Top Destination Travel News From May

Destinations have been celebrating some great news this May! From an accelerated recovery in Hawaii to the relaxation of entry requirements in countries like Italy and Greece, Morocco, the U.S. Virgin Islands and many more, destinations across the world are reopening their borders and are seeing a tourist boom in response. Flip through this slideshow to see the month's biggest destinations news, and click the link on each slide to read the full story.

As of May 1, fully vaccinated travelers heading to Thailand no longer need to adhere to any quarantine or COVID-19 testing measures, making it an easier choice for a perfect Asian vacation this summer.

The Mexican state of Quintana Roo, in which Cancun and Riviera Maya are located, has dropped the last of its statewide mask mandate following decreasing cases of COVID-19.

May 1 saw the first American tourists arrive in New Zealand after two years! They were greeted by Maori welcome songs.

Italy and Greece, two popular Mediterranean destinations, relaxed their entry requirements in anticipation of a summer international travel boom.

Proving that this year will see record numbers of international travelers across the globe, Spain reported earlier in May that its March arrivals hit record numbers, with about 4 million arrivals in that month alone!

Travelers to Croatia no longer have to satisfy any pandemic-related entry requirements, effective May 1.

London launched its biggest international campaign in the U.S., "Let's Do London," in May this year, spending $12.5 million to encourage Americans to visit the city.

A new MMGY Travel Intelligence survey found that Americans are more excited about returning to Europe than they've been in years, despite the conflict in Ukraine.

Days after New Zealand reopened to American travelers and travelers from about 50 other countries, the country announced it would reopen to cruising and all international travelers by the end of July.

Myanmar resumed its issuing of traveler visas on May 15, making it easier for international travelers to enjoy traveling to the country.

Japan announced in mid-May that it would begin welcoming a select handful of fully vaccinated travelers taking limited package tours to test for reopening later this summer. The travelers were expected to enter Japan sometime in June.

Travelers to Israel will find it easier to enter the country after May 21, when it dropped its upon-arrival COVID-19 testing requirement.

The CDC has issued guidance for travelers enjoying a domestic vacation this Memorial Day Weekend; it recommends testing prior to travel and after their vacation has ended and wear a mask if traveling by air.

2022's international arrivals to Europe might be catching up to pre-pandemic levels sooner than anticipated, according to new data by Squaremouth.com.

Vaccinated travelers to Barbados will no longer have to test negative. The Prime Minister cited the pandemic's near-devastation of the island's tourist economy and the island's 70 percent vaccination rate for the move.

On May 21, Spain relaxed its entry requirements for unvaccinated non-EU travelers, including Americans. They can now enter provided they test negative prior to arrival. Before this ruling, only recently recovered unvaccinated travelers could enter Spain.

Curious to see the world's best places to visit this year? The U.S. News & World Report shared its Best Vacation rankings for 2022 and 2023!

Fully vaccinated travelers heading to Morocco this summer can enjoy no longer being required to produce a recent negative COVID-19 test to gain entry into the country, following an announcement made May 17.

Travelers to the U.S. Virgin Islands can enjoy the end of any pandemic-era entry requirements and restrictions beginning May 31, so long as they are coming directly from the U.S. mainland or other U.S. territory. Entry requirements still apply for international travelers and Americans entering the islands from a different country.

Hawaii's visitor numbers nearly reached pre-pandemic levels this level, as was reported in May. It welcomed over 818,000 visitors in April 2022, at just 3.7 percent lower than April 2019's visitor numbers.

Germany announced recently that effective June 1, it would suspend its 3G entry requirement rule requiring either proof of full vaccination, proof of recent recovery from COVID-19 or a recent negative COVID-19 test to gain entry into the country. The suspension will be in place through the end of August to welcome the anticipated summer tourist boom.