November 13 Travel News Review…

The top story this week is clearly the announcement by American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer that their Covid-19 vaccine is 90% effective.  These are early results but still far better than predicted.  The news caused many travel industry stocks to jump.

Vaccine Breakthrough Is Huge for Travel Resumption

As noted above, Pfizer announced very positive results for their vaccine testing and no reports of serious side effects.  The next step in the U.S. is to have their application for emergency use approved by the Food and Drug Administration.  Even if all goes as planned, only limited amounts will be available by year’s end and that supply will likely be targeted for first responders.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said the findings are “just extraordinary.”  He also added that, “Not very many people expected it would be as high as that.  It’s going to have a major impact on everything we do with respect to Covid.”  Other vaccine experts cautioned that there is still much work to be done.  Other companies yet to announce the results of their research include Moderna, AstraZeneca, Novavax and Johnson & Johnson.

With countries around the world and even three states (Alaska, Hawaii and New York) requiring testing before traveling to their jurisdiction, having a vaccine would be a huge next step in opening up the world to travel.  There is still much work to be done and, realistically, we’re looking at a real impact in the second quarter of 2021.

However, having a vaccine (or vaccines) on the near horizon should boost the outlook for airlines, hotels and all manner of travel-related businesses and at least allow them to plan for the future.

Covid-Related Travel News

Asian “neighbors” Singapore and Hong Kong have created an air travel bubble that will permit each other’s visitors without quarantining. The rub is that they must have a negative test before departure, when they arrive and yet again before returning.

In general, Asians are more comfortable with authoritarian measures and, due to horrible air quality, have worn masks in major cities for decades.  It will be interesting to see how many folks from these two cities will take advantage of this travel bubble.

I have reported over the last several weeks that various countries in Europe have chosen to lock down again to fight a second wave of the virus. France, Italy, Germany, Wales, Belgium, Ireland and the UK have all adopted various degrees of closure, curfews and banning travel.  Joining them this week are Portugal, Greece and Hungary.

If you’re looking for the latest news on which countries are open and what steps you need to take to visit, see my November 6 article Where Can I Go?  I reviewed three websites that are continually updated and include information about testing and quarantines.

Israel is the latest country to offer airport Covid testing according to the Associated Press.  Ben Gurion International Airport is making available $13 tests and get results within 14 hours.  Even faster tests will be available in the near future.  On-site labs will be able to process 20,000 tests daily.  Israel is in its second lockdown and plans on gradually removing restrictions.

Perhaps New York Governor Andrew Cuomo read my post last week on his “test out” program wherein I said the new program, like the quarantine scheme, is largely unenforceable. Cuomo, after declining to call out the National Guard to put down rioting and looting that cost New York City tens of millions of dollars, decided to add National Guard presence at NY airports to check for proof of negative Covid testing.

Free National Park Access for Veterans and Gold Star Families

On the eve of Veteran’s Day, Interior Secretary Bernhardt announced yesterday that beginning Veteran’s Day 2020 and every day going forward, all Veterans and Gold Star Families will have free access to national parks, wildlife refuges and other Federal lands managed by the Department of the Interior.

Entrance fees for the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and standard recreation fees for the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Reclamation sites will be waived for Veterans and Gold Star Families.

Cruising News

Much has been written about the cruise industry’s difficult path to return to the seas.  The CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sail Order provides significant hurdles that each individual ship must overcome.  The major lines have already been working on most of the requirements but now my best guess is that you shouldn’t anticipate resuming sailing until late Spring at the very earliest.

Most lines will start slowly to test their new routines before rolling out a full schedule.  Under the new administration in Washington, the CDC is likely to be even more strict than in the past, so even if a single person is diagnosed with Covid, I wouldn’t be surprised if a new no-sail order were issued.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) asked for public input into the new rules and now report that of the nearly 13,000 that provided comments, about 75% expressed support for the return of cruising.

Most of those commenting also “expressed the need for increased public health measures, including health screening, testing, mask use, social distancing, travel insurance, refunds and shipboard public health capacity as important steps to take before cruising resumes.”

