UAE allows citizens, residents to travel from June 23

     (Alamy Image)

UAE citizens and residents will be permitted to travel abroad to certain destinations, it was announced on Monday.

Categories of the people as well as the approved destinations will be announced at a later date, a joint announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC), the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA), and the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management (NCEMA) stated.

@NCEMAUAE

A new step towards the gradual return to normal life.

#YouAreResponsible#We_Are_All_Responsible   9:12 PM - Jun 15, 2020

Additionally, the UAE will facilitate travel in line with all the appropriate precautionary and preventative measures to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

The statement mentioned that guidelines and procedures for travellers will be also announced and must be adhered to by both UAE citizens and residents before they travel, during their stay abroad and on their return to the UAE.

The joint statement clarified that the announcement came following thorough evaluations by authorities of the successful preventative measures currently in place and recent positive developments.

Credit: Khaleejtimes.com

The UAE Slightly Eases Travel restrictions

The UAE Slightly Eases Travel restrictions; foreign residence visa holders now free to return.

Photo Credit: Dubai International Airport

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has slightly eased its emergency COVID-19 border closures by lifting a restriction on foreign residence visa holders entering the small Persian Gulf country. From June 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation says expat residents will be able to return to the UAE to be reunited with their families after they were effectively locked out of the country.

In its response to stem the spread of the novel Coronavirus, the UAE initially stopped issuing new visitor visas and then suspended its visa on arrival for nationals from 70 different countries on March 18. Officials then went one step further on March 25 by banning the arrival of all passengers into the country except for Emirati citizens.

The authorities have not indicated when travel restrictions might be eased further but there are said to be high-level discussions with some governments about the prospect of introducing mutually agreed “travel bubbles”.

Slovenia to lift international air transport ban

Slovenia’s government is lifting restrictions on passenger air transport in the country, having imposed a comprehensive ban in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

The government says it will “withdraw the measures” on 12 May after deciding “not to extend” the limitation.

It says the decree prohibited provision of international air transport of passengers from all countries to Slovenia, including within the European Union.

But the government states that measures have since been introduced to protect public health which must be met by airport operators and airlines, while there are also requirements – such as compulsory quarantine – to be followed by returning citizens and foreign visitors.

Slovenia’s government says there remains a risk to public health and, as a result, it is maintaining a ban on general aviation flights to significant airports with international air traffic connections.

Flag-carrier Adria Airways collapsed in September last year and, prior to the coronavirus crisis, international connections were being maintained by foreign operators.

Source: Fraport Slovenia

Foreign operators stepped in to serve Ljubljana after Adria Airways collapsed

Slovenia’s main airport, Ljubljana, is managed by Fraport Slovenia, which has welcomed the easing of restrictions.

“Most airlines cancelled passenger flights to our airport by the end of May,” the company states.

“Regardless of this fact, in the past few days we have been preparing for the reception of the first passengers and installed necessary safety measures to restart passenger traffic.”

Credit: Flight global

Hawaii is welcoming additional arrivals, but average daily visitor spend is showing some significant shifts

Hawaii’s tourism performance was mixed through Oct-2019 as visitor arrivals grew, but tourist spend was varied. Through the 10M ending Oct-2019, total visitor spending notched up +0.2% to USD14.67 billion, but this fluctuated significantly by market.

By region, spending grew +5.3% from the US west coast to USD5.72 billion and 2.3% from the US east coast to USD3.90 billion. However, spending from Canada declined -2.8% to USD846.9 million and -12.3% from all other international markets to USD2.37 billion. On a statewide basis, average daily spend by visitor fell -2.6% year-on-year to USD195 per person.

The island of Oahu posted a +2.4% rise in visitor spending to USD6.79 billion on a +5.6% rise in arrivals to 5.2 million. However, daily spending fell -2.5%. Maui posted a slight gain in visitor spending of +0.8% to USD4.23 billion on an increase in visitor arrivals of +5.3% to 2.6 million.

The island of Hawaii recorded a -3.6% drop in visitor spending to USD1.9 billion as daily spending slid -3.9%. But, visitor arrivals grew +2.8% to 1.5 million. Kauai posted drops in both spending and arrivals. Spend decreased -5.0% to USD1.59 billion, daily spending fell -3% and visitor arrivals dropped by -1.6% to 1.1 million.

In total visitor arrivals to Hawaii by air grew +5.5% year-on-year for the first 10 months of the year to 8.7 million. Cruise ship arrivals jumped +16.4% year-on-year to 114,974.

Source: Blueswandaily