Ireland will celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a parade through the streets of Dublin for the first time in three years next month - and organisers hope the green-festooned festivities will energise a tourism sector hammered by a tough lockdown regime. The March 17 public holiday, celebrated in towns and villages across the country, was one of the first big events to be cancelled in 2020, shortly before the economy was shutdown for the first time to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The government dropped almost all COVID-19 curbs last month, backed by one of Europe's highest uptake of booster vaccines. The remaining restrictions such as mask-wearing are set to end later this month. "Our national day sends the message out loud and clear – Ireland is open again for tourism an...
Read MoreTag: travel relaxations
Hong Kong will cut quarantine for arriving travellers to 14 days from 21 starting Feb. 5, leader Carrie Lam said on Thursday, a move that follows intense lobbying from finance executives and diplomats who said the measure was hurting competitiveness. Tough coronavirus rules have made Hong Kong one of the world's most isolated cities, with flights down as much as 90%. Residents returning from more than 160 countries have been required to quarantine for 21 days in designated hotels will now have to spend 14 days in a hotel, followed by seven days of self-monitoring, with further details to be announced. She did not say which countries would be covered by the new rules. A flight attendant walks under an information board at the arrivals hall of Hong Kong International Airport, follo...
Read MoreAll fully-vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to leave the country without a special exemption from Nov. 1, authorities said on Wednesday, as Australia eases coronavirus restrictions amid a rise in vaccination rates. Australians have been unable to travel abroad for more than 18 months without a government waiver, while thousands of fully-vaccinated residents living abroad have been unable to return due to a cap on arrivals to slow the spread of COVID-19. Many of these are now expected to return after Sydney and Melbourne ended quarantine rules for inoculated travelers from Nov. 1. Other cities, mostly virus-free, are expected to ease their border rules once they reach higher vaccination rates. "The national plan is working ... (it) is about op...
Read MoreMelbourne reopens as world’s most locked-down city eases pandemic restrictions
Melbourne residents flocked to the city's pubs, restaurants and hair salons in the early hours of Friday after the world's most locked-down city emerged from its latest spate of restrictions designed to combat the spread of COVID-19. Australia's second-largest city has so far endured 262 days, or nearly nine months, of restrictions during six separate lockdowns since March 2020, representing the longest cumulative lockdown for any city in the world. Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, last year went through 234 straight days of lockdown. Shoppers browse an outdoor retail area on the first day of eased coronavirus disease (COVID-19) regulations, following a lockdown to curb an outbreak, in Melbourne, Australia, October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Sandra Sanders In Melbourne, people were s...
Read MoreThousands of Sydney residents flocked to a prominent horse race on Saturday, as Australia's biggest city emerges from a strict COVID-19 lockdown and the nation begins to live with the coronavirus through extensive vaccination. Up to 10,000 fully vaccinated spectators can now attend races such as The Everest in Sydney, Australia's richest turf horse race, and the country's most famous, Melbourne Cup Day, on Nov. 2. Staff members cheer after shooting confetti in the air to celebrate the re-opening of SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium to visitors, following an extended closure due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown orders, in Sydney, Australia, October 14, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital, reached its target of 80% of people fully vacc...
Read MoreIndonesia's holiday island of Bali reopened to foreign tourists after 18 months of pandemic hiatus on Thursday, but the island is lacking one crucial ingredient: international flights. The government recently announced Bali's reopening after a sharp fall in coronavirus cases since July, when Indonesia was Asia's COVID-19 epicentre. But new visitors from overseas were nowhere to be seen on Thursday. Passengers stand in line at Ngurah Rai International Airport as Indonesia's resort island of Bali is set to reopen for international flights on October 14 after border closures due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Badung, Bali, Indonesia October 9, 2021, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Fikri Yusuf/via REUTERS Though the island's Ngurah Rai internati...
Read MoreThe Uttarakhand government is considering a phased opening of the Chardham Yatra after Covid subsides and the coronavirus induced curfew is lifted. It is being planned to open the Chardham Yatra in a phased manner if the pandemic subsides in the coming weeks though nothing has been finalised yet, Tourism and Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj said on Thursday. He had met Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat to discuss problems faced by the tourism industry due to the second wave of Covid. In the first phase, the yatra will be opened for residents of Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts where the four Himalayan temples known as Chardham are located. If things go smoothly, people of the rest of the districts may also be permitted to undertake the pilgrimage in the second ...
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