U.S. Travel Industry, Congress Continue Push for Removal of Inbound Testing Rule
byDaniel McCarthy/
本周,美国旅行顾问协会(ASTA)继续其工作,称赞由16名国会议员组成的两党组的推动力,以豁免接种疫苗的旅行者免于入站测试要求,a rule that has been dragging on the industry’s post-COVID recovery.
That group includes Reps. Maria Salazar (R-FL), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Ken Buck (R-CO), Jim Costa (D-CA), Harold Rogers (R-KY), Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus Co-Chair Dina Titus (D-NV), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Susie Lee (D-NV), Caucus Co-Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), John Katko (R-NY), Mark Amodei (R-NV), David Valadao (R-CA), and Larry Bucshon (R-IN).
小组的信,可以在这里完整看到,直接写信给乔·拜登总统,并承认,决定在2021年1月将入站测试规则进行的决定是可以理解的。
However, the requirement is now causing “a number of challenges to our constituents…whose livelihoods depend on a fully functioning international travel system.”
“当我们进入大流行的第三年,并反思自第一次下达命令以来与19岁的科学相关的科学已经提出了多远,我们谨尊重要求将完全接种疫苗的旅行者免除命令。
“Exempting fully vaccinated travelers, including almost 215 million Americans, from the order would be consistent with the scientific consensus that widespread vaccinations are the single most important element of the fight against COVID-19 while allowing the travel industry’s recovery to begin in earnest. It would also incentivize those who aren’t vaccinated to consider becoming so,” the letter reads.
The testing requirement has long been seen by industry experts as the biggest hurdle in the way of travel’s recovery. Speaking to TMR last month, Lauri Reishus, the president and CEO of the Airlines Reporting Corporation, said that the testing requirement has a “对人们旅行的渴望的抑制作用”因为担心如果不允许在美国进行阳性测试,并且由于必须在国外确保测试地点。
“It does just give you that sense of uncertainty and then one more thing to have to do when your coming preparing to come back to the U.S.,” she said.
Eben Peck, the vice president of advocacy for ASTA, wrote in his own statement that ASTA commends the push from Congress.
“We commend Congressman Correa and all of his colleagues who signed onto this important letter for recognizing that the CDC’s pre-departure testing rule is the single biggest barrier to the full recovery of the international travel system on which so many of their constituents in the travel industry rely,” he said.
“Making the commonsense change these legislators are calling for is widely supported by stakeholders throughout the industry and would match changes our main outbound markets have recently made, including the U.K., EU, Canada, and Australia. It would also supercharge the recovery of the travel agency business, as some of the more than 215 million Americans who have been putting off international travel because of this rule call their travel advisor and get ready to go.”
ASTA’s statement COMESA a couple of months after another letter to the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, Jeffrey Zients, from it and other travel organizations including Airlines for America, AHLA, GBTA, IATA, and the U.S. Travel Association.那封信迫使取消全面疫苗接种的美国公民的测试要求.