Category: Travel News

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

Australia’s Prime Minister, Mr. Scott Morrison, made a surprise announcement at a news conference on Monday about the country’s reopening for international arrivals after being closed almost for two years. Australia had already relaxed travel rules for its citizens that were barred from leaving the country without prior clearance (some “escaped” via New Zealand), and […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

Indonesia’s holiday island of Bali opened for international tourism arrivals yesterday after announcements of this opening were made four days earlier, with hardly any information about the procedures. It turned out that going on “vacation” wasn’t that easy due to a four-night “quarantine” that Bali wants to call a “Warm Up Vacation.” It turns out […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

Indonesia’s holiday island of Bali has theoretically reopened for international tourism arrivals today. It saw SIX passengers enter on a Thursday’s Garuda Indonesia cargo flight from Tokyo. There has already been a change to what was communicated earlier regarding the 5 X 24 hour (five days) quarantine that would take place upon entering Bali. Potential […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

New Zealand on Friday mapped out a plan to fully reopen the border by October 2022, starting with Kiwis first from Australia on February 27 and March 13 from the rest of the world + some visa holders. The plan is to reopen New Zealand for all coming from visa waiver countries by July, although […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

Vietnam has taken some baby steps on its quest to reopen the country for international tourists by first allowing visitors on package tours to enter the Phu Quoc and other parts of the country. The country last month started to allow arrivals with a three-day quarantine before being allowed to roam freely. Neither of these […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

The latest Coronavirus variant that started to spread like wildfire in late 2021 has affected travel plans for many due to updated testing and entry restrictions, and testing positive, even when otherwise entirely asymptomatic. My New Year plans changed from Paris, Lisbon, and Amsterdam, to Mexico City, as many countries in Europe were trying to […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

UK Government spins that they intend to “strengthen” the domestic air passenger rights now that they are free to do after exiting the European Union. Airlines have lobbied the government to lower the compensation payments for delayed flights, and, in the future, they are likely tied to the price of the ticket that will cause […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

European Commission in December decided (read more here) that the EU Digital Covid Certificate based on the vaccination would be valid for 270 days after completion without a booster. The EU Digital Covid Certificate that facilitates intra-bloc travel and is often required to enter certain facilities, such as hotels and restaurants, in specific countries is […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

Indonesia’s holiday island of Bali, closed for international arrivals since April 2020, is reopening for foreign tourists from February 4, 2022, with a five to seven-night quarantine requirement. Bali already opened for nationals of China, New Zealand, Japan, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates + some others back in October. Still, none arrived because there […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

The Philippines, which has been very firmly closed for the past two years, will again welcome fully vaccinated tourists without quarantine from February 10, 2022. The country was supposed to reopen in December last year, but those plans were temporarily halted due to the Omicron-variant. Philippines nationals who are fully vaccinated can enter quarantine free […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

England and Scotland have today decided to end Covid-19 test requirements for fully vaccinated who enter from 4AM on February 11, 2022. Wales and Northern Ireland haven’t yet announced if they do the same (highly likely). Currently fully vaccinated do not need a predeparture test, but they must have booked Day 2 or prior test […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

Singapore started to allow vaccinated travelers on specific flights and countries to enter in 2021. There have been few changes and delays to the program, although it has never been suspended. Singapore has now eased some restrictions to enter the country utilizing the VTL recognizing for the first time visits that have recently been diagnosed […]

Written by John Ollila @ LoyaltyLobby

Japan on Tuesday announced that it would continue strict entry restrictions, essentially banning entry of non-nationals and residents until the end of February 2022. The country closed its border for most non-national arrivals in March 2020 and later allowed resident non-nationals to return, and in late 2021 some business travelers and students. However, the latter […]