Coronavirus Travel News

What distress? The $6 billion price tag on Extended Stay America is a result of its real estate and durable customer base. Period. That is why it is significantly outpacing the rest of the hotel industry during the pandemic.

Travel is relative to people's needs and right now leisure is king — especially for cooped-up college kids. If airlines want to cash in on pent-up demands, servicing underserved locations offering a combination of nature outings and social distancing is key to increasing revenue output during the pandemic.

Covid has spiked interest in biometric technology to reduce touchpoints and speed travelers through airports. Travel tech firm Pangiam is betting this is only the beginning with the acquisition of the facial recognition system VeriScan from the Washington, D.C., airports operator.

More and more, the unfriendliness of a destination has unsafe undercurrents to it. The worst that could happen is if Covid is gone, but anti-Asian hate that it has bred lives on and becomes the biggest obstacle to getting Chinese and Asian tourists to travel again.

China is dusting itself off from a major winter stumble in its road to a complete pandemic hotel recovery. While the year ahead looks good, forecasts by hotel executives of a complete rebound by December seem unlikely.

Greece says it's all set to welcome tourists in May, as the EU has just unveiled a new Covid-19 pass for travelers. But will the fragmented bloc be able to agree on rights attached to the certificate in time to save the summer?