coronavirus

Seabourn has extended its “Book with Confidence” policy through to 31 May, 2021. The policy provides travellers with even more flexibility, assurance and options to cancel their booking up to 30 days prior to departure on any new bookings and receive a future cruise credit.

A global survey of travel agencies, tour operators, wholesalers and GSAs has found that Australian travellers were the most dominant market to cancel prebooked travel outright rather than suspending their arrangements.

Qantas has announced a three-year, three-pronged strategy aimed at accelerating the airline’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The plan will see the Qantas Group let go of at least 6,000 staff across Qantas and Jetstar and the immediate retirement of Qantas’ remaining six Boeing 747-400 workhorses, while the reintroduction of its Airbus A380 double-deck fleet (12) is uncertain.

Aussies and Kiwis will be permitted to travel to Fiji under Phase 2 of the island nation’s COVID-Safe Economic Recovery plan announced by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama.

Switzerland will lift almost all measures that were introduced to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic from Monday 22 June. A ban remains in place on large-scale events up until the end of August 2020.

The shutdown of Australia’s cruise industry due to the coronavirus pandemic has cost the country $500 million so far, a figure that is projected to be around one-third of the total economic loss if the local cruise ban continues into mid-September.

Fiji Airways will implement a new ‘Travel Ready’ program to ensure passenger health and safety is safeguarded through all aspects of air travel once it returns to international operation.

The European Commission has debuted a new web platform to support a safe relaunch of travelling and tourism across Europe. ‘Reopen EU’ features real-time information on borders and available transport options and tourism services in member states.

Ultra-luxury resort collection, Aman, has revealed the phased reopening of its collection of resorts globally, many of which have already reopened doors.

A proposed timeline for the restart of domestic tourism and hospitality industries in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic disruptions has been well received, according to an update by the Tourism Restart Taskforce.

Crystalbrook Collection will move to a completely cashless operation from 1 July 2020. The initiative is an element of Crystalbrook’s Mindfully Safe protocols being launched in response to COVID-19, and focus on heightened hygiene measures.

Luxury getaways and private villas are high on the agenda for Australians according to the results of a post COVID-19 travel study.