Starting in November, foreign travelers from 33 countries — including the U.K., the EU, China, India, Brazil and South Africa — can travel to the U.S. as long as they show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of their flight’s departure.
The new policy will relax the current ban on travel by foreign nationals from these countries.
Vaccinated passengers will not be required to quarantine after arrival, but unvaccinated American citizens returning to the U.S. will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test result within one day of boarding, as well as one day after their arrival back into the U.S.
The Travel Industry Largely Approves of the Change
Roger Dow, president and CEO for the U.S. Travel Association, released a statement shortly after the announcement, applauding "the Biden administration’s announcement of a roadmap to reopen air travel to vaccinated individuals from around the world, which will help revive the American economy and protect public health.”
The American Society of Travel Advisors also commended the move.
“We view this as a key milestone toward restarting the international travel system on which so many of our members depend,” according to the association’s Sept. 20 statement. “Based on news reports, the plan incorporates several of the common-sense measures we called for along with our travel industry colleagues recently.”
We view this as a key milestone toward restarting the international travel system on which so many of our members depend.
Cruise Lines International Association also echoed the sentiment, adding, “International cruise visitors in the United States spend $4.5 billion annually on hotel stays, transportation, retail and other U.S. businesses, supporting nearly 60,000 American jobs.”
Associations weren’t alone in their approval of the news; many travel suppliers and advisors also applauded the new policy, observing that the announcement will have a ripple effect on the overall sentiment regarding travel during the pandemic.
"Despite the fact that the majority of the world was open to American travelers last summer, this reciprocal milestone on the part of the U.S. is a symbol that travel, if vaccinated, is safe and allowed,” said Alexis Bowen, co-founder of “direct-to-local" travel platform Elsewhere.
Although the news applies largely to non-citizens traveling to the U.S., Bowen said she anticipates “ a strong increase in travel bookings from Americans, as well.”
“Travel typically is planned and booked three to six months prior to departure, and although this window has shortened due to COVID-19-related uncertainty and changing restrictions, I would expect to see bookings spike now in order to take advantage of holiday travel,” she said.
Despite the fact that the majority of the world was open to American travelers last summer, this reciprocal milestone on the part of the United States is a symbol that travel, if vaccinated, is safe and allowed.
Some travel advisors, on the other hand, are cautiously optimistic about what this means for U.S. tourism.
"Maybe this will help other countries lift their travel bans for us, and we can relax a little,” said Sonya Little, travel advisor at Sandcastle Wishes Travel.
Debra Blaisdell, a travel consultant at Hess Travel, called it a step in the right direction.
“People will be happy that the U.S. is finally accepting foreign travelers, as these countries have been accepting U.S. travelers," she said.
Travel Hesitancy May Wane, but Questions Remain
At the same time, advisors say it is uncertain to what extent the Delta variant will affect future travel.
"I think people are still very nervous about the Delta variant,” Blaisdell said. “Even though this policy will help encourage international travel, [foreign travelers] still may not want to come here with our case numbers so high.”
Elsewhere’s Bowen says that the U.S. isn’t likely to see the travel numbers it saw in 2019, for example, but that there will be a surge despite the Delta variant.
“I think we will see a big wave of newly reassured travelers who were previously on the fence,” she said. “Now that the U.S. has symbolically made a statement that travel while vaccinated is safe, we'll see a conversion from these hesitant travelers who are now ready to book.”
Now that the U.S. has symbolically made a statement that travel while vaccinated is safe, we'll see a conversion from these hesitant travelers who are now ready to book.
The new policy comes at a good time, but it also raises new questions. For example, unvaccinated U.S. travelers must test negative for COVID-19 within 24 hours of arriving back home. Given that some at-home test kits are acceptable for travel, Donna Alkarmi, president of Lone Star Travel, asked, “How will passengers prove that the at-home kit was performed?”
Alkarmi compared it to New York’s self-quarantine requirement in 2020, which applied to people returning from certain states.
“They didn't have the staff to police that activity, nor do they have the means to make sure all returning guests do the at-home test,” she said. “This [new policy], to me, is a scare tactic to keep unvaccinated people from travelling outside the U.S. There is also no mention of children in this mandate.”
Alkarmi also believes that it may be difficult for unvaccinated travelers to both get tested and receive results back within 24 hours of their departure.
Going forward, clarifications and updates on this new policy would help the U.S. travel industry better prepare to welcome international travelers starting in November. The move does seem to incentivize vaccination and responsible travel, but time will tell to what degree international tourism will pick back up as a result.
