European confusion
Italy now requires travelers from the United States to take a COVID-19 test before arrival, and unvaccinated American visitors must isolate for five days. Sweden is barring all nonessential U.S. visitors. The Netherlands says vaccinated travelers must isolate after arriving from the U.S. — and unvaccinated ones are not welcome there, or in Spain. Norway has banned all Americans except family members of its residents. In removing the U.S. from its "safe list," the European Union has opened the door to myriad rules, restrictions and hurdles. The E.U. suggestion to reimpose restrictions is not binding, however. Some governments may choose to ignore it entirely, creating confusion for travelers. For questions about requirements in a given E.U. member state, the best answers can usually be found on the website of its U.S. Embassy. Most still welcome travelers from the United States without much hassle.
New York Times
Bali monkeys raiding homes
Deprived of their preferred food source — the bananas, peanuts and other goodies brought in by tourists now kept away by the coronavirus — hungry monkeys on the resort island of Bali have taken to raiding villagers' homes. Worried that the sporadic sorties will escalate into an all-out monkey assault, residents have been taking food to the Sangeh Monkey Forest to try to placate the relatively tame long-tailed macaques. Since July, when Indonesia banned all foreign travelers to the island and closed the sanctuary to local residents, as well, the sanctuary has lost out on its admission fees and is running low on money to buy food for the monkeys, said operations manager Made Mohon. "This prolonged pandemic is beyond our expectations," Mohon said. "Food for monkeys has become a problem."
Associated Press
Fiji readies reopening
Fiji is about to welcome visitors once again toward the end of the year after a successful vaccine campaign among tourism workers reaches 100%. Tourism Fiji is working with airlines to streamline protocols for entry, which will be for fully vaccinated visitors with rapid testing at the airport before departure. Visitors will also need to have travel insurance for COVID-19 in case there is any reason for quarantine, hospitalization or evacuation. Testing will also be offered at resorts for those returning to countries such as the United States. Tourism Fiji CEO Brent Hill hopes these protocols will allow visitors to relax and enjoy their vacations. "You will be able to do a whole bunch of things without thinking about COVID every single minute of the day," said Hill.
TravelPulse
Hello, trip stacking
Because of the uncertainty raised by the delta variant, some luxury travelers are opting for what some people call "trip stacking," or buying two trips over the same period in case one of them falls through, said Joshua Bush, CEO of luxury travel agency Avenue Two Travel, which has been offering this service. Many of his clients had been forced to cancel travel plans because of regulation changes during the pandemic. Booking two trips, he said, ensures that "they wouldn't be left out in the cold without having any trip at all." He added, "Ultimately, they're going to take both of those trips. It just matters which is the one that is going to be most likely to come to fruition in October."
New York Times
