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A look at the travel restrictions aimed to combat COVID-19

Bambi Majumdar Travel, Hospitality & Event Management

The Department of State has advised all U.S. citizens to avoid international travel. At the same time, the CDC has urged residents of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut to refrain from domestic travel as much as possible. Almost all regions of the world are now experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, which has rightly led most governments to issue strict travel advisories. Quarantines and border restrictions limit traveler mobility, even in places where cases have not been reported.

Virtual travel in the time of social distancing

Cindy Belt Recreation & Leisure

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the closing of many campgrounds, travel has become very difficult, unwise, or completely restricted. Full-timers are searching for open campgrounds or staying with family and friends for a bit. For the part-time crowd living in states that are not in lockdown, we can occasionally find open campgrounds nearby within a short distance of home base. For those who are confining themselves at home, there are still ways to relieve that itch for travel without going outside. Some ideas include the following.

Are combat-accurate groups good enough? Probably not

Mike Ox Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

There's a continual debate among shooters about whether it's important to be able to shoot precisely with a pistol. I get messages from well-meaning people saying it's silly to shoot tight groups. There are three things that are vital to understand about the importance of being able to shoot tight groups with your defensive weapons.

Will Airbnb guests want to stay in chain hotels instead after COVID-19?

Linchi Kwok Travel, Hospitality & Event Management

COVID-19 has hit the economy so hard that it could take three years for the U.S. to recover. Right now, nobody goes out, and nobody travels. The travel and hospitality industry has been hit the hardest, with mass layoffs and record-low key performance indicators (KPIs). According to STR's lodging report for the week ending on March 28, the industry's KPIs hit "unprecedented lows." For example, revenue per available room (RevPAR) was $18.05, an 80.3% drop from the same week in 2019.

Survey: Travelers satisfied with industry management of the pandemic so…

Lark Gould Travel, Hospitality & Event Management

It’s a very tough time to be a hotel or an airline. However, as travelers and travel suppliers wrangle with the impact the coronavirus crisis is having on their personal and professional lives, a survey conducted by J.D. Power finds that the travel industry is getting positive feedback from consumers who seem to approve of the way these different factions of the travel industry are handling the daily crises at hand. The survey of 1,633 past-year business and/or leisure travelers reveals that 60% believe hoteliers, cruise lines and airlines have shown concern for the health and safety of the traveling public. In general, the more often consumers traveled, the better they felt about the industry’s response to the crisis.

Infographic: Mental health under quarantine

Brian Wallace Mental Healthcare

Quarantine. Staying in place. Full lockdown. All of these ways that we find ourselves social distancing start to take a toll on our mental health and well-being. How can we overcome these effects of social isolation? This infographic outlines the steps we can take to ensure we make it out of the pandemic as mentally healthy as possible, including setting routines and using meditation apps.

6 of America’s newest state parks

Dave G. Houser Recreation & Leisure

America is justly famous for its broad array of 400-plus national park sites — but the country's more than 10,000 state parks offer an even greater opportunity for outdoor adventure and recreation. Although many states have temporarily closed their parks in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, there will be a day in the not-too-distant future when the barriers come down and our urge to get outdoors will be satisfied. So how about someplace new and different? — like one of the country’s half-dozen newest state parks.

What to know about Texas’ turkey hunting season

John McAdams Recreation & Leisure

Spring is a special time of year for many reasons that differ from person to person. However, this time of year is particularly important to many hunters for one reason: turkey season. Hunters in many parts of Texas are especially fortunate to have both fall and spring turkey seasons, but hunters who enjoy the incredible excitement of turkey calling especially relish being out in the woods during the peak of turkey breeding season in April and May.

Grieving little heartbreaks is OK, even during a pandemic

Sheilamary Koch Mental Healthcare

In a recent article in The Verge, writer Monica Chin skillfully addresses what many of us are secretly grappling with — guilt that here in the middle of a pandemic we're grieving silly things like canceled basketball games. Chin cites backlash she's seen on social media when people have expressed sadness about the cancellation of events like Coachella, but concludes, "While it’s important to cancel these events to slow the spread of COVID-19 to keep hospitals and health systems from being overrun, I think it’s also important to allow ourselves (and each other) to mourn them." It may be hard not to think that sadness is a bit self-indulgent these days. Still, experts agree that denying our feelings isn't the way to go.

Can airports survive the coronavirus crisis?

Matt Falcus Transportation Technology & Automotive

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is causing an unprecedented crisis among the aviation industry, and it is threatening to drastically change the landscape and future of airports. With much of the world on lockdown and airlines effectively grounding their fleets, many airports are operating only a few key flights per day. Experiencing little demand, airports like Atlanta, Zurich and Frankfurt have assigned whole runways as temporary parking lots for grounded aircraft. Other airports, like Paris Orly and London City, have closed completely.

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