As travel restrictions ease, people discover pent-up desire to travel again
The cruise industry has gotten the green light to set sail again starting next November, after two seasons were suspended back-to-back because of the pandemic.
"Individuals that were going to be doing vacations by cruise in 2020, that flipped into 2021, and then again flipped to 2022," says Andrew Dixon, senior vice-president of trade and business development at the Port of Saint John.
"That pent-up demand, everybody thinks in the industry is going to serve us very well."
It's a sign of the travel industry getting back on track – but whatever your mode of transportation, many globetrotters will have more than just their passport and luggage in tow with a pre-travel checklist that isn't quite what it used to be.
"From now on, masks will always be something that I'll have with me and travel with," says Nova Scotia-based travel blogger Cailin O'Neill of Nova Scotia Explorer.
"Especially when on planes and crowded areas, just as a comfort to know that I can feel a bit safer with it."
Crystal Richard of Dieppe, New Brunswick, who is behind the travel blog, the East Coast Mermaid, says she still plans to keep a mask around when she travels as well.
"As much as I'm excited to ditch the mask in situations that I'm comfortable in – I think travelling it's definitely going to be something I'm still going to consider and bring along for the ride."
She also believes that booking trips will mean having to do so much less in-depth booking than before.
"I think travel is going to be very much less of a 'let's just book the trip' and more of a, 'before we book this, what are the cancellation policies, what's going on in that city, that country – what are their COVID numbers looking like?'"
According to CAA Atlantic, research shows that 63 per cent of all Canadians do intend to travel this summer or this fall, and it's important for those who do, to bring along all of the paperwork.
"You need to make sure to make copies of photo ID, vaccination records if you have them," says Julia Kent, director of public & government affairs with CAA Atlantic. "And be prepared with all of the necessary documentation anytime you're leaving your home province."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.