California will allow fans at pro sports but not Disneyland
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will let fans back in outdoor stadiums for pro sporting events in counties with low coronavirus infection rates but isn’t ready to allow Disneyland and other major theme parks to reopen, the state’s top health official said Tuesday. San Francisco and neighboring Alameda and Santa Clara...
Thousands arrive in Hawaii on 1st day pre-travel testing
About 8,000 people landed in Hawaii on the first day of a pre-travel testing program that allowed travelers to come to the islands without quarantining for two weeks if they could produce a negative coronavirus test. Angela Margos was among the first passengers in San Francisco to get on a...
3rd gun found in 5 days on passengers at Pittsburgh International Airport
Transportation Security Administration agents caught a Texas man with a handgun at Pittsburgh International Airport on Saturday, which was the third gun found on passengers in five days. Last Tuesday, TSA agents stopped two passengers with guns at an airport checkpoint. “What would make someone think they could bring a...
Carnival Cruise Line cancels Florida, Australia trips
Carnival Cruise Line said Monday it was canceling its remaining cruises scheduled for November out of two Florida ports, as well as five cruises from Australia at the beginning of next year. The cruise line had previously announced it was canceling for the rest of the year all U.S. cruises...
After 46 years, Cypriot ghost town’s beach opens to public
The pristine, azure waters lapping at the skirts of uninhabited Varosha contrast sharply with the dilapidated, crumbling buildings lining the beachfront of this abandoned suburb of Famagusta. For the first time in 46 years, members of the public were permitted on Thursday to access the beach of Varosha in the...
U.S. man could get prison for negative review of Thailand hotel
BANGKOK — Labor activists, journalists and whistleblowers in Thailand have been targets in recent years of criminal defamation lawsuits for exposing alleged corporate wrongdoing, but now a disgruntled hotel guest has joined their ranks and could face prison time for his online comments disparaging a hotel. American expat Wesley Barnes,...
Outer Banks sees low covid-19 numbers; remains popular vacation spot despite pandemic
Counties that make up the Outer Banks barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina have mostly been spared by the covid-19 pandemic, and Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday moved the state into the next phase of the tiered reopening plan. The next phase, beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, is...
Laurel Highlands fall foliage ranks 3rd in USA Today voting
The Laurel Highlands is among Readers’ Choice Winners for the Best Destination for Fall Foliage category in the 2020 USA Today 10Best Travel Award Contest. The Laurel Highlands placed third overall in voting amid a field of 20 nominees that also included Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. Top 10: 1. Upper Peninsula...
Carnival’s Princess cancels some world cruises in early 2021
Carnival Corp.’s Princess line canceled some early 2021 voyages, the latest sign that the covid-19 pandemic is likely to weigh on the cruise industry for many more months. The cancellations affect world cruises on the Island Princess from North America and some South America voyages on the Pacific Princess, the...
Travelers left more than $5,000 behind in Pittsburgh airport security bins last year
Travelers passing through Pittsburgh International left behind more than $5,000 at security checkpoints in one year, part of more than $900,000 that travelers nationwide forgot before their flights during that time. The Transportation Security Administration’s report on cash left behind at security checkpoints runs from fiscal year Oct. 1, 2018,...
United Airlines to offer more direct flights from Pittsburgh to Florida
United Airlines soon will add more direct flights from Pittsburgh and other cities to four popular Florida destinations. Airline officials said the move is part of a “continuing strategy to aggressively and opportunistically manage the impact of covid-19 by increasing service to destinations where customers most want to fly.” Beginning...
‘Into the Wild’ bus likely lands a home at Fairbanks museum
An infamous bus appears headed to a new home at a museum in Fairbanks after being removed from Alaska’s backcountry to deter people from making dangerous, sometimes deadly treks to visit the site where a young man documented his demise in 1992. The state Department of Natural Resources said Thursday...
