![\"traveling](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Covid-International-Travel-1.jpg\")
Shortly after coronavirus restrictions closed international borders last spring, I asked a dozen travel experts on when those borders might reopen. The immediate answer was discouraging: sometime in 2021 at the earliest. Many of those same experts accurately predicted, however, that domestic borders would reopen this summer and fall, which is exactly what happened.<\/p>\n
So how have travel forecasts changed over the last half-year, if at all? Are there any silver linings or is there any good news on the horizon for those hoping to travel as we did in the past? And what will it take to regain access to the places we lost this year?<\/p>\n
While there\u2019s no easy answer to those questions, this is what many of those same experts say now: Everything is subject to change in this hesitant, inconsistent new world.<\/p>\n
International Trips by 2024?!<\/h3>\n
While Americans can technically travel to dozens of countries now, all but a few require 14-day mandatory quarantines, negative COVID tests upon arrival, special insurance or visas, or other legal hoops that make it difficult to freely enter.<\/p>\n
In fact, at the time of this writing, there are only seven countries that currently allow Americans to easily enter with nothing more than a simple temperature check, declaration of health, or traditional visa (Mexico, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Turkey, Zambia, Belarus, and Albania). At the start of 2020, that number was upwards of 200.<\/p>\n
So when will most of those borders reopen in a realistic, non-prohibitive way? After speaking with dozens of travel experts, agents, and tourism officials recently, the most optimistic ones predict Summer 2021 as the earliest for some (but not all) countries. The most pessimistic ones, including\u00a0several airline CEOs<\/a><\/u>, grimly predict that international travel won\u2019t return to previous levels until 2023 at the earliest, if not later.<\/p>\n \u201cTravel, as we knew it in 2019, will likely not reappear for several years \u2014 perhaps not until 2024,\u201d says Mark Romig, chief marketing officer of New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp<\/a><\/u>. \u201cBased on the most recent reports, I think we all should prepare ourselves for a long, slow but steady recovery with a lot of masks and social distancing through next year.\u201d<\/p>\n If the truth lies somewhere in between, as it often does, the smart money might be 2022 for that next big trip to the widest number of available countries with little to no mask-wearing or social-distancing measures in place. \u201cBased on my clients, I believe we\u2019re looking at 2022 for European vacations,\u201d says Carol Kent, a travel agent that specializes in\u00a0yacht charters<\/a><\/u>. \u201cIn the meantime, it\u2019s smart to plan ahead and keep the love of travel going.\u201d<\/p>\n As international travel sorts itself out, the good news is domestic travel is bustling again. It might not be booming, but flights are increasing and domestic staycations, road trips, beach getaways, and appreciation for the great outdoors are nearing all-time highs.<\/p>\n Even some of America\u2019s most beloved tourist cities are crawling back to life. \u201cCharleston\u2019s occupancy has increased 40% from the low point and our beach communities have been leading this demand,\u201d says Halsey Ash of\u00a0Explore Charleston<\/a><\/u>, one of the nation\u2019s most popular tourism destinations. New Orleans, too, is seeing similar rates, says Romig. While some cities, notably New York, are still thawing slowly, it\u2019s not unreasonable to expect a healthy domestic recovery by next year.<\/p>\n The problem \u2014 whether traveling domestically or internationally \u2014 is the number of mixed messages prospective travelers are getting from governments, health officials, and even everyday signals of daily life. That is: are we in a state of emergency (i.e. ongoing pandemic) or not? Am I still supposed to be staying home and staying safe or am I free to travel in a state of emergency?<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as people are worried about contracting the virus, bothered by having to wear masks and deal with longer wait times due to lower occupancy rules, I think that a lot of people will be hesitant on spending their money on half the experience,\u201d says Bob DiMenna, a\u00a0travel podcaster<\/a><\/u>\u00a0from New York.