this is "nightline." >> tonight, living it up. the social media influencers. on a campaign to take tourism to new heights. inspiring people to pack their bags and get out the door. >> it's the new modern way to bring in tourism. >> and addressing fears of contracting covid overseas. what the return of tourism may look like. plus scoring brownie points. the gourmet pastry chef behind these sweet tweets. >> i love our guava jellies, cbd and thc -- >> bakes with liquid cannabis under strict oversight. how marijuana edibles hit it big during the pandemic. [sfx: thunder rumbles]

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♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. as the world slowly reopens, we're with the social media influencers on a mission to entice people to get back out there and create new memories. but as air and foot traffic increase, how will their influence help the travel

industry make a comeback? here's "nightline's" ashan singh. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: if these guys partying in the bahamas makes you miss prepandemic jet-setting? well, that's kind of the point. >> three, two, one! >> reporter: 12 influencers with a combined reach of more than 16 million followers. and this is their job. to bring you the highlight from the world's most exotic places. >> taking a little private jet today. >> right to your social feeds with the goal of getting you to book a trip of your very own. >> stop, it's some dolphins! >> reporter: now as the pandemic reaches this new phase of reopenings and americans debate when to take that first big trip, these influencers are like digital travel agents working to restart economies decimated by the lack of travelers. from inside the u.s. to paradise abroad. >> i think that we make a huge impact, as far as bringing tourism to all these places that

need it. especially after covid. >> reporter: but with the pandemic still looming, questions about variants and mass mandates are the topics of discussion heading into the summer. >> fully vaccinated people can contract covid. but i would like to emphasize that this is exceedingly rare. >> reporter: and the debates about vaccine passports. not to mention the inconsistent guidelines from destination to test nice, at center stage. >> it is confusing when the cdc comes out and says, for vaccinated americans it's safe to travel, then the next week, the state department says, but there's 160 countries you shouldn't travel to. >> reporter: while some are wary about traveling again, these influencers are hell-bent on getting tourists back to the streets and the industry back on its feet safely. >> being part of this industry, it's my responsibility to show how you can travel safely, to bring it back, to travel again. >> reporter: in the bahamas, jay rich is leading his latest

excursi excursion, a content creation trip for a group of influencers he manages. it's part of his brain child, "project fomo." >> working nonstop, we combine and create experiences and activities, not just your typical travel photo. >> reporter: jay helped pretty project fomo in the midst of the pandemic after he says the maldives government reached out and said they needed help. >> it was a controversy whether to go out during covid. maldives said they're hurting, fomo, can you bring up tourism? >> a government called you in order for "project fomo" to begin? >> yes, i link up with the tois , try tovideos. i have a particular way to do mine. after a few videos went viral with the help of other travel pages, it's the new modern way to write in tourism. >> reporter: creators like jay essentially work in partnership with tourism boards locally and abroad, depending on the level

of engagement, followers and likes they receive. a destination will xen assess the travel at certain levels or even pay them in order to post something like this. how much can someone like yourself actually stand to make on a trip like this? >> on a trip like this, you could probably make a few hundred thousand dollars. the more reach of the audience, depending on location, the more that you can actually make. if you tap into the government, it can get up there to the million-dollar mark. that's when it's really nice. >> wait, you can make as much as $1 million on a trip like this? >> yeah, you could. yeah, very much so. not only do we bring money back into the economy, but we made a little bit over $1 million. >> influencers have a huge impact in getting people comfortable traveling. people want to see firsthand, this is where i go, this is where i show my test. reading a government notice on a website of the rules is much different than seeing someone that influenc oen get a badzy times,e

want to see firsthand experiences. and frankly, that's what influencers deliver. >> do you think you guys showing up for a project fomo trip is actually helping economies get back on their feet? >> when you come out and you're able to show people so many things to do, so man eyeballs, all across social media platforms, it's better than any billboard, it's better than any advertisement possible. >> reporter: the tourism industry is starting to see an uptick, but globally it took a $935 billion hit in the past year. >> one of the numbers i look at to see the travel rebound, the amount of passengers screened by tsa. last april, that number dropped as low as 80,000 people. that's down from 2019, which was about 2.6 million. >> when they stopped all flights, i was just thinking, well -- i whow is this going to turn out? >> reporter: that obligation to the travel industy a big reason why influencer

made it a big point to get back on the road. >> do you feel responsibility to help bring this industry back? >> i do, because i've seen the struggle from the hotel industry. and everyone from people in airlines that have lost their jobs -- i think that's exactly why i decided to be here. because i thought it was important to show that there's a way to travel responsibly. and someone has to do it. >> reporter: we followed her to las vegas, to the bellagio, for a trip sponsored by the city's tourism board. they want her instagram account of 190k followers to help show it's safe to come back to sin city. las vegas is one of the hardest-hit american cities in the 2020, with over 42 million visitors a year prepandemic, they lost over $6 billion when forced to shut down. how do you make sure that you're not only keeping yourself safe when traveling but you're keeping your followers safe too?

