Travel Industry will get 'aggressive' to end pre-departure Covid testing: Travel Weekly

The travel industry will be aggressive in ending pre-departure testing according to the U.S. Travel Association CEO.

The White House's Coronaviruses Task Force agreed that the logic for the testing was not there.

The science and data does not support the testing requirement, according to the members of the Task Force.

The message has been delivered to the White House, and we will continue to push. We're really nice in the travel business. We're making the heat go up. It's causing so many people not to have jobs, so many to not come to America, and there's no logic here. We're going to get more aggressive. We've been nice, but it's time to turn it around.

The press conference began with the speaker wishing he was here to make an announcement. The removal of the testing requirement would add more than 5 million visitors and $9 billion to the US economy.

The strength of the domestic leisure market in the U.S., which he said has rebounded "phenomenally", is one of the "holes" in the travel recovery that need to be addressed.

Other factors hindering inbound travel

The testing requirement is one of the reasons why inbound travelers are deterred.

In some countries, the average wait time for a visa has gone up.

"Travel is the same as water," he added. The easiest way will be sought. People will find another way if we make it hard for them. The U.S. economy is not being rebuilt.

Other countries with travel restrictions are changing the makeup of the US inbound source market. Japan, China and South Korea are no longer on the list.

Asia had a lot of travelers and we have to get them back.

The testing requirement's impact on international travelers was not the only gripe of the travel industry.

The international numbers are not where Visit Florida would like them to be because of the testing requirement. If Biden doesn't want to hurt inbound travel, the testing requirement has to be lifted.

"We're optimistic that we'll see that rebound even faster, because we're addressing both visa processing times and getting testing repealed."

International travel is about 7% of all visitors, but 27% of spend.

The U.K. reporter wanted to know if U.S. Travel advocated for gun control.

It's one of the toughest problems we have. 80% of Americans want to do something about gun control and mental health. If we don't do something about it, it will hurt. We want you to do something and do it right.