<\/p>\n So long as there is disagreement or mixed messages to those answers, we\u2019ll never know for sure. That in turn rattles people\u2019s confidence in travel, even as domestic and international destinations begin to welcome them again with open, albeit restrictive arms.<\/p>\n One veteran Disney Parks designer recently\u00a0described this phenomenon<\/a><\/u>\u00a0when he said, \u201cYou can\u2019t treat people like they are in a hospital.\u201d Although well-intentioned, both masks and social distancing create \u201ca death spiral for the travel industry,\u201d he says, which has already laid off\u00a0millions in America<\/a><\/u>, with tens of thousands more expected this fall from Disney alone, not to mention additional airline layoffs.<\/p>\n In other words, if something doesn\u2019t look or feel like fun, a sizable amount of the population will be turned off from it and likely stay home.<\/p>\n Make no mistake, Americans want to travel the world again. \u201cDuring the month of August, searches for international travel were only 6% less than the monthly average for all 2019,\u201d says Mark Crossey, a U.S. travel analyst at\u00a0Skyscanner<\/a><\/u>. \u201cThis reflects the pent-up wanderlust that we all know is out there.\u201d<\/p>\n But whether for health reasons, financial uncertainty, off-putting safety measures, or general confusion on when and how to restart travel, most people still aren\u2019t booking. This is especially true of business travelers, which are a huge boon to travel in general and a necessary part for healthy airline, hospitality, and even attraction industries.<\/p>\n \u201cAirlines are still reporting 75% declines in overall traffic,\u201d reports Scott Leazenby, a full-time\u00a0travel blogger<\/a><\/u>. \u201cIt\u2019s not as bad as when it first started, but airlines won\u2019t be healthy again until business travelers return.\u201d And it\u2019s scary to think how long that will take, he says, especially considering how well video conferencing works for businesses.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, full recovery will likely take longer than expected as different people start accelerating at different times, much like the last time you waited\u00a0forever<\/em>\u00a0behind a long line of cars, well after the signal light turned green. \u201cJust because the virus starts to slow doesn\u2019t mean borders will instantly open up,\u201d says Alex Miller, a\u00a0travel blogger<\/a><\/u>\u00a0from Texas. \u201cThe day after a vaccine is released won\u2019t make it any safer than the day before.\u201d It\u2019s going to take time to restart all of that, not to mention rebuild flight routes and rehire the many people that have lost jobs over the last half-year.<\/p>\n For better or worse, we pushed the emergency brake on a massive machine. It\u2019s going to require a lot of patience, resilience, and adaptability to restart that engine. Thankfully, this industry has a knack for seeing things through. \u201cIt\u2019s not in our nature to give up so easily,\u201d says Alex Ziselman, a\u00a0travel advisor<\/a><\/u>\u00a0from New York. That\u2019s one of the defining traits of people who regularly cross borders and put up with disorienting situations in search of new experiences.<\/p>\n Before coronavirus, most people agreed that travel was worthwhile. Nowadays, many people are hesitant, even as tourism officials assure them of additional safety measures and\/or plead with them to behave in ways that might not seem like fun to a sizable portion of the population. But one thing is for sure: neither travel nor society will return to 2019 levels until everyone is on the same page again.<\/a><\/p>\n Courtesy Laurie Baratti<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n U.S. tour operator Costa Rica Dream Adventures (CRDA) excitedly shared the news that Costa Rica\u00a0 will welcome residents from anywhere in the United States beginning on\u00a0November 1. Previously, only residents of certain,\u00a0approved U.S. states were permitted entry into the Central American country.<\/p>\n For 20 years now, CRDA has been serving the travel industry as one of the U.S.\u2019 main tour operators to Costa Rica, providing personalized vacations to individuals, couples, families and groups. The company\u2019s U.S. offices are located in Atlanta, Georgia, and its Costa Rican offices are in\u00a0San Jose, providing 24\/7 in-country customer support.<\/p>\n “These are the good news we have been waiting for. Our company has established new vacation protocols that will make travelers feel safe and secure that we will be there for them. Our services start from the moment our customers call until they take their flight back home. We’re ready to meet again,” said Arthur Salus, CEO of Costa Rica Dream Adventures.