>> i think having that platform allows me to educate people on what's the reality, what not to be afraid of, how hotels are responsibly doing everything in their power to make sure that you are safe in your rooms, in the restaurants that you go to, transportation, everywhere. >> reporter: experts tell us that traveling domestically may actually be the right idea this summer. >> probably still overall, domestic travel is going to be safer than international travel. we know that almost 40% of the u.s. population now is fully vaccinated. our case numbers are ticking down day by day. >> far families, especially because a lot of kids can't get the vaccine right now, to be ultra safe, stay domestic, take that road trip, start planning that trip abroad next year. >> reporter: minnesota nurse abroad sinceownecame rst strip

wwent fory dahter's o mexico, relax on the beach. >> were you nervous at all? >> i was nervous, but i also had some reassurance. because i was fully vaccinated. >> and yet? what happened when you were on that trip and you actually first started to feel ill. >> it was about two days into the trip, sore throat. i developed a cough and sinus pressure. two days before we were supposed to fly home, we had our scheduled covid tests. i'd had a low-grade fever and some pretty bad body aches throughout the night. >> reporter: it's important to note, diane says she was double. >> when you get that call and somebody said, you have covid, no matter if you're home or in mexico, it's still a shock. i was the only vaccinated person in our group of six that went, and ultimately the only one that tested positive. >> reporter: as the numbers increase of those who have been the debate over whether to

introduce a vaccine passport is the next step in the world fully opening up. >> what we know right now here in the united states is that the federal government is not necessarily actively pursuing a domestic version of a vaccine passport. it may end up being the case that some countries eventually require some proof of vaccination against the covid to be able to come into their country. >> what's your biggest concern moving forward as americans start to feel more and more comfortable traveling? >> the u.s. government cannot confirm if anyone actually got the vaccine. this is going to pieceose a challenge with international travel, fraud with vaccination cards. we're on an honor system. an honor system when you're dealing with a deadly virus does give me pause. >> reporter: regardless of the guidelines, doctors, influencers, and experts will tell you the same thing. be safe. and don't do anything until you're ready. >> i would say, go at your own pace. do your own research.

make sure you, your family, your friends are safe. >> reporter: if anything, the past year has taught these jet setters not just about the privilege of travel, but they say it's about truly savoring the people and places that come with it. >> i had to think of places that were within distance of me to discover and create new content. sometimes you don't have to go too far to discover beautiful places. >> prepandemic, it was all about trying to hit as many destinations as possible. now i hope people actually savor travel and take more meaningful trips. >> we always talk about all the deaths and everything in covid. we also have to talk about how many families and people are starving because of the lack of tourism. >> do you feel like you're helping? >> i always feel like i'm helping, i'm a giver, i've always been a giver, i always will be a giver. >> our thanks to ashan. coming up, covid cravings. why the pandemic has people why the pandemic has people reaching for marijuana edibles. ♪ ♪

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♪ instead of taking a hit during the pandemic, one business owner in san diego is thriving. the key to her success? cannabis treats. carefully crafted and creating a buzz. here's abc's kayna whitworth. ♪ >> here's one of our brownies we were making today. >> look at that. oh, that smells like heaven. >> reporter: rachel king has been whipping up gourmet confections at some of san diego's top restaurants for over a decade. but after leaving her job as a

pastry chef behind to start her own business, this 37-year-old mother of two is now creating sweet treats with a special ingredient, liquid cannabis. >> i love our guava tamarind jel jellies. cbd and thc. i love our salted brandies as well. depends on our mood. >> do you have somebody taste testing? >> me? that's not a hard position to fill. >> reporter: she launches her company, kaneh, six years ago when medical marijuana became legal in california. when it became legal for recreational use, they expanded. >> i didn't have experience with baking but my partners had a lot of knowledge. they came with the business sense. the cannabis experience. then i brought the baking piece to the table.