Travel Weekly noted that respondents also supported protocols to curb the introduction and spread of Covid-19, including requiring the cruise lines to test passengers and crew prior to departure (74%), reduce passenger and crew numbers (90%) and the wearing of face masks (85%).

“While CDC bases its public health determinations on the best available science and not on public opinion, the willingness of the public to accept measures to mitigate the risk of transmitting Covid-19 onboard cruise ships is noteworthy,” the CDC said.

In the “uh oh” category, one of the first cruise ships to return to service has reported a positive Covid test.  The SeaDream 1, a SeaDream Yacht Club vessel, operates in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, which is why it is allowed to operate without CDC approval.  The ship carries a maximum of 112 passengers along with a 95-person crew.

SeaDream made some news in August when a cruise in Scandinavia had positive Covid tests, which later turned out to be negative.  In this latest outbreak, one guest was initially reported as positive but now the situation involves six guests who tested positive while the ship was anchored in the Grenadines.

The ship’s medical staff has tested all crew members and all tests have come back negative.  SeaDream is currently re-testing all guests, but the voyage is being halted and returning to Barbados.

Royal Caribbean has announced it is seeking volunteers for a cruise to their private island Coco Cay in the Bahamas in order to test their new procedures related to Covid-19 and certifying their ships under the new CDC Framework for Conditional Sail Order.  I sent them an email offering my services as a volunteer.  I’m sure there are plenty of volunteers so I’m not hopeful that I’ll be chosen, but you never know.

This and That

Back in 1970, the Mexican government decided to develop a new tourist zone on the Yucatan Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo, known as Cancún.  At the time, Cancún had three residents.  Now a part of the Riviera Maya that stretches from Isla Mujeres in the north to Tulum in the south, Cancún has become synonymous with carefree Caribbean vacationing and all-inclusive resorts.

Until now, Cancún has avoided the crime-related bad press that has plagued the west coast of the country.  Growing crime, especially gender violence and the murder of a local 20-year old woman, resulted in a protest that was violently put down by local police.  According to the Daily Mail, police opened fire as demonstrators tried to storm city hall and several journalists suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Hotel association president Abelardo Vera said, “”We’re living in the worst horror movie.  Not to mention robberies, extortion and people being murdered and mutilated every day.  It’s unacceptable.”  The violence did not take place in the hotel district, but it’s a PR black eye nonetheless.

A report by Website Planet reveals that a misconfigured server exposed millions of people to a massive data breach.  Impacted is a software used to manage hotel reservations on sites including Hotels.com, Amadeus, Expedia, Sabre and Booking.com.  Amadeus and Sabre are travel agent platforms.

Dating back to 2013, over ten million files were exposed including names, addresses, phone numbers and full credit card details (number, cardholder’s name, CVV, and expiration date).  It’s impossible to say whether or not the data was stolen or how many people could be impacted.

Delta Airlines’ no-fly list has climbed to 550 people for refusing to comply with the company’s mask requirements according to an internal memo.  By comparison, Delta announced last month that 460 passengers were on the list.

“Fortunately, that number represents a tiny fraction of our overall customers, the vast majority of whom follow our guidelines and appreciate the steps we are taking to keep them safe and healthy,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian in the memo.

Brian’s Take

While Pfizer’s announcement is promising, it will likely be a long time before sufficient numbers have taken the vaccine to make travel really safe again.  In the meantime, we will need to depend on a substantial expansion of testing and continued use of masks and social distancing.

Overall, travel and tourism businesses have done what they need to do to rejuvenate the industry.  Airlines have been proactive in getting testing rolled out, the accommodations sector has instituted serious cleaning protocols and the cruise industry has been working hard to develop procedures that will bring confidence back to their customers.

The impacts of Covid-19 will continue to be the lead story for months to come and I’ll try to keep you up-to-date as we see changes in testing for travel, where you can go and the effects on flying and cruising.