Global COVID-19 restrictions being pulled back

COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are losing their importance for world travelers. There are now more countries and territories — 118, according to Kayak.com data — that welcome U.S. travelers without restrictions. Of the

109 destinations that still require testing, quarantines or both for unvaccinated travelers, 17 don’t allow U.S. tourism anyway.

It’s a welcome turn for a global tourism economy that’s been hammered by COVID-19, and a bright note for those looking for signs of the pandemic’s end.

The pullback in restrictions is “an acknowledgment that we’re in a new phase of this pandemic, where things are more stable,” says infectious disease epidemiologist David Dowdy of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. As recently as Sept. 14, the head of the World Health Organization declared that “the end is in sight” for the pandemic.

“The world increasingly wants to move past this point where COVID is overpowering our daily lives with everything we’re doing,” says Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Japan has begun accepting vaccinated visitors from 68 countries without visas, ending almost three years of strict travel curbs that kept tourists out of the island nation; unvaccinated visitors will still need to test negative and possibly quarantine upon arrival.

Bhutan, a top destination for its awe-inspiring mountain views and gilded temples, entirely scrapped its pandemic-related entry requirements for international tourists as of Sept. 23, adding to the 30 destinations that ended testing and isolation mandates over the last few months. The

Himalayan kingdom joins Canada, the Bahamas and New Zealand, which also rolled back requirements

for travelers recently.

Experts attribute the policy changes to a relative stabilization in death rates.

ORLANDO SENTINEL Travelers wait in security check lines at Orlando International Airport.