>> reporter: with products like cannabis-infused butter cookies, chocolate candies with pistachios, triple chocolate brownies. it's no surprise her business is booming. >> in the last couple years, edible sales were around 5% or 6% of total cannabis sales. in 2020, that was up to 10%. edibles are really easy entry point for the industry to grow their consumer base. >> reporter: 17 states and washington, d.c. currently allow cannabis to be sold for recreational consumption. >> our latest products are the truffle bars. i'm obsessed with this. >> reporter: while many of us were in covid-19 lockdown, california's cannabis industry was classified as essential. >> to be considered an essential worker was an interesting feeling, to say the least. >> reporter: rachel's factory ramping up product, with demand increasing more than 20% throughout 2020. >> i think that people were dabbling more. they didn't have to go to work

every day so they figured, i'll try this. >> reporter: sales of edibles rose nationwide, an estimated 45% increase in 2020. >> we started with five employees. now we have about 50 employees. >> what has the pandemic really done for your business, would you say? >> i mean, we've definitely thrived during this period. >> describe to me what these new marijuana users are like. >> i mean, they could be you or me. it could be young moms. it could be grandmas or grandpas. >> new consumers like edibles for a number of reasons. it's discreet. edibles in legal markets have very specific dosage information. so let's say it's 2.5 milligrams or 5 milligrams of thc. that's the active ingredient. you know exactly what you're going to get with that. >> reporter: you may not feel it right away. the effects of some edibles can take up to two hours. what does it mean, all of a sudden you find yourself deemed an essential business, but restaurants all around you are closing down? >> i had little bit of

survivor's guilt. because i see chefs that i worked with, cooks that i worked with, and they're at home without a job. >> you're giving them a lifeline? >> they gave me a lifeline too, because they had skills and i needed people. >> reporter: one of those new hires, cameron jacob, a 20-year hospitality worker who lost they are job in the pandemic. she's now kaneh's sales director. >> can you tell me what you've seen from a sales perspective? >> i feel line the majority of people i talk to, my friends and family, is the common theme. you know, they may not have ever felt comfortable saying they smoke a joint at a function. but to say, oh, i tried one of your edibles, it really helped me sleep. we hold ourselves to the highest standards. but we're also held to the highest of high standards. to comply with state law, every batch of edibles is sent to a nearby lab for testing. >> edibles and any cannabis product are tested strictly. in california in particular, tracked, what they call from

seed to sale. even if the edible is in a gummy form, it's a cherry-flavored ed gelatin cube, regulators at the board should know exactly what seed is used to produce the thc to produce that gummy. >> this scientific scale measures up to a thousandth of a gram. >> reporter: he's in charge of compliance, making sure the precise amount of cannabis goes into every batch of edibles. >> when i originally started i was a driver. wanted to get my foot in the cannabis door, so to speak. worked my way up the ladder since. i've been with kaneh almost five years now. >> has working here changed how you consume cannabis at all? >> i consume cannabis much less now. >> chocolate chip cookies on friday -- >> reporter: state law prohibits rachel from selling her edibles directly to her customers. instead, she's required to sell them only at licensed dispensaries. like this one in west hollywood

called the artist tree, where anyone age 21 and up can walk in and do some shopping. >> utterly delicious. >> reporter: with more and more states legalizing recreational marijuana, rachel is dreaming big. so what does the future hold for you? >> we are soon to be opening up in arizona. so that's exciting. very close to us. >> yeah. >> and ultimately, i'd love to be in every state. >> do you ever see yourself having a bakery where someone can come in, sit down, eat a browny right there? >> i used to serve people desserts and see their reactions. i would love that. >> our thanks to kaneh. up next, the one with the friends reunion. ♪ ♪ no one told you life was gonna be this way ♪ [♪] are you constantly cleaning and sanitizing your bathroom? for an easy solution that lasts, try microban24 bathroom cleaner. simply spray and wipe away to easily dissolve soap scum,

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♪ and finally tonight, they'll be there for you. ♪ that familiar song, those familiar friends, now reuniting for one long-awaited special. 17 years since the sitcom ended. the trailer dropping today, the

cast reflecting on new beginnings, their unbreakable bonds, those laugh out loud moments. >> this is from the one where everyone finds out. >> oh, oh! my eyes, my eyes! >> "friends: the reunion" will air next thursday on hbo max. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here, same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.