Omicron unravels travel industry’s plans for a comeback

By DAVID KOENIG and YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press

Tourism businesses that were just finding their footing after nearly two years of devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic are being rattled again as countries throw up new barriers to travel in an effort to contain the omicron variant. Meanwhile, travelers eager to get out there have been thrown back into the old routine of reading up on new requirements and postponing trips. For all the alarm, little is known about omicron, including whether it is more contagious, causes more serious illness or can evade vaccines. Still, governments that were slow to react to the first wave of COVID-19 are eager to avoid past mistakes. Businesses everywhere from shopping districts in Japan to ski resorts in the Alps are feeling the hit.