On Tuesday, 23 travel companies banded together to send a letter to President Biden with a clear and simple message: Ease restrictions on international travel, or suffer extreme economic consequences.
Signatories include executives from all sectors of the industry, including the U.S. Travel Association, cruise lines, hotels, a theme park, a rental car company, airlines and more.
The letter highlighted three key steps the Biden Administration should take to start the process: Establish a travel corridor between the U.S. and other low-risk countries (starting with the U.K., which would have a $4 billion economic impact and support approximately 300,000 jobs in the U.S.); create a public-private taskforce to establish a roadmap for a safe reopening of inbound travel (starting this May and cumulating in an ease of international entry restrictions by July 1); and secure commitments from other G7 Summit leaders to develop a harmonized global framework for reopening travel between countries.
Using science and data as our guide, it is possible to reopen our borders and establish these important public health corridors.
“The U.S. must be a global leader in restarting international travel,” the letter states. “Using science and data as our guide, it is possible to reopen our borders and establish these important public health corridors. It would be incredibly productive if we could advance our dialogue and partner with your administration to set a framework for the safe restart of international travel.”
International travel is predicted to take at least five years to recover without government interference, and the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a loss of some $150 billion in export income and 1.1 million jobs. An additional $175 billion could be lost by the end of 2021 if no action is taken to lift entry restrictions.
“While U.S. borders remain closed to much of the world, the remarkable scientific advancements to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and the tremendous vaccine deployment achieved by your administration have allowed the safe resumption of many activities,” the travel companies wrote. “For all its economic and cultural contributions, international travel should be among them, and it will hasten the economic recovery we all desire. We also can rebuild our leadership on the global stage, our position in the world and bring people back together again — one of the great benefits of travel.”
The Details
U.S. Travel Association
