Top Destination News From June

Destinations have been booming this summer, and there has been no shortage of good news about beloved destinations around the world. From countries relaxing their pandemic-era entry requirements or getting rid of them entirely to destinations being recognized for their recovery in travel and tourism, June has welcomed a lot of good news, which we can all agree is a welcome change from the past two years.

Click through this slideshow to catch up on the destination news you might have missed in June, and click the links provided on each slide to read more about each topic.

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Good news for travelers heading to Italy this summer. On June 1, the country dropped all of its pandemic-era entry requirements, no longer requiring any travelers to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, a recent negative test result or any other entry requirement.

The U.S. Department of Transportation lifted a Trump-era ban on all commercial or chartered flights to land in any airport in Cuba except Havana's Jose Marti International Airport. This should begin making it easier for travelers to enter the island nation. The change went into effect on June 1.

The city of New Orleans has been awarded the Global Biorisk Advisory Council's STAR Destination accreditation, one of only five cities in the nation to do so. The accreditation recognizes the city's commitment to infectious disease mitigation and prevention using enhanced sanitation and cleaning measures.

Early in June, several Caribbean nations relaxed their COVID-19 entry requirements and restrictions. Countries include Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Following the American founding father Alexander Hamilton's rise to popularity after the hit musical "Hamilton," his birthplace of Nevis, the second island in the two-island Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, will unveil a statue of the founding father on the island on July 22 at the Museum of Nevis History. The statue is called "Alexander Hamilton as a Young Man," as an homage to his youth spent on the island, and it was sculpted by renowned artist Benjamin Victory, the only living artist to have two works displayed in the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol Building.

Early in June, the United States Department of Commerce announced a new strategy to bring back international tourists to the country, with goals to welcome 90 million travelers by 2027 and earn $279 billion in traveler spending.

Anguilla relaxed some of its entry requirements earlier in June, no longer requiring travelers to fill out the online entry portal or test negative upon arrival, as long as they present a recent negative pre-departure test.

Travelers who are part of approved tour groups can enter Japan for the first time in years as part of the country's incremental reopening experiment, which began on June 1.

The National Park Service has renamed Yellowstone National Park's Mount Doane to First Peoples Mountain. The decision was unanimous after the U.S. Board on Geographic Names found the name offensive. Its previous name came from Gustavus Doane, who led an expedition to the region in 1870 and participated in the Marias Massacre, which left 173 Piegan Blackfeet dead, including many women, children and elderly, which he bragged about until his death.

It's official! At least one country in the world has seen its tourism rise above 2019's pre-pandemic levels, and unsurprisingly, that country is Mexico. Revenue from the first four months of the year was 3.7 percent higher than in 2019 and 123.8 percent higher than the same time in 2021.

Brazil is also seeing great numbers of travelers again: it welcomed one million visitors during the first few months of this year, a 60 percent increase over the entire visitor numbers in all of 2021.

As of June 19, vaccinated travelers entering The Bahamas no longer need to present a pre-departure test upon arrival; unvaccinated travelers also now have two testing options for their pre-departure tests. Where before they could only present a PCR test, now they can also take a rapid antigen test.

All travelers entering New Zealand no longer need to take a pre-departure test prior to arrival, though a vaccination requirement and post-arrival tests are currently still required.

South Africa has dropped all of its COVID-19 entry requirements and restrictions. Travelers no longer need to present any vaccination proof, test negative prior to arrival or satisfy any other requirements.

Beginning May 23, the 26 nations that comprise the European Union and Schengen Area will introduce a new visitor fee through the new European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), according to an announcement made in late June. The program is similar to the United States' ESTA program for travelers.