Should I stay or should I go? Brazilians split on travel. With the country’s summer travel season upon us and, its people are divided between traveling or staying in isolation. As the trade publication, Diário Turismo put it, “and the temptation to travel is great, but how do you reconcile the desire for rest with the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for isolation?” A survey by the research firm Fronte Pesquisa asked 750 Brazilian consumers late last month what they intended to do about traveling in the following months ahead. The results:
—21 percent said they should travel, whether or not a vaccine is available in Brazil.
—However, the same percentage, 21 percent, said that they will stay home because of insecurity about the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic.
—A plurality of the respondents, 34 percent, should travel only if a vaccine is available.
—Among the population with the highest income, the intention to travel only if there is a vaccine available rises to 43 percent.
—Among those who have children at home, the trip due to the existence of a vaccine is considered by 41 percent.
—Women are more concerned and more careful about the pandemic, with 25 percent saying they will stay at home, whether or not they have a vaccine, because they feel insecure with COVID-19
—Click here for the complete article.
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Travel Impressions Mexico Shuts Down: The operator was/is a brand of the Apple Leisure Group, which is headquartered in suburban Philadelphia PA. It announced earlier this month that they were suspending commercial activity, indicating they will continue to operate to serve all existing reservations with departures until the definitive closing date scheduled for December 30. September 2021. For this reason, they will not accept new reservations as of today.
Said the statement: “Travel Impressions Mexico has had many successes, respect and recognition in its more than 45 years of history, working together with our clients, suppliers and other business partners. However, the ongoing impact of COVID-19 has been so severe that the difficult decision was made to cease business activity in Mexico. Rest assured that during this process we will honor our commitments and we will ensure that we carry out a gradual closure of our company in an orderly manner over the next nine months.”
In the meantime, the company said:
—A team of leaders will remain in the company until March 31, 2021 and will be available to answer any questions.
—A team from call center, operations and finance will continue working until September 30 to follow up on all existing reservations.
—Service hours during this period will be from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
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Eastern Airlines has launched service between Miami and Asunción, Paraguay on January 3rd. The flight will operate twice-weekly. The launch flight took off from Miami at 0059, one minute ahead of schedule, and landed in the Paraguayan capital at 1105 after eight hours and six minutes. The return flight departed at 23:45 and touched back in Miami at 05:51 on January 4th. American Airlines was the last carrier to operate Miami to Asunción. It served it between 2012 and 2015, according to OAG.
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Panama-based airline Copa is back operating to Tampa Airport from Panama City. The re-start began on January 8th following a period of eight months. Copa is currently operating the route twice-weekly, but it will return to once-a-day daily from the end of May. Copa is the only carrier on the route, which began in 2013. In, the airline had almost 73,000 seats on it. Frequency varied from three-a-weekly to seven-a-week. Airline news analyst anna•aero notes that the route revolves around connectivity over Panama City. Booking data show that around 78 percent of passengers transited. Colombia was by far the single-largest country market, with over twice as many passengers as No. 2 Ecuador.
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Increased Air Service from Mexico to Houston: Viva Aerobus, Mexico’s ultra-low-cost airline, has strengthened its presence in Houston with a new route from Cancun and with an increase in flights from Mexico City and Monterrey to Houston. Cancun-to-Houston is already in operation with one flight a week. Also, for this month of January, Viva offers George Bush Intercontinental Airport up to 6 flights a week from Mexico City (a route just launched last year), and up to 11 weekly frequencies from Monterrey. As a result, Viva Aerobus registers a 185 percent increase in its flight offer to and from Houston compared to the first quarter of 2020, offering more than 92 thousand seats considering its regular routes from Mexico City, Cancun and Monterrey. Viva already has 8 routes in Texas, flying from Dallas and San Antonio to Mexico City and Monterrey; and from Houston to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and, now, to Cancun.
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United Airlines will have an additional frequency between Rio de Janeiro and Houston. Beginning February 3, there will be four flights a week. Operating with a 767-300, the flight will depart on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and Saturdays. On Thursdays, it leaves the Galleon at 11:45 pm and arrives in Houston at 7:15 am the next day. On the other days, the takeoff from Rio is at 21:45 and arrive in Houston at 5:15.
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Brazil not expected to recover losses till end of 2022: The Brazilian travel and trade magazine PANROTAS reports: “Despite having grown for the sixth consecutive month, tourism activities are still 30 percent below the pre-pandemic level, according to data from the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC), referring to November 2020. ‘The expectation is that the sector will not be able to recover losses before the end of 2022, with a drop of 36.8 percent in 2020,’ says economist Fábio Bentes, from CNC.” Click here for the complete article.
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The Top Five Operators in Mexico Named: According to a recent survey of travel agents in Mexico, Mega Travel is far and away at the top of the ranking. The ranking, which based on the votes of the agents, appeared in the travel trade publication, Pasillo Turístico. In the ranking, many travel agents expressed their gratitude to Mega Travel for its help and support during the pandemic.
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