 14 days before completing an additional 14-day quarantine on land — at their own expense — before exploring Phuket Island.

During that time, tourists will be allowed off their boats to swim but may not visit the shore, reports Phuket News.

THAI NAVY SAILORS RESCUE CATS FROM SINKING SHIP

The new guidelines are aimed at helping the country’s tourism industry recover following a drastic drop in tourism, and even a brief ban on all visitors, amid the global pandemic. Phuket alone lost an estimated $10 billion in tourism revenue over the last 12 months, the Bangkok Post reported.

Thailand’s new test program has already accepted 100 yachts for its trial run, which is expected to bring up to 500 tourists, according to the Bangkok Post.

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Those taking part in the test will also be required to wear smart wristbands to transmit data from up to 10 kilometers offshore, including information about their temperature and blood pressure. The Royal Thai Navy will also be monitoring the ships and visitors from a base in Cape Panwa, according to Business Insider.

Cruising yachts anchored off the Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club Nai Han Bay Phuket Thailand. (Andrew Woodley/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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News of Thailand’s new yacht guidelines comes amid the country’s relaxed regulations for foreign visitors. As of April, tourists to Thailand will only be required to quarantine for 10 days after providing proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of departure from their home country, per Reuters.

Visitors with proof of vaccination, meanwhile, will only need to quarantine for seven days after providing documentation of negative COVID-19 tests taken within three days of departure.

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World

Japanese manners and customs that every traveler to Japan should know

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Customs and manners are so important to Japanese culture that many travel websites have sections dedicated to the topic.

Japan is currently closed to international travelers, but the country is exploring ways to safely reopen before the start of the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which is scheduled for late July. Tourists aren’t expected to understand all of Japan’s complex social rules, but they can avoid the most commonly committed faux pas.  

Here’s a guide on what to do — and what to avoid — based on advice from Japan’s government-affiliated tourism organizations.

Don’t touch the geisha

What many travelers call “geisha,” are referred to as “maiko” or “geiko” in Kyoto, which is considered one of the best places in Japan to see the decorated female entertainers.

If one is spotted, the travel website for the Kyoto City Tourism Association (KCTA) advises travelers against stopping or asking maiko to pose for photographs.  

“Do not bother them or grab them by their kimono sleeves,” states the website.

A maiko, or appentice geisha, walks in the snow in the district of Gion in Kyoto, Japan.

Koichi Kamoshida | Getty Images News | Getty Images

This is one of Kyoto’s Manners Akimahen, a list of 18 tips, recommendations and warnings for those traveling in Japan’s cultural capital.

The list of “akimahen” (which means “don’t” in the local dialect) ranges from tips about automatic taxi doors (“make sure to stand far enough away that the door can open without bumping into you”) to littering, which can lead to a fine of 30,000 Japanese yen ($280).

Emoticon ratings indicate the seriousness of each offense. Tipping, which is frowned upon throughout Japan, rather than saying thank you in the local dialect (“okini”) is given one sad face. Bicycling while intoxicated earns three angry faces — the worst rating — not to mention a possible prison sentence of up to five years.

Expect pushing, but no talking on trains

Travelers should expect pushing and shoving on crowded trains, states Go Tokyo, the travel guide website for the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“But bear in mind that this is not aggressive behavior, just the product of daily life in a metropolis,” states the website.

Japanese rarely talk or eat on trains, especially when they are crowded.

Junko Kimura | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Videos of white-gloved train attendants cramming people into Japanese trains have enthralled travelers for years. They also make it easy to understand one of the top rules of Japanese public transport: no talking on mobile phones. In fact, travelers are advised to not even let them ring.

“If you carry a phone, keep it on silent mode,” states Go Tokyo’s website.  

“Etiquette in public places is a serious business in Japan,” states the travel website for the government-affiliated Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). “A public-wide respect for these rules is probably the main reason why a megalopolis like Tokyo can function so smoothly.”

Eat sushi with your hands

Travelers who are not proficient with chopsticks can ask for flatware, advises JNTO’s travel website, although they “may not be available, especially at more traditional spots.”

Rather than struggling with chopsticks, the tourism organization recommends travelers follow another local custom.

It’s customary to eat sushi with your hands in Japan, especially nigiri sushi, which translates to “two fingers.”

Makiko Tanigawa | DigitalVision | Getty Images

“If you have come to Japan for sushi, remember, you can eat it with your hands,” states the website.

Shrines and temples

A tourist attraction to one person is a sacred place of worship to another. Travelers should “be quiet and respectful in shrines and temples,” according to KCTA’s website.

Kyoto’s tourism association also asks that visitors remove hats and sunglasses in houses of worship.

Dai Miyamoto, founder of the tour company Tokyo Localized, said he frequently sees tourists “sitting everywhere inside … shrine and temples,” even in places “where it is not a bench or a place to take a rest.” He also sees tourists taking photos of Buddha statues and in locations where photographs are prohibited.

