On June 7, 2022, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee will hold a hearing on reviving convention and tourism through international travel.
Pre-departure testing is one of the key issues to reviving travel in the US, according to a statement issued by the American Society of Travel Advisors.
The inbound testing order is the number one barrier to our industry's recovery. The statement from Kerby said that the order had little to no impact on COVID rates at home.
The costs to citizens and those visiting the United States far outweigh the benefits as determined travelers have and will find a way around ill-conceived systems. It's time for the U.S. to match our closest trading partners on this front and let travel-reliant businesses recover from the ravages of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Kerby pointed out that shortening the window made the situation worse.
He noted that the shortening of the testing window from 72 hours to one day prior has made the challenges worse. According to a recent survey of ASTA members, 83 percent of trips are canceled because of the U.S. COVID-19 testing requirement. Travel advisors say this is the top cause of client trip cancelations.
Many countries have already eliminated requirements for travelers. A growing number of countries, including the United States' biggest trading partners and outbound travel markers, have recently moved in the direction of removing the pre-departure test requirement for the fully-vaccinated. Kerby said that exempting fully-vaccinated U.S. citizens from the order is a way to strike that balance.
The issue of pre-departure testing was brought up in testimony by the U.S. Travel Association executive vice president.
"I wish I could say everything is back to normal now, but we're still not where we need to be, because other countries have done away with COVID testing and entry requirements," she said.
The rest of the world is following the same science as the U.S. Red tape is hurting our country's recovery because people have a lot of options about where to go.
The Global Business Travel Association noted that testing was making international travelers hesitant to come to the U.S.
More than 260 members of the travel industry sent a letter to the White House in May of last year.
Cutié said that the U.S. should immediately remove the pre-departure testing requirement.
He said that the mask mandate should remain in place and that the US should work with other countries to improve travel conditions.
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