(CNN) – Another seven days have passed, so once again it’s time for CNN Travel to check the destination barometer and tell you where it’s hot, where it’s not, and where to need your two shots.
Here’s what we learned from pandemic trips this week.
1. There will be a honeymoon boom
Bad news for sweatpants and branded T-shirts enthusiasts: You may be forced into formal wear sooner than you think.
The wedding industry is recovering in the United States, with some jewelers reporting that engagement ring sales have quadrupled year over year.Customers are now looking for engagement rings because they “can finally travel” and propose on vacation, Kyle Simon, co-founder of New York jewelry company Clear Cut, told CNN Business this week.
It’s time to take those suits and dresses to the dry cleaner for these weddings.
2. There is still time to escape returning to the office
How far are you willing to go to avoid microwaving chatter with your co-workers? Sicily maybe? Maybe Sri Lanka?
The Italian town of Sambuca di Sicilia has just launched a new batch of abandoned houses and a Sicilian getaway can be yours for as little as € 2. There are plans to open remote work centers to attract digital workers, Deputy Mayor Giuseppe Cacioppo told CNN Travel.Sri Lanka, meanwhile, has jumped on the digital nomad trend by introducing long-term visas of up to a year to attract foreign visitors who want to work remotely while enjoying the Sri Lankan sun and scenery.
3. Ireland finally reopened on Monday
It had one of the toughest bans in Europe and a cyber attack delayed the introduction of the EU Digital Covid Certificate by almost three weeks, but Ireland finally rolled out the green carpet for international visitors on July 19.
Fully vaccinated travelers from non-EU countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, do not need to undergo tests or quarantines. (A 14-day self-quarantine or hotel quarantine still applies to those who do not have a valid vaccination card or who are coming from an “emergency country”).
Indoor hospitality – and yes, yes, that includes pubs – is slated to reopen by July 23.
4. Two old rivals are back in business
From 1884 to 1889, the 555-foot-tall Washington Monument – a white stone obelisk in the District of Columbia erected to commemorate the first US President, George Washington – was the tallest structure in the world.
And then came Gustave Eiffel and his stylish new 300 meter high wrought iron tower on the Champs de Mars in Paris. The Eiffel Tower held the title for 41 years until the honor returned to the New World with the completion of New York’s Chrysler Building.
Both iconic structures were reopened to the public this week, with the Washington Monument welcoming visitors on Wednesday and the Eiffel Tower reopening on Friday.
The ultra-modern skyline of Doha, the capital of Qatar.
Courtesy of Qatar Tourism
5. Qatar is open to fully vaccinated travelers
Football fans mourning the end of Euro 2020 can take comfort that the host of the next major international tournament, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, has just opened to fully vaccinated international travelers.Visitors who have completed their recordings from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, or Johnson & Johnson more than 14 days before can skip the quarantine, but will still need to have a Covid test prior to travel and obtain approval through the government’s Ehteraz website .Once in the country, tourists can explore attractions such as the “ghost towns” of the northwest coast: abandoned 19th century fishing villages that show what life was like before Qatar’s spectacular oil and gas-powered economic boom.
6. Vacationing in the Caribbean paradise just got a little easier
The pool at Anguillas Cap Juluca, a Belmond Hotel.
Richard James Taylor / Belmond Cap Juluca
The posh Caribbean islands of Anguilla and St. Kitts & Nevis have opened their luxury doors a little wider.
Anguilla now allows fully vaccinated visitors – and only fully vaccinated ones. This means that the doses of Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 were completed at least 21 days before arrival.
St. Kitts & Nevis has reduced its self-quarantine period – or “vacation in place” as they call it – from nine days to three, with testing on the fourth day. Results should be available within 12 hours.
The Cayman Islands will cautiously welcome fully vaccinated travelers as part of a five-phase plan starting in September. However, cruise ships are not expected to call there until January 2022.
7. Thousands of Australians are still stranded overseas
While the rest of the world endured lockdown after lockdown, Australia was one of the pandemic’s success stories. By closing the borders, Covid-19 was largely blocked.
The price to pay for keeping the virus at bay is that thousands of Australian families have been separated since early 2020. There are around 34,000 stranded Australian citizens who have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as trapped overseas and want to come home.
After Australia’s limit for international arrivals was cut in half to just 3,000 passengers a week from July 14th and airfares skyrocketed, their outlook is even bleak. CNN’s Hannah Ritchie reports.
8. Venice has – once again – banned cruise ships from the city center
The cruise ship MSC Magnifica is seen from the bell tower of San Maggiore in June 2019.
Miguel Medina / AFP via Getty Images
Cruise ships are the ex-villain Venice just can’t give up.
At first there was a ban. Then there was a pre-ban. And then – like Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again” – they were back in town for the time being.
Instead of going past St. Mark’s Square and up the narrow Giudecca Canal, they are diverted through the Venice Lagoon and dock on the mainland in the industrial port of Marghera.
9. Oil wrestling is back, baby
CNN’s Ivan Watson explores the ancient sport of oil wrestling, dating back hundreds of years.
Last year’s competition was canceled due to the pandemic, but greased men cannot be held.
Dressed only in olive oil and lederhosen, the participants fought for three days in the hope of winning the title of Baspehlivani or chief wrestler. Ali Gurbuz from Antalya kept his title for another year.
CNN’s Alexis Benveniste, Julia Buckley, Silvia Marchetti, Hannah Ritchie and Dimitris Sideridis contributed to this story.