Go Tokyo recommends travelers embrace the “full cultural experience” at Shinto shrines by walking on the sides of the pathway that leads to the shrine because the center is “technically reserved for the enshrined deity.”

At the compound entrance, travelers can rinse their hands and mouth with “purifying water” before approaching the main hall. There they can “bow lightly, ring the bells, place a small monetary offering in the box, bow twice, clap twice, and bow once more to complete the ritual,” according to the website.

The rules of the ryokan

Staying at a traditional inn, or ryokan, is a popular way to experience Japanese hospitality, but doing so comes with more social rules than a hotel stay.

Ryokans are typically neither cheap nor exceptionally plush, which can surprise travelers who associate higher prices with sprawling suites and luxurious bedding. Ryokans are typically one-room accommodations that are spartanly furnished and lined with straw tatami mats.

Ryokan prices are often quoted per person, not per night.

recep-bg | E+ | Getty Images

KCTA has a list of guidelines for ryokan guests, including changing into (provided) slippers before entering. Luggage wheels are not to touch interior flooring. And, bags should never be stored on the wall ledge, or tokonoma, where flowers and scrolls are displayed.

Meals are often served in guestrooms, and visitors change into casual kimonos, called yukata, to eat. After dinner, plates are cleared and futon-style mattresses are arranged on the floor for sleeping.

Onsen etiquette

Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “How to Enjoy Tokyo: Manners & Custom Handbook” advises travelers to remove all clothing to use onsens, which are bathing areas connected to Japan’s natural hot springs.

As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsens, many of which are part of a hotel or ryokan and separated by gender.

John S Lander | LightRocket | Getty Images

According to the government handbook, bathers are to rinse off before entering and refrain from swimming, jumping or diving into the water. Hair and towels should not touch the water.

People with tattoos may be refused entry to more traditional onsens due to tattoos being associated with Japan’s “yakuza,” or organized crime groups, said Miyamoto. This is decreasing, he said, due to the popularity of tattoos among younger generations and foreign travelers.

Sightseeing and shopping

Cutting lines is verboten in most countries, but in Japan, holding a space for friends or family members is also considered improper, according to Tokyo’s manners handbook.

It also advises travelers to refrain from walking up or down escalators; those in a hurry should use the stairs.  

When shopping, bargaining for better pricing isn’t common. And clothing sizes differ from those in Western nations. An extra-large men’s shirt in Japan is akin to a U.S. men’s size medium.

Miyamoto, who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 185 pounds, wears a Japanese size XL because “large is too small.” He said Americans who need larger sizes aren’t out of luck though.

“Uniqlo, which is the most famous casual brand in Japan, sells over XXL size … in online shops,” he said.

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World

Travel’s Covid-19 Blues Are Likely Here to Stay—‘People Will Go Out of Business’

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The outlook for a rebound in travel this year has dimmed after the global pandemic ravaged the industry and hurt tourism-dependent economies, with travelers postponing plans amid vaccine delays and border restrictions.

Tourist destinations from Thailand to Iceland had been hoping Covid-19 vaccines would allow countries to reopen their borders and drive a much-needed recovery in 2021. Now, with vaccine rollouts delayed in some places and new virus strains appearing, it is looking more likely that international travel could be stalled for years.

After declaring that 2020 was the worst year for tourism on record, with one billion fewer international arrivals, the United Nations World Tourism Organization says prospects for a 2021 rebound have worsened. In October, 79% of experts polled by the agency believed a 2021 rebound was possible. Only 50% said they believed that in January, and some 41% didn’t think travel would reach pre-pandemic levels until 2024 or beyond.

James Sowane, who owns a transportation company catering to tourists in Fiji, called a staff meeting earlier this month and told employees to start looking for other jobs. He recently took advantage of a government-assistance program and had brought back some laid-off workers, optimistic that vaccines could spark a travel rebound as early as April.

But now Mr. Sowane doesn’t think tourists will return until next year, and he and his wife can’t afford to keep paying wages at their company, Pacific Destinations Fiji. He is borrowing from his bank to keep a few core employees.

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Viral Vegas: Deaths jump, tourism slumps amid long pandemic

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LAS VEGAS — Six weeks ago, thousands of New Year’s revelers gathered beneath the neon-lit marquees on the Las Vegas Strip — even though the big annual fireworks show was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The sight of the big crowd, including many people without masks, spurred fears that COVID-19 infections would skyrocket, followed by hospitalizations and then deaths. That’s exactly what happened. January was Nevada’s deadliest month since the pandemic began, with 1,132 deaths. December was second.

Now the virus is reshaping a tourist destination built for excess and known for bright lights, big crowds, indulgent meals and headline shows. Visitors arrive to find some freedoms curtailed and some familiar attractions closed, but parking and bargain prices are abundant. Big performances and conventions are still on hold.

