The head of the US Travel Association (USTA) has urged the US government to “follow the UK’s lead” by removing Covid-19 testing requirements for fully vaccinated arrivals.
USTA president and chief executive Roger Dow said: “We’re very much in favour of following the UK’s lead. Taking out testing for fully vaccinated people to come to the US is the way to go.
“We hope the US will follow that lead.”
Fully vaccinated arrivals to the UK will no longer be required to take Covid-19 tests from February 11 following a government announcement on January 24.
Dow argued: “Travel is like water. If you impede it, it won’t flow. If you remove the barriers, it will flow quickly.”
He said: “One of the challenges now is the inconsistency of travel policy not only country by country but week to week and day to day. We’ve got to get consistency. Travellers need to know what to expect.”
Addressing USTA members, he said: “The past two years tested our industry as never before, but we’re recovering and building back to growth. We’re moving beyond the pandemic.
“Domestic leisure travel has largely recovered. We saw a surge in travel demand after the deployment of vaccines. The worst of the pandemic is behind us.”
However, he also noted: “Cumulative losses in travel spending through to December totalled $730 million.
“More than 7% of all leisure and hospitality jobs – 1.2 million jobs – remain lost. Meetings and events are still struggling.
“International travel remains far below pre-pandemic levels [and] it’s estimated domestic business travel and international inbound travel won’t fully recover until 2024.”
Dow urged the business community to “come back together” saying: “We can’t rebuild our economy on Zoom.”
He also noted that “1.7 million jobs in our sector are open [vacant] out of 11 million in the economy” and said: “We’re taking a hard look at how our industry hires and recruits to understand why jobs are not being filled.”
The USTA is urging the US Congress to pass the Restoring Brand USA Act to provide emergency funding for the sector.
Dow is due to step down from his USTA role in July having agreed to stay on through the pandemic despite planning to retire two years ago. His successor has yet to be appointed.
He told the association: “I’ve seen this industry do extraordinary things. After 9/11 many said our industry would never recover, that people would never cross oceans again. After the financial crisis people said many hotels would never open again.”
But he argued: “Travel is like a coiled spring. It will not be contained. There are good times on the horizon for the travel industry.”