Laurel Highlands in running for best fall foliage destination
Western Pennsylvanians can let the rest of the country know how beautiful fall is in the Laurel Highlands, by voting for the region in USA Today’s poll of top 20 Best Destinations for Fall Foliage. The nominees, chosen by editors of the USA Today 10Best website, also include the Pocono...
Air travel expected to not recover before 2024
FRANKFURT, Germany — Global air travel is recovering more slowly than expected and will take until 2024 to return to pre-pandemic levels, the trade association for the airline industry said Tuesday. The International Air Transport Association pushed back its prediction by one year due to the slow containment of the...
‘Second wave’ virus fears strike blow to tourism industryVideo
LONDON — Concerns over a “second wave” of coronavirus infections brought on by returning holidaymakers is wreaking havoc across Europe’s tourism industry, particularly in Spain, following Britain’s effective ban on travel to the country. In a move that reflects the continent’s piecemeal approach to keeping the virus at bay, the...
In-store dancing leads to Hawaii visitor quarantine arrest
HONOLULU — Investigators with the Hawaii attorney general’s office arrested a 20-year-old woman after seeing videos of her dancing in a store and dining out when she was supposed to be obeying a traveler quarantine the state mandated to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. Anne Salamanca arrived in...
French tourism gets boost with reopening of Disneyland ParisVideo
PARIS — The French tourist industry received a further boost Wednesday with the partial reopening of Disneyland Paris and the opening up of the top floor of the Eiffel Tower. Disneyland Paris, Europe’s most frequented theme park resort, is partially reopening to the public, four months after it closed as...
English pubs are reopening — and they won’t be the same
LONDON — Asking people in English pubs to keep their distance is going to be tough after they’ve had a few of their favorite tipples. Pub managers will have to be resourceful come Saturday when they and other parts of the hospitality industry in England open their doors to customers...
US issues guidelines but no new rules for safe air travel
Federal officials said Thursday that airlines should consider limiting capacity on planes to promote social distancing, but they are not considering making the airlines do it. The officials also recommended — but did not move to require — that travelers wear face coverings in airports and on planes. All leading...
No smoking, drinking or eating as Atlantic City casinos openVideo
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Atlantic City tried Prohibition once before. It worked so well that Nucky Johnson, the legendary politician and racketeer, built a Boardwalk empire immortalized on HBO nearly a century later. It also tried banning smoking, too. That lasted for 20 days as smokers stayed away, sending casino...
Grants offered to small businesses in Pennsylvania, including travel industry
Industry experts predict U.S. travel this summer will experience a 15% dip compared to last year. This news comes as support grows for additional federal stimulus assistance to help the travel industry, one of the economic sectors hardest hit during the covid-19 pandemic, according to a national survey. Regionally, officials...
Disney reimagining Splash Lagoon ride based on film dubbed racially offensive
The death of George Floyd continues to reverberate nationwide. The reaction to his death, after a Minnesota police officer kneeled on his neck for almost eight minutes, has taken the form of continuing protests, introspection and a national — if heated — conversation about race. Amid the fallout, some companies...
Pittsburgh airport launches 2nd phase of reopening plan as travel increases
Pittsburgh International Airport said it is launching the second phase of its PIT Safe Travels Program as passenger traffic increases. The airport implemented the program last month to ensure a safe environment in the airport and bolster confidence in air travel in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. The initiative...
Statues on Gettysburg’s battlefields are history lessons rather than racist symbols, park official says
In recent weeks, a number of Confederate statues and monuments have been targeted by protesters as symbols of racism and slavery. As a result, a number of them are no longer standing. When it comes to Confederate markers, you’re unlikely to find a place with as many such examples than...
Disney to roll out new reservation system when parks reopen
When Walt Disney World reopens its Florida theme parks next month after shutting down during the coronavirus pandemic, they’ll be introducing a new reservation system. The company announced Friday that the new Disney Park Pass System will operate through disneyworld.com on either a desktop or mobile device, and registration through...