“We have an industry that invites people from all over the world to come here, and unfortunately when they come here, they can bring disease with them,” said Brian Labus, a longtime epidemiologist at the regional Southern Nevada Health District who now teaches public health at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. “The concern is that it spreads within our local population.”

In this Dec 31, 2020, file photo, a couple kiss as they celebrate New Year’s Eve along the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker, File)

HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES ANOTHER $14B FOR PANDEMIC-HIT AIRLINES

In mid-January, more than half of the hospitals in and around Las Vegas reported being at least 90% full. One suburban medical center declared a capacity crisis, with more patients than beds. Nearly half of its 147 beds were occupied by coronavirus patients.

Deaths in Nevada hit a single-day record of 71 on Jan. 21. On Thursday, the statewide death total from COVID-19 was 4,637 since the pandemic began.

As in other cities, some overwhelmed funeral homes have used refrigerated trailers to hold the dead, interim Coroner Michael Murphy said.

“It’s nothing like I ever experienced in my nursing career,” said Dina Armstrong, a nurse at MountainView Hospital in northwest Las Vegas. “Dealing with this disease is mind-blowing — the stress and the environment.”

On the streets, the result is many fewer tourists and “a very different experience,” said Marilinda Sepulveda, a repeat visitor, as she and her husband waited to snap photos next to the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.

People cross Las Vegas Boulevard near the Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/John Locher)

COVID-19 TRAVEL SLUMP HANDS EXPEDIA BIGGER FINANCIAL LOSS THAN EXPECTED

The couple from Mission, Texas, spent two nights at the Cosmopolitan hotel in the heart of the Strip. “The nightlife is: You gamble, you walk, you go to your room,” Sepulveda said.

Speaking through a cloth face mask, her husband, Ozzy Benavidez, said they would have gone to magic shows and restaurants. Instead, the pair bought take-out meals and ate in their room.

Some marquee properties have been idled, including the Mirage casino and its iconic man-made volcano eruptions on the Strip.

Others, like the Wynn Resorts property Encore, are closed during the week but open on weekends. Unused convention space in the sleek curved 2,700-room tower was repurposed as a vaccination center operated by the region’s public hospital. Nearly 11,500 people have gotten shots there.

At the Las Vegas Convention Center, where a huge new wing was expected to open in time for the big Consumer Electronics gadget show in early January, officials opened a facility for people receiving their second dose of vaccine. CES was held virtually.

Up and down the Strip, from the renovated Sahara to the gleaming gold-windowed Mandalay Bay, visitors have found quiet gambling floors, shuttered showrooms and inexpensive rates.

With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic curtailing tourism, visitors have found quiet gambling floors, shuttered showrooms and inexpensive rates. (AP Photo/John Locher)

AROUND THE GLOBE, VIRUS CANCELS SPRING TRAVEL FOR MILLIONS

Daniel Pangau, pastor of an Indonesian Christian church in Brea, California, figured a three-day stay at the Delano hotel for his family of six cost less than half the price before the pandemic.

Tourists find plentiful parking and signs everywhere reminding them to wear masks. They don’t see the thousands of workers still without jobs.

When casinos closed in mid-March, 98% of the 60,000 members of the local culinary and bartenders’ unions were furloughed. Union spokeswoman Bethany Khan said only about half are back to work now.

At least 115 union members and immediate family members have died from COVID-19, and almost 2,000 have been hospitalized with the virus since March, Khan said.

Unemployment in Nevada shot up from an all-time low of 3.6% in February 2020 to a worst-in-the-nation record 30.1% in April. The figure was down to 9.2% in December.

From mid-March to Jan. 30, more than 834,000 people filed first-time claims for jobless benefits, according to the state jobless office. That figure is especially startling when weighed against the size of the entire statewide workforce a year ago — 1.4 million people.

A man walks in front of the Circus Circus hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Feb. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/John Locher)

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Visitor numbers were down by more than half in 2020 — just 19 million — compared with 42.5 million in 2019, according to data compiled by tourism, airport and gambling regulators.

Casino tax revenues, a key source of funds in a state with no personal income tax, were down 40% during the calendar year, gambling regulators reported.

Big conventions stopped completely in March and have not resumed. Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak let casinos reopen in June with pandemic crowd restrictions. In November, he instituted what he termed a “pause” in reopenings.

Citing progress against the virus, the governor on Thursday announced that restrictions on businesses and gatherings could be loosened over the next three months.

Casinos, gyms, bars and restaurants will increase from 25% to 35% capacity beginning Monday, with seating limits, mask mandates and social distancing required. Casinos could go to 50% capacity next month. Clubs and nightclubs remain closed.

By the time shows resume, some veteran performers may be gone, said Alan Feldman, a longtime casino executive who is now a fellow at the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“One toll yet to be measured is the loss of talent,” Feldman said. “To what extent have people moved on to other careers or back to school or out of the state? That’s yet to be determined.”

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