Industry again urges President Biden to reopen international travel
Trade groups representing the travel industry and other tourism-dependent sectors have once again called upon the Biden administration to reopen U.S. borders to international travel.
The coalition of 24 organizations is calling for the easing of entry restrictions beginning July 15. The organizations, which include the U.S. Travel Association, ASTA, Airlines for America, IATA, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the National Restaurant Association and the American Gaming Association, also specifically reiterated their call for a quick reopening of travel between the U.S. and the U.K.
At present, the U.S. prohibits entry for most travelers from 36 countries, including Brazil, China, the U.K. and 29 European Union (EU) nations.
The latest blueprint put forward by the trade groups calls for entry restrictions to remain in place only for the highest-risk countries for Covid-19. All other travel restrictions, the coalition says, should be replaced with entry requirements that are based on an individual’s risk profile and a country’s Covid-19 trends.
As an immediate first step, the coalition said, vaccinated individuals from non-high-risk countries, such as EU nations, should be able to enter the U.S. without proof of a negative Covid test or recovery from the virus.
The U.S., they said, should work with such countries to establish guidelines for verifying proof of vaccine status.
The trade groups also said that unvaccinated individuals from low- and moderate-risk countries should be allowed to enter the U.S. after receiving a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of travel or if they have medical proof of recovery from the virus.
“The travel industry agrees that being guided by the science is absolutely the correct approach, and the science has been telling us for some time that it’s possible to begin to safely reopen international travel,” said U.S. Travel CEO Roger Dow.
Many EU nations have already reopened to U.S. travelers. But the Biden administration hasn’t reciprocated. The U.S. and U.K., meanwhile, have set up a working group geared toward the safe reopening of travel between the two nations.
The U.K. currently requires most Americans to quarantine for 10 days upon entry.
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