Travel

• [New] While business travel has been one casualty of the coronavirus pandemic, Airbnb plans to capitalize on the newfound work-life balance that emerged during the shift to remote work.
• [New] There is a real risk that in many global contexts, vaccine passports could actually worsen economic conditions, by shutting large groups of people out from the formal economy.
• [New] Perseverance will allow NASA to explore new areas of the planet, and test technology that could pave the way for humans to travel to Mars.
• [New] The Digital Travel Health Pass will integrate modules from the IATA Travel Pass that enable passengers to create a digital passport, verify their test / vaccination requirements and status, and share their OK to Travel status with the relevant authorities.
• [New] Flight bookings jumped over 300% and holidays bookings surged by more than 600% week on week, after Britain laid out plans for international travel to restart, hinting that borders could reopen from mid-May.
• [New] Some airlines, like Australian carrier Qantas, said they would make vaccine documentation mandatory on all flights while Gulf Air, Emirates and Etihad will test a travel pass designed by the International Air Transport Association, the IATA Travel Pass.
• [New] As COVID-19 vaccinations are being administered around the world, the hope for the return of travel and tourism looms on the horizon.
• [New] UK travelers will find several cities in the UK that offer flights to Georgia, but London is the only city to offer direct flights.
• [New] In November, Australia's flag carrier Qantas became the first major airline to state that it will require international passengers to prove that they have received a Covid-19 vaccine as a condition for travelling.
• [New] The trial of the Travel Pass app, developed by the International Air Transport Association, will allow travellers to create a 'digital health wallet' that is linked to their passport.
• [New] Pent-up demand for consumption-driven activities is expected to surge in the coming months as China relaxes restrictions and travel patterns normalize.
• [New] IBM and Safe Health are both taking advantage of the opportunity to develop blockchain-based solutions for travel and crowd safety, and Denmark is racing to implement a national vaccination passport.
• [New] While everyone fervently hopes 2021 will turn out to be a far better year for the travel retail business than 2020, there remains much so uncertainty about the scale, location and pace of any recovery in international travel.
• [New] Due to some cases not being linked to travel, door-to-door testing will take place in some parts of England.
• [New] Along with the potential of obtaining a visa in Australia, the UK Government has also offered a five-year program that could grant British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders citizenship.
• [New] India will require travelers arriving from Brazil and South Africa to undergo a coronavirus test, to prevent variants from spreading.
• [New] The UK government will need to take a clear position outlining the specific purposes and use cases for which, if any, vaccine passports can be legally and legitimately used.
• [New] People arriving in England who are required to quarantine in hotels will be charged a fee of £1750 to cover the cost of their stay, transport and coronavirus tests.
• [New] Etihad Airways and Emirates will soon start using a digital travel pass app that was developed by the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, to show a traveler has been vaccinated.
• [New] Denmark plans to devise a scheme using a digital passport to show that a person has received a vaccine.
• [New] The lack of a level playing field between established and non-established travel agents is expected to be exacerbated due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
• [New] The practice of Spain of allowing travel agents to make an overall determination of the taxable amount in aggregate on all special scheme supplies made over a period could not be permitted.
• [New] The share of travel booking made through online travel agencies is expected to grow from 40% in 2016 to 60% in 2025 while the shift from traditional to online channels is expected to cause US$ 220 billion in additional revenues in 2025.

Last updated: 27 February 2021