A coronavirus relief package could be on the way, but more aid will be needed, according to the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA).
The association is in favor of the bipartisan legislation that is making its way through Congress.
“ASTA supports the Bipartisan COVID-19 Emergency Relief Act of 2020, which includes several provisions we have been advocating for since April, including the ability for hard-hit companies to apply for an additional Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan; tax-deductibility of PPP loan proceeds; and an extension of the CARES Act’s unemployment programs for independent contractors and furloughed agency employees through March 2021,” said ASTA president and CEO Zane Kerby. “We also commend Senators Collins and Manchin and other members of the bipartisan, bicameral group for their heroic efforts to break the months-long partisan impasse around COVID relief over the past few weeks.”
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Kerby noted that travel agencies, in particular, are in dire straits and need relief.
“According to a member survey we conducted late in the summer, close to 95 percent of travel agencies’ revenue is down at least three-quarters year-over-year, 63 percent have laid off at least half of their pre-COVID W-2 employees and 73 percent will be out of business within six months unless Congress provides additional, meaningful relief,” he said. “The situation has only become more challenging since then, even though the prospect of widespread vaccine distribution provides some hope for 2021.”
ASTA praised this bill as a step in the right direction but is also calling for more aid in the coming year when the Biden Administration takes control of the White House in January.
“The bill sponsors designed this package as a three-month bill and recognize that more support for hard-hit businesses will be needed next year, a sentiment we welcome given the catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on our part of the travel industry and the long-anticipated recovery timeline,” said Kerby. “While we support this bipartisan bill as meaningful progress, we believe that next year a more comprehensive package targeted at the travel industry and others like it hit hardest by COVID will be needed beyond this temporary bridge to March 2021.”
ASTA is calling on travel advisors to contact their representatives to let them know how important the passage of this bill is to their survival.