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On May 11, more than three years after the pandemic halted international travel, the US finally lifted its vaccination requirement for international travelers.
Geoff Freeman is CEO of the American Travel Association.
The requirement, the last such entry-travel requirement in the world, was lifted just days after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global health emergency.
After consistent appeals from industry leaders, this development eases a significant barrier to entry ahead of the busy summer travel season and ushers the US travel industry into a new era.
On the one hand, the lifting of this requirement is symbolic. For our industry and our nation, the outbreak is a sign that the dark ages are over.
On the other hand, it creates a new beginning for our industry and an opportunity to gain a competitive edge in attracting international visitors.
A key driver of the US economy
This sector has historically been a major driver of the US economy. In the year In 2019, international visitor spending in the U.S. generated $239 billion in travel exports and $54 billion in trade surpluses, reducing the overall U.S. trade deficit by 10%.
Today, the demand for travel to America is clearly growing, but arrivals and expenditures in this sector are still lagging behind. The US Travel Association estimates that global travel spending will recover to only 71% of pre-pandemic levels this year.
The industry is striving not only to recover lost ground, but to make the inbound travel sector stronger and more competitive than ever in the coming years.
Meanwhile, they are renewing their own strategies by marketing, improving their travel experience or actively engaging with other markets to facilitate bilateral tourism by taking advantage of the return of international travel. The global travel market is becoming increasingly competitive.
To beat the competition for international travelers, the US must first ensure that the entry process is as simple as possible.
There is still work to be done.
Eliminating the need for the vaccine was a step forward, but there are still significant hurdles the federal government must address now to meet its goal of 90 million annual international travelers by 2027.
First, the wait times for first-time applicants in major markets to obtain a US visitor visa are outrageous. While the State Department has made some progress, US Travel has long pushed for more substantial and consistent results.
All visa-requiring markets globally — excluding China, which has yet to fully resume international flights — have average interview waits of more than 500 days.
The picture is even worse in some top US source markets.
Current average interview wait times are 517 days in Brazil, 381 days in India and 646 days in Mexico as of May 5. US Travel estimates that America spends 2.6 million visitors and $7 billion this year on these wait times.
US Travel called on the Biden administration to implement proven effective strategies at consulates around the world, such as increasing staffing and extending business hours. In addition, the federal government must ensure efficiency across America’s air and land borders.
As demand has returned, customs waiting times have increased at some of our country’s entry airports. Elsewhere in April, non-citizens faced customs wait times of more than two hours at each of the top five international airports.
It is critical that there are sufficient US Customs and Border Protection officers at US airports and other ports of entry to meet demand.
Additional customs officers at pre-clearance points will help reduce the burden on the system and reduce waiting times. These officers clear travelers before they reach U.S. soil, strengthening security and enabling billions of dollars in spending by international visitors each year.
Each of the remaining challenges on the horizon is solvable, but the rise in demand for the vaccine marks the beginning of our country’s recovery and a new chapter for the U.S. travel industry.
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