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What’s Happening in the Travel World: June 25-July 9, 2021

June 25th-July 9th

Welcome travelers, to the Pomelo Travel Forecast! We’re excited to share this new format for travel news with you.  This is your place for up-to-date travel information, with a little bit of fun thrown in for good measure.

This week was definitely exciting, with more countries in Europe opening up, meaning it’s time to finally dust off your passports! It looks like the travel world is finally thawing out, just in time for summer.

Need To Know

Many European Countries have opened, or are opening soon to vaccinated and nonvaccinated US travelers. The EU also added the US to its safe travels list. Finally, we’ve cleared the naughty list. Here are some recently announced openings:

Malta – June 1st

Romania – June 1st

Ukraine – June 2nd

Denmark – June 5th

Spain – June 7th

France – June 9th

Portugal – June 15th

Italy – June 19th

Germany – June 20th

Czech Republic – June 21st

Netherlands – June 24th (No covid related entry requirements!)

Austria – June 24th

Switzerland – June 28th

Sweden – June 30th​

Ireland – July 19th – See the travel tips section below!

Rejoice border hopping travelers! If you’re looking to border hop on your next trip, the EU has plans to make it easier for tourists to travel between European Union countries this summer. That’s a relief to all involved.

The Delta Variant continues to keep us on our toes. Of course, as with what seems like almost all news lately, there’s a caveat of sorts. There’s been some concern about the Delta Covid-19 variant, which could have an impact on entry requirements for some countries. If you have an upcoming Europe trip, be sure to keep up with these ever changing requirements.

Around The World

 

  • Bali continues to isolate.  Bali fans will have to wait a little longer to enjoy the beaches of this province in Indonesia. Due to Covid-19 concerns, Indonesia is delaying reopening plans. The end of July and August are possible reopening options if Covid-19 cases start to decline.

 

  • Around The World Vaccinated travelers can start to once again flood into Mauritius. On July 15th, the close to Africa tropical island of Mauritius will open to vaccinated tourists. Bad news for nonvaccinated travelers. No entry is allowed yet but if you’re vaccinated and bring your nonvaccinated children under 18, they will be allowed entry and will receive a PCR test.

 

 

  • Americans might be able to look forward to enjoying hockey and maple syrup once again. Rumor has it that Canada is planning to lift border restrictions with the US in a few weeks.

 

  • Israel has pumped the brakes and will delay reopening to fully vaccinated tourists until August 1st. With the recent diplomatic tensions, I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t too anxious about visiting anyway.

 

  • Longing for beautiful Hawaiian beaches? 🏝️ Hawaii ended travel restrictions for fully vaccinated US travelers on July 8th!! In addition, Hawaiian vaccination rates have reached the 60% requirement, which bodes well for future visitors, and  inter-island travel restrictions have already ended as of June 15th. Hawaii has also been flooded with tourists, so remember to be respectful to the locals if you visit.

 

  • Vaccine goals continue to be met by Iceland, the Netherlands, and the UK.  The UK is planning to ease restrictions beginning July 19th. Countries like Iceland and the Netherlands have begun to reach specific vaccine goals and plan to drop or reduce domestic covid restrictions. These countries hope that by lessening mask mandates, curfews, capacity, and other restrictions, tourists will be more willing to visit.

 

  • Visiting Belarus soon? Those plans have likely changed. Due to Belarus’ decision to force a passing plane to land to arrest a journalist, the US has banned travel to the country.

 

  • Finland isn’t ready to welcome US  and UK tourists yet. A shortlist of European countries can enter starting July 12. However, there’s no need to feel discouraged, Finland hinted that the US may be added to the list within the next month.

At A Glance

For those of you whose main exposure to new movies is an airplane ride, United has you in mind with their new fleet of 270 new planes that they plan to bring to the skies. Each seat will be equipped with a 10-inch screen and will “be pre-loaded with over 2,800 movies and TV shows, as well as podcasts, music, and games”. Why would we ever want to watch T.V. at home?

Rising travel demand has caused some major problems for carriers and travelers this summer. If you plan to travel with Southwest or American prepare for a “bumpy” ride. The good news? If you’re looking for a job, airlines are hiring.

Travel Tips

The luck of the Irish

After some of the strictest covid related travel restrictions in the EU, Ireland announces plans to reopen on July 19th! US tourists are included!

Details: travelers must have proof of vaccination, recovery, or a negative covid test to enter. Children 7-18 must have a negative covid test too. At the moment, all unvaccinated travelers (from outside the EU) will be required to take another covid test upon arrival.

In July, restaurants and pubs will be allowed to serve people indoors. Larger outdoor and indoor events will likely be allowed starting in August. It seems Ireland is planning to gradually reopen over the summer.

“Everyone at Tourism Ireland looks forward to getting back in full swing, to promote the island of Ireland as a safe, welcoming, and ‘must-see’ destination across the world.”

– Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland

Humanitarian Spotlight

For our first Spotlight, we chose to feature our long-time friends over at Akin Clothing!

Akin is a clothing company that helps remove barriers to education for children all over the world. Akin is currently based in the UK and is operated by Pomelo’s Marketing Director, Ben Howells.

Through every clothing purchase, Howells and the Akin team can help provide school supplies and uniforms to children in the developing world. Over 64 million children are unable to attend school because they cannot afford the basic supplies.

Akin focuses on providing uniforms, as they are the most expensive part of supplies needed. All school uniforms are sourced locally in the community where they are delivered, which helps further empower the local community.

So far, Akin has helped thousands of children in 15 countries and counting. If you’re interested in finding out more about Akin, purchasing clothing (Akin ships their products worldwide including the US. The US is also one of their biggest contributors/markets.), or making a contribution, visit Akin’s website, and be sure to check them out on Instagram @akinclothing!

Good Vibes

Subscriber Story

A Passion for English Football…

When I first registered for your site I had hopes and dreams of traveling. I hadn’t traveled out of the country at all. I had a friend reignite my passion for English Football (soccer for us here in the States). I had wanted and dreamed to go see my favorite team in the English Premier League. Well, shortly after subscribing to pomelo, I saw a sale on tickets to London from SLC for only $300.

I fought internally if I should go or not. I would be going by myself. I eventually booked but not only was I going to England I was going to make it a Europe Trip. I ended up going to England, France, and Germany…
It ignited the fire to travel more by myself and I have not stopped since.

Since then, I have added 12 additional countries and saved thousands of dollars through your website. I got married in April 2020 during COVID and my wife has the same passion as me for travel. We had hoped to travel more during our first year of marriage but COVID stopped that. But we have already started booking more trips, and we are excited about our Greece trip in a few weeks. Cheers to the Pomelo team and traveling the world! Thank you for inspiring me to get out and see the world.

Carson W. ~ Premium Subscriber

 

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