End Of U.S. Testing A Huge Step Forward
In a timely answer to prayers, news of the end of pre-departure COVID-19 testing for U.S.-bound air travellers came just after IPW in Orlando finished for another year.
With thoughts of U.S. tourism still top of mind, attendees of the IPW travel trade conference and marketplace heard the news that the federal government had lifted pre-departure testing requirements for inbound air travellers to the United States, as of June 12.
Responding immediately was U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Roger Dow, who issued a statement.
“Today marks another huge step forward for the recovery of inbound air travel and the return of international travel to the United States. The Biden administration is to be commended for this action, which will welcome back visitors from around the world and accelerate the recovery of the U.S. travel industry,” said Dow.
“International inbound travel is vitally important to businesses and workers across the country who have struggled to regain losses from this valuable sector. More than half of international travellers in a recent survey pointed to the pre-departure testing requirement as a major deterrent for inbound travel to the U.S.,” he continued.
Dow said that a new study had found that repealing the pre-departure testing requirement could bring an additional 5.4 million visitors to the U.S., and an additional US$9 billion in travel spending through the remainder of 2022.
“Prior to the pandemic, travel was one of our nation’s largest industry exports. The lifting of this requirement will enable the industry to lead the way toward a broader U.S. economic and jobs recovery,” said Dow, noting that the U.S. Travel Association and its partners had advocated for months to ensure this requirement would be lifted.
