admin A coalition of 24 travel industry associations have come together to introduce a blueprint for reopening the U.S. to international travel. This will be a step to revitalize the international travel and tours industry.
Details on the Blueprint
The “Framework to Safely Lift Entry Restrictions and Restart International Travel” is a blueprint that identifies policy principles for finally welcoming international visitors back to the United States while keeping health and safety as the top priority.
“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 Association president and CEO Roger Dow. “Our document continues to prioritize safety while providing a roadmap for solving for the billions of dollars in economic damage resulting from the continued restrictions on crossing our borders, in particular from allied countries with similar vaccination rates. We have the knowledge and the tools we need to restart international travel safely, and it is past time that we use them.” Dow noted that domestic travel has rebounded and is leading the way in the recovery but that domestic alone cannot restore the economy. In a press conference, Dow highlighted how important international travel is to the economy.
Core Tenets of the Plan
- Restrict travel to countries with high safety and low risk.
- Replace all other blanket travel restrictions with a framework of entry protocols based on a country-by-country and individual traveler risk assessment.
- Ensure the framework is easy to understand, communicate and implement.
With these central guiding principles the association hopes to reopen international travel swiftly and smoothly in the U.S.
Curbing Losses
“The U.S. economy is losing $1.5 billion and 10,000 jobs per week,” Dow added. Airlines for America is one of the signatures to the plan and said the blueprint is a safe way to reopen. “U.S. airlines have been—and continue to be—strong advocates for a risk-based, data-driven approach to safely resuming international travel as laid out in the blueprint,” said Airlines for America President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. “We have leaned into science throughout this crisis, and research has consistently determined the risk of transmission onboard aircraft is very low. In fact, the Harvard Aviation Public Health Initiative concluded that being on an airplane is as safe if not safer than routine activities such as eating in a restaurant or going to the grocery store. The science is clear—it is time, if not past time, for the U.S. Government to take action and reopen travel between the U.S. and low-risk countries.”
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