The European Union is now encouraging its 27 member nations to reinstate travel restrictions for American vacationers, a recommendation that’s flooded U.S. travel sellers with questions and spurred some trip cancellations.
On Monday, EU officials formally ratified a recommendation that the U.S. be removed from a list of countries for which member nations should lift restrictions on nonessential travel. Motivated by surging COVID-19 case counts in the U.S., the EU’s decision is non-binding, and each national government still holds authority over its own border safety protocols and testing requirements.
Italy Changes Entrance Policies for U.S. Travelers
Italy has, however, since changed its entrance policies, mandating that unvaccinated American visitors quarantine for five days. Vaccinated U.S. vacationers, meanwhile, are not required to quarantine, but they do now need to show proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken no more than 72 hours before their departure.
"With the exception of Italy, there hasn’t been much change in requirements to enter Europe,” Peter Vlitas, senior vice president of airline relations for Internova Travel Group, said Wednesday.
Where Can U.S. Citizens Travel Now?
Internova has been fielding many questions from customers about travel to Europe since Monday, according to Vlitas, who said the company has seen a limited number of trip cancellations.
"What this has really done has just created further confusion for the American traveler on where they can go,” Vlitas said. “We’re kind of in a holding pattern now as the dust settles. Will other countries add restrictions? Usually, we see them pretty quickly after something like this. We haven’t seen them yet.”
World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) president and CEO Julia Simpson said in a statement Thursday that her organization supports safety protocols aimed at protecting public health and limiting the spread of COVID-19, but she criticized Europe’s decision to remove the U.S. from its safe travel list.
What this has really done has just created further confusion for the American traveler on where they can go.
“The EU’s recommendation to reimpose restrictions on U.S. travelers is a step backwards and will only slow down the recovery of the sector,” Simpson said. “With high vaccination levels in both the U.S. and the EU, we should be looking at opening up travel between these two major economies. We need a common set of rules that recognize global vaccines and remove the need to quarantine for people with a negative COVID-19 result.”
Travelers Are Confused, But Europe Travel Sellers Are Proactive
Jack Ezon, founder and managing partner of Embark Beyond, said his agency heard rumors last week the EU was considering a change in its stance on U.S. visitors, so he directed his advisors to call or email every client booked to the destination and do their best to explain the situation in a proactive effort to get out in front of the developing news.
Ezon said his agency has since fielded many questions from clients, and they’ve shifted some upcoming trips from Europe to U.S. destinations or places in Mexico. Ezon said he and his advisors have also handled a limited number of cancellations, but many of Embark Beyond’s Europe clients chose to move up their vacations.
"Last week, between Thursday and Sunday before anything was finalized, we had about 20% of our clients with Europe trips push them forward so they could leave earlier,” Ezon said. “We had a bunch of people move things up to leave over the weekend.”
Ezon said his agency is working on plan Bs for about 40% of the travelers it currently has booked on European vacations, but like Internova’s Vlitas, Ezon said he and his advisors are encouraging a wait-and-see approach for now.
“Italy is the only country that came out with a new policy” said Ezon, who has traveled four times to Europe this summer. “The EU directive about putting America on the red list only creates havoc in my opinion. It only creates confusion. … There isn’t much that’s actually changing.”
Although the EU’s recent recommendation was certainly disheartening for Sandra Weinacht, president and co‐founder of tour operator Inside Europe, she said it wasn’t a move that surprised her much.
“It doesn’t come as a shock,” Weinacht said. “It was something we assumed was going to happen, and frankly, it makes sense.”
Weinacht said her company has been sending some business to Europe this summer and still has a few vacations to Greece and Italy on the books for couples later this fall. But the tour operator has been very cautious about the type of travelers it’s been working with, according to Weinacht, who said right now Europe just isn’t the destination it usually is.
The few travelers we’ve actually provided services for over the summer are returning travelers, affluent travelers — not first timers — and people who clearly understand what it is like to travel in 2021 during a pandemic.
“We’ve been really hesitant to offer any kind of services to first-time travelers or to family travelers seeking to experience the once-in-a-lifetime European trip,” Weinacht said. “The few travelers we’ve actually provided services for over the summer are returning travelers, affluent travelers — not first timers — and people who clearly understand what it is like to travel in 2021 during a pandemic.”
Weinacht said the EU’s recent recommendation to increase restrictions for U.S. travelers is just another reason for her to suggest that American families and first-time visitors not consider booking their dream Europe vacation before next spring at the earliest.
“An informed traveler is a happy traveler and now more so than ever,” Weinacht explained, saying she’s still encouraging clients to save up their money and plan dream itineraries for 2022. “If you really, really want to do this wonderful trip, wait a little bit longer. … I just don’t want people to spend their hard-earned money and not get the return on their investment they’re hoping for.”
