Vegas rebound
In Las Vegas, there have been a slew of reopenings, including the restarting of pool parties across a number of hotels. "If you're in Vegas and try to go to a pool, it's not easy," said Derek Stevens, who owns the Circa Resort & Casino. "It's like trying to book a dinner reservation on New Year's Eve." Spots at the pool are booked a month in advance because of reduced capacities and social distancing. Hotels and other venues are limited to 50% capacity. Stevens said that since the Super Bowl, there had been indications that the tourism industry in Vegas was recovering, adding that his three hotels had been sold out every weekend since. "This is the strongest booking that I've ever experienced," he said.
New York Times
Reservations required
Yosemite National Park will limit the number of visitors this summer during the peak tourist season. Under the new rules, advance reservations will be required for day-use visitors who enter Yosemite from May 21 to Sept. 30. Rocky Mountain National Park and Glacier National Park are putting in place similar rules. Yosemite reservations can be made at recreation.gov beginning at 8 a.m. April 21. The Biden administration also has required all national park visitors to wear masks indoors — and outdoors when they can't stay more than 6 feet apart.
San Jose Mercury News
'Jurassic' coaster
Your courage is about to become extinct. Universal Orlando Resort has announced the opening date for Jurassic World VelociCoaster, an attraction the resort calls "the most intense coaster ever." Starting June 10, riders will be welcomed onto "Florida's fastest and tallest launch coaster," located at the Islands of Adventure theme park. "Thrill-seekers will have the opportunity to soar 155 feet in the air and catapult up to 70 mph alongside a ferocious Velociraptor pack," Universal stated in a release. Cast members from the "Jurassic" dinosaur flicks will reprise their roles in the attraction.
New York Daily News
Cruising for July
The director of the maritime division at the CDC said U.S. passengers could be boarding cruise ships as soon as July. It all depends on how many people get vaccinated, how well COVID-19 variants can be kept at bay, and how fast cruise companies can secure agreements with ports and health authorities, said CDC's Martin Cetron. "In an ideal setting where we don't have an overwhelming fourth wave of variants that are unresponsive to our mitigation strategies, that if all things go well as planned ... I think with following the guidance we laid out we can all probably get to a place of partial resumption of sailing in July," he said.
Miami Herald