<\/p>\n CRDA has established new health and safety protocols amid the pandemic, which align with guidance from the Costa Rican government and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).<\/a><\/p>\n Alex Ward<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which decides who or what deserves the honor every year, said the global body proved instrumental in combating starvation and poverty last year amid challenging circumstances.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2019, the WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger,\u201d the committee\u2019s\u00a0announcement<\/a><\/u>\u00a0said, as \u201c135 million people suffered from acute hunger, the highest number in many years. Most of the increase was caused by war and armed conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n Fighting around the world \u2014 in places like Yemen, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo \u2014 accounts for roughly\u00a060 percent<\/a><\/u>\u00a0of the world\u2019s food insecurity, according to a 2018 United Nations report. During wars, millions flee their homes, supply chains break down, and adversaries\u00a0target markets and crops<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n Hunger, then, is a weapon of war, and since its founding in 1961 the WFP \u201chas made a strong contribution towards mobilising UN Member States to combat\u201d its use, the committee said.<\/p>\n In May 2018, the WFP encouraged the UN Security Council to, for the first time ever, pass a\u00a0resolution<\/a><\/u>\u00a0condemning the purposeful and illegal starvation of civilians during conflict.\u00a0David Beasley<\/a><\/u>, the WFP\u2019s executive director, said at the time the measure was a \u201chuge step forward toward breaking the cycle of conflict and hunger that stands in the way of prosperity and peace for hundreds of millions of people.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard enough to address those issues as bombs drop and guns fire. But during the\u00a0Covid-19<\/a><\/u>\u00a0pandemic, such relief efforts are even more challenging, even with the WFP\u2019s\u00a017,000 staff and more than 20 ships, 92 planes, and 5,600 trucks at its disposal<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s concerning, as about\u00a09 million people<\/a><\/u>\u00a0die of hunger every year, more than from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.<\/p>\n Shining a light on the scourge of starvation as wars, a global health crisis, and climate change curb access to food, then, was the committee\u2019s motivation behind this year\u2019s award. It\u2019s estimated that about\u00a0265 million more people will go hungry<\/a><\/u>\u00a0than if the WFP had greater resources.<\/p>\n It\u2019s for those and other reasons that humanitarian aid workers like Shantamay Chatterjee of CARE in India applauded the Nobel committee\u2019s decision. \u201cThis is a recognition of the need for robust development agencies to resolve critical gaps when addressing nutrition access, affordability, and availability in low-income countries,\u201d he told me.<\/p>\n One person who may not be happy with the Nobel committee\u2019s pick is President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n After receiving two nominations from right-leaning politicians in Scandinavia for brokering peace deals in the Middle East and the Balkans, he made his\u00a0desire to win the Peace Prize clear<\/a><\/u>. However, experts say the accord between\u00a0Serbia and Kosovo didn\u2019t actually do anything<\/a><\/u>, and the \u201cAbraham Accords<\/a><\/u>\u201d signed by Israel with the UAE and Bahrain normalized and formalized ties that already existed.<\/p>\n Plus, there\u2019s just a logistical challenge: The nomination deadline for this year\u2019s award was\u00a0February 1<\/a><\/u>, many months before any of those deals were realized.<\/p>\n But the Nobel committee made clear Trump was never \u2014 and may never be \u2014 likely to win as the \u201cAmerica First\u201d foreign policy he promotes is anathema to its worldview.<\/p>\n \u201cMultilateral cooperation is absolutely necessary to combat global challenges,\u201d committee chair\u00a0Berit Reiss-Andersen<\/a><\/u>\u00a0said on Friday in Oslo, Norway. \u201cMultilateralism seems to have a lack of respect these days, and the Nobel Committee definitely wants to emphasize this aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump is one of the main culprits of this trend.