Travel Management Coalition Leaders Call on Dr. Ashish Jha to Lift COVID-19 Testing Requirement for International Travelers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Jill Jackson

jjackson@monumentadvocacy.com

Washington, D.C. - Travel Management Coalition leaders representing business travel companies that include thousands of U.S.-based travel agents sent a letter to newly appointed COVID-19 Czar Dr. Ashish Jha calling for an immediate end to the requirement that all travelers to the U.S. produce a negative COVID-19 result prior to boarding. "As leaders in the travel industry, the pandemic has caused significant harm to our businesses and the livelihoods of those who depend on us" wrote TMC leaders. "Travel plummeted in 2020, and while we have seen steady gains in domestic leisure travel following increased rates of vaