Groups Push for Fewer Travel Restrictions to Boost International Travel

Groups composed of airlines and tourism-related businesses want fewer travel restrictions to boost international travel. They are putting pressure on the White House to come up with a plan in the next 5 weeks.

One of the things that prevented people from traveling is US Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s stance on traveling. The CDC still wants to wait for more people to get vaccinated before it changes its guidelines on traveling. According to US officials, they expect all American adults to gain access to the vaccine by May.

Fewer Travel Restrictions from the Government

More than two dozen groups sent their letter to the White House on Monday. In their list of demands, they want vaccinated individuals to be exempted from testing requirements. In addition to this, they also want the CDC to announce that vaccinated individuals can travel safely. The groups believe that these steps will help airlines and other travel-related companies to recover.

Though non-essential travel internationally is still barred, domestic flights are picking up. Miami Beach even declared a state of emergency because of spring breakers. For the past 11 days, TSA recorded more than 1 million passengers. However, it is still far from 2019 levels.

Among groups calling for fewer travel restrictions include Airlines for America, US Travel Association, and US Chamber of Commerce. They’ve set a May 1 target for the White House to come up with a plan that could potentially bring back international travel.

Among their reasons for lifting travel restrictions include the decline in the number of reported cases. However, daily cases are still around 55,000 new cases. Groups also used the current number of vaccinated individuals as a reason to ease travel restrictions. 13% completed their vaccination according to CDC figures.

The White House has been transparent that it is letting CDC call the shots. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky informed the public that the agency is working with new guidance for vaccinated individuals. However, the agency is also concerned about the more virulent variants.

She said that “If we look at our European friends, we just don’t want to be at this rapid uptick of cases again, and that is very possible that that could happen”. She added that “We are so close to vaccinating so many more people…Now is not the time to travel”.