Travelers entering the U.S. on an international flight must now provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken the day before their departure, a policy change announced late last week by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) that many in the tourism industry believe will dampen demand for overseas vacations.
As of this past Monday, all air passengers 2 years or older (regardless of citizenship or vaccination status) traveling to the U.S. from another country are now required to show either a negative test taken no more than one day before travel or provide documentation of recovery from COVID-19, according to the CDC website.
Fully vaccinated visitors arriving on international flights to the U.S. were previously allowed a 72-hour testing window prior to their departure.
The CDC did clarify on its website, however, that it imposed a one-day timeframe instead of a 24-hour mandate “to provide more flexibility to the air passenger and aircraft operator.”
“By using a one-day window, test acceptability does not depend on the time of the flight or the time of day that the test sample was taken,” CDC officials said. “For example, if your flight is at 1 p.m. on a Friday, you could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Thursday.”
Still, the CDC’s announcement last week that travelers flying into the U.S. from abroad will have less time to test was promptly criticized by American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) officials, who urged the CDC to “combat the spread of this virus without destroying an entire sector of the U.S. economy in the process.”
“Further tightening of the inbound testing window comes just days after a series of country-specific travel bans were imposed, and is yet another blow to our industry and travelers around the globe,” said Zane Kerby, ASTA president and CEO, in a Dec. 2 statement. “International travel, already extraordinarily complex, will become more complicated still, and our members’ businesses and clients will continue to suffer.”
International travel, already extraordinarily complex, will become more complicated still and our members’ businesses and clients will continue to suffer.
Travel Sellers Anticipate an Increase in Domestic Bookings
Jack Richards, president and CEO of Pleasant Holidays, said over the last month his business has seen a shift away from international bookings.
“It’s hard to say if that’s a direct correlation with the Omicron variant, or if it’s just seasonality,” Richards said. “But right now, people are staying closer to home. And in 2022, with the exception of Mexico, they’re definitely booking U.S. destinations in their own backyard.”
Richards said destinations such as Hawaii, Florida and California have been particularly appealing to clients, and he noted that immediately following news of the Omicron variant’s emergence, many Pleasant customers changed their vacation plans entirely.
“The next day, we saw a fairly significant uptick in cancellations, and a lot of those were to international destinations,” he said late last week. “That’s somewhat moderated now. Yesterday was not as bad.”
Richards said the CDC’s decision to tighten the testing window for all travelers flying into the U.S. wasn’t a big surprise, and the new policy’s impact may vary depending on the overseas destination.
“It depends on how accessible the tests are for people looking to get back home,” he explained. “In Mexico, for example, most of the hotels we do business with have testing set up inside their hotel, so to switch from 72 hours to 24 hours if the test is at the hotel is not a problem. But what happens if you’re in Paris? What happens if you’re in Tahiti? Where are the tests?”
Ted Blank, the host agency manager at Minneapolis-based Travel Leaders’ Market Square Travel, said the shortened testing window for air passengers to the U.S. adds another level of complexity to his clients’ international vacation plans, and makes a travel advisor’s job “a little bit harder.”
“I think pushing [COVID-19 testing] to the very, very last day of travel just adds an element of unpleasantness and uncertainty to the trip,” Blank said. “In most destinations, whether you’re talking about Mexico or the Caribbean or Europe, antigen testing — which is what’s permitted — is very readily available, and it gives results within 15-30 minutes. So, it is something that can be done.”
I think pushing [COVID-19 testing] to the very, very last day of travel just adds an element of unpleasantness and uncertainty to the trip.
Blank said his agency has seen a “small handful” of cancellations due to the Omicron variant, and the one-day testing requirement for U.S. travelers returning home from abroad will likely have an impact on clients’ decisions.
“I think over the short term, we will probably see a dip in forward international vacation bookings,” Blank said.
“January is typically a very busy month for people in the Midwest booking those spring break getaways, and so we’ll probably see a little bit of softened demand because of this additional hurdle.”
International Destinations Say They’re Ready for Test-Policy Change
Jamaica tourism officials said in a Dec. 3 statement that the Caribbean nation is well-prepared to handle the CDC’s new one-day testing requirement.
“Many of the island’s resorts and hotels offer approved testing services on-property,” Jamaica officials explained in a statement. “And both international airports in Jamaica [in Kingston and Montego Bay] are equipped with pre-flight testing capability prior to check-in. For travelers opting for in-airport testing, they can book their appointment online and arrive at the airport a minimum of three hours in advance of their flight to obtain their required departure result.”
Kristin Carlson, the managing director of Tahiti Tourisme U.S., said in a Dec. 3 email that “we don’t foresee this announcement significantly impacting travelers.”
“The Islands of Tahiti have convenient testing sites in Papeete,” Carlson continued, “including one at the Faa'a International Airport, where travelers can test the same day as departure with same- day results.”
Aruba Tourism Authority officials also issued a Dec. 3 statement looking to reassure U.S. travelers that the destination can meet the CDC’s new return test window.
“Many of our hotels offer on-site 24-hour or less testing, and we have enough testing centers that are able to serve our visitors and deliver results quickly,” said Aruba tourism officials. “[U.S. travelers] should feel confident that [their] ability to travel to and from Aruba will not be impacted.”
Market Square Travel’s Blank noted, meanwhile, that the CDC also accepts antigen test results from a number of COVID-19 self-test products.
“You can actually buy them at a pharmacy, or you can order them online, and it’s basically like a home pregnancy test,” Blank said, mentioning he used a self-test kit for a recent trip home from Europe. “You have to log onto Zoom, and a nurse guides you though and observes the test. … Then you receive the certificate via email from the company you bought the test from. It’s very simple. It takes 15 minutes.”
Kari Mollan, a Stellar Travel advisor in Bellevue, Wash., said she has heard wait times can be a little long for the Zoom observation component of the COVID-19 self-test kits. Even so, Mollan believes that option will become extraordinarily popular as a result of the CDC’s new one-day testing mandate.
“Whoever is in that business has a gravy train coming down the line for them,” she said with a chuckle. “People are just going to get in the habit of when you leave for the airport – you got your passport? Check. You got your money? Check. You got your COVID-19 self-test for coming home? Check. It’s just going to become the new norm.”
