The statement that was made by Terry Dale, president and chief executive officer of the United States Tour Operators Association, may be read as follows: “USTOA applauds the Administration’s decision removing the mandate for pre-departure COVID-19 testing.” The requirement that foreign air passengers undergo pre-departure testing has resulted in a considerable decrease in the volume of travel to the United States and has not produced any meaningful benefit to the general public’s health for some time. The elimination of the requirement for pre-departure testing will encourage vaccination, boost demand for international travel to and from the United States, and better align the entry requirements for passenger aviation with those at land border points of entry in the United States and with those of other major travel-trade partners abroad. The United States Travel Association (USTOA) is still dedicated to working with the administration to guarantee the rapid and safe resumption of foreign travel.
Dale said that the long-awaited news comes at an especially opportune time since USTOA intends to send a delegation of members to Washington, D.C., on June 14 and 15 for its Annual Congressional Caucus.
The following statement was issued by Chip Rogers, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), after the Biden Administration announced that it would no longer require foreign visitors to the United States to have a negative test result for COVID-19 prior to entering the country, beginning at midnight on Sunday, June 12.
The statement made today constitutes a big victory for hotels as well as the wider tourism sector. This testing requirement, which was out of date and had a chilling impact on incoming foreign travel to the United States, was something that the American Hospital Association (AHLA) had repeatedly requested the Administration and Congress to remove. The restriction will be lifted, making travel simpler, opening the door to more tourists from other countries, and assisting hotels in continuing their path to recovery, which is particularly important as we go into the busiest travel season of the year this summer.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to the Biden Administration for removing the requirement, as well as to Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) for their leadership in advocating for this important change,” the letter read.
GBTA, the voice of the global business travel industry, supports the anticipated announcement that the Biden Administration will make regarding the elimination of the requirement that all travelers, regardless of vaccination status, show proof of a negative COVID-19 test or recovery from COVID-19 within 24 hours of arriving in the United States, effective Sunday, June 12. This requirement had been in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“GBTA wholeheartedly applauds the elimination of the U.S. testing requirement, which has been a lingering significant obstacle affecting the restoration of travel,” GBTA said in a statement after the condition was lifted. It is critical to the economic recovery of the world that we continue to demonstrate that the United States is open for business and that business travel is permitted. Americans have not been ready to accept the risk that they will not be allowed to return to the United States at the conclusion of their vacation or business trip. This will also assist to guarantee that we offer an easy way ahead for overseas travelers who want to return to the United States for business-related purposes such as attending conferences or meetings. According to Suzanne Neufang, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Business Travel Association, “We cannot afford to go backwards now that we have made headway in returning to life and business.”
Over the course of the last several months, GBTA has been an outspoken advocate for this cause. This past week, the GBTA held its 2022 U.S. Legislative Summit on Capitol Hill. At this event, GBTA constituents shared a request from the business travel sector to remove the testing requirement in the United States with U.S. politicians. Participants in the GBTA discussion pointed out that the travel limitations imposed by the United States were having an effect on people’s desire to travel. According to the findings of a research conducted by the GBTA, the primary worries around business travel are the ever-evolving standards and the stringent testing processes.
At a hearing held on June 7 by a Senate Subcommittee in the United States on the issue of revitalizing conventions and tourism via international travel, the primary focus of the evidence offered by Neufang on behalf of the GBTA was the elimination of the United States’ testing requirement.