<\/p>\n Among other things, he continues to advocate for\u00a0cuts to America\u2019s UN contributions<\/a><\/u>. That\u2019s a problem, as Washington, DC, provides the\u00a0WFP and other UN agencies<\/a><\/u>\u00a0with more money than any other world capital. When the US stopped funding the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in 2018, for example, the administration put around\u00a0140,000 people<\/a><\/u>\u00a0at risk of not receiving food aid.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t help that the US continues to\u00a0assist the Saudi Arabia-led war in Yemen<\/a><\/u>\u00a0\u2014 which has resulted in hunger and illness for millions of Yemenis \u2014 because Trump vetoed a bipartisan congressional resolution last year calling for America\u2019s extrication from the conflict.<\/p>\n Trump also\u00a0relishes telling the UN<\/a><\/u>\u00a0at its annual gathering that every country should focus on their own challenges, not global problems. It\u2019s a go-it-yourself attitude that has led to\u00a0less multilateral cooperation during his four years in power, not more<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n Those just aren\u2019t the actions of a Nobel Peace Prize winner.<\/p>\n Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what\u2019s happening in the news, from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is, quite possibly, the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower you through understanding. But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources. Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers, your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work. If you have already contributed, thank you. If you haven\u2019t, please consider helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world:\u00a0Contribute today from as little as $3.<\/a><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Courtesy Donald Wood<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Japanese<\/a>\u00a0officials announced a new plan to reopen to international travelers from China and 11 other countries next month, but United States citizens will not be permitted to enter.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0Reuters.com<\/a>, local media outlets are report the 11 other countries and regions also include Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia.<\/p>\n As part of the Japanese government\u2019s plan, citizens are being asked to refrain from unnecessary and non-urgent visits to those 12 countries. The island nation currently bans travel to 159 countries and regions.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Japan revealed a\u00a0three-phase plan<\/a>\u00a0that will eventually see a return to tourism, but it only applied to visitors who are allowed to stay in the country for more than three months.<\/p>\n To enter, travelers must quarantine for two weeks and provide a negative COVID-19 test. This follows an earlier lifting of domestic travel restrictions, which were eased in May and offered a subsidy program to residents that provided deep discounts on travel within Japan.<\/p>\n American travelers who want to visit Japan when it opens to U.S. citizens will be happy to learn Lindblad Expeditions will\u00a0offering sailings<\/a>\u00a0to the island nation for the first time in 2021.<\/p>\n The adventure cruise line revealed two new itineraries set to depart aboard the 102-guest National<\/a> Geographic Orion next September, including a 16-day Coastal Japan: Imperial Dynasties and Modern Culture itinerary and a 15-day Sailing the East China Sea: Japan, Okinawa and Taiwan voyage.<\/p>\n![\"traveling](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Covid-International-Travel-2.jpg\")
\u201cLike Vacationing in a Hospital\u201d<\/h3>\n
Steps to Recovery<\/h3>\n
Costa Rica Reopens to All US Residents November 1<\/h1>\n
![\"Quepos,](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Quepos-Costa-Rica.jpg\")
The UN World Food Program wins the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize<\/h1>\n
![\"Nobel](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Nobel-Peace-Prize.jpg\")
The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to the\u00a0UN World Food Program<\/a><\/u>\u00a0(WFP), the world\u2019s largest humanitarian organization focused on providing sustenance to the hungry, for feeding the most vulnerable in times of conflict, and as nations \u2014 including the United States \u2014 mostly look after themselves.<\/p>\nThe award is kind of a critique of Trump<\/h3>\n
Help keep Vox free for all<\/a><\/h3>\n
US Travelers Not Included In Japan’s First Wave of International Tourism Reopening<\/h1>\n
![\"Iya-no-Kazura](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Iya-no-Kazura-Bashi-Bridge.jpg\")