Search alerts

The City Lodge Hotel Group (CLHG) has been working hard behind the scenes to strip out single-use plastic from guest bedrooms. In a bold move, the group, together with its South African supplier The Bespoke Amenities Company (TBAC), is launching an all-new range of bathroom amenities, including a Zero Bar. These will be available across all five hotel brands - Fairview Hotel (Kenya), Courtyard Hotel, City Lodge Hotel, Town Lodge and Road Lodge - in what is a first for a South African hotel group, and among the first in the world.

The government of the the Dominican Republic have mandated that all passengers arriving from 30 July must have proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result taken a maximum of five days before boarding their flight; those who don't have proof of an eligible result will be tested on arrival at the airport. Individuals who test positive will be required to quarantine as instructed by authorities, and travellers must fill out a health declaration.

The European Union (EU) is set to exclude Algeria from its 'safe list' of countries from which it recommends the allowance of non-essential travel. The deadline for the decision is reportedly today, 30 July; the other remaining 'safe' countries deemed by the EU to have COVID-19 largely under control are Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Tunisia and Uruguay. China was also provisionally approved pending reciprocity.

The UK rail operator LNER, who operate long-distance inter-city services from London King's Cross to north east England and Scotland, is set to begin trials of a new onboard catering service; featuring mobile ordering, the service will facilitate the delivery of food and drink directly to passengers’ seats. The digital in-seat app ‘Let’s Eat – At Your Seat’ will be available to customers in both Standard and First Class.

The country has announced that it is re-opening its borders to visitors from select countries on 5 August; emerging from one of the strictest lockdowns in the Middle East, Jordan's borders and international airports have been closed since March. Similar to other destinations, the country is using a traffic light system of green, yellow and red to indicate which visitors will be able to enter the country without having to quarantine.

The government of Kenya has announced that from 1 August 1, international passengers must have proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result taken a maximum of 96 hours before boarding their flight; arriving passengers will be also exempt from a 14-day quarantine requirement if they are not displaying symptoms. Among those permitted to enter the country from 1 August when international flights resume are citizens of China, Uganda, Rwanda, South Korea, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Namibia, Japan and Canada.

Reports today, 30 July, suggest that the government of Poland is considering an arrival quarantine for arrivals from select EU and non-EU countries based on COVID-19 risk level; Spain and France have thus far been cited as candidates, and the measures are still being discussed.

As per previously announced government plans, mandatory temperature screening has begun to be implemented in phases at Canada’s 15 busiest airports; this will start on 30 July at Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto-Pearson and Montreal-Trudeau. On or before 30 September, temperature screening operations will commence at the next 11 busiest airports - St. John’s, Halifax, Québec City, Ottawa, Toronto-Billy Bishop, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Kelowna and Victoria.

The government of South Africa has announced that it will shortly ease COVID-19 restrictions to allow citizens to travel for the purposes of tourism within their own province. Accommodation providers will be permitted to operate with limits of two people, or one family, per room; short-term rental providers such as Airbnb however will remain suspended. Guided tours in open safari vehicles will now be permitted, but must include provision for both social distancing and maximum ventilation. The changes will come into effect as soon as the new regulations are gazetted by the country's government.

The country re-opened international air travel to foreign tourists yesterday, 29 July, despite reporting record numbers of new COVID-19 cases and deaths. Tourists from all countries may travel to Brazil as long as they have health insurance for the duration of their trip, the government have said in a decree.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has announced that, in line with the American Hotel & Lodging Association's guest checklist, from 10 August guests in all locations in the United States and Canada will be required to wear face masks in all indoor public spaces; the company will inform guests of the new policy ahead of their arrival, and there also will be signage at each hotel. Similar announcements have recently been made by brands including Marriott International, Hyatt Hotels Corp. and InterContinental Hotels Group.

The local government of the popular Portuguese island of Madeira have announced that from 1 August, it will be mandatory for face masks to be worn at all times while in public; Madeira will be the first region in the country to adopt the measures against COVID-19.

The government of the Australian state of Queensland have announced from from 01.00 (local time) on 1 August, the Greater Sydney area will be added to its list of COVID-19 'hotspots'. The decision will add 31 new local government areas to the list; arrivals to Queensland who have been in any designated hotspots within the previous 14 days are not permitted to enter, except in a small number of exempting circumstances.

Virgin Atlantic have announced further route resumptions in August, after successfully re-starting flights to destinations including Hong Kong, New York JFK and Los Angeles in the second half of July. From 1 August services will resume to Barbados; this is followed by flights to Shanghai returning on 4 August. Finally, Virgin's Miami route will be operational from 18 August.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that from 1 August they will resume six weekly flights to Clark in the Philippines. This will boost the airline’s global network to 68 destinations in August across Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa.

The local government of the U.S. state of Alaska have announced that from 11 August, visitors must present the negative results of a COVID-19 test taken prior to arrival, within 72 hours of entering the state. The policy will supersede current entry requirements, which thus far has offered options for pre-trip testing or a combination of quarantine time and testing upon arrival in the state.

The country's health ministry has announced that Bulgaria will allow visiting tourists from Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro, Moldova, Israel and Kuwait to visit its resorts from today, 28 July, if they are in possession of a negative COVID-19 test result; the test must be undertaken a maximum of 72 hours prior to arrival. Visitors from the Ukraine will be permitted to enter on the same basis from 30 July.

Delta Air Lines announced on 27 July that it is teaming up with Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, the makers of Lysol, to research and develop new disinfecting solutions for high-traffic areas in airports and onboard. Under the new partnership, Delta will also use and distribute Environmental Protection Agency-approved Lysol disinfectant spray and wipes.

The country's government has suspended all commercial flights to and from the central city of Da Nang for 15 days from today, 28 July. The suspension follows the previous decision to evacuate 80,000 people from the region via a series of special charter flights, following a small number of COVID-19 infections being confirmed there in the last few days.

From 27 July, Qatar Airways have moved all operations at London Heathrow from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5. This is a temporary measure in response to runway management by the airport during a period of significantly fewer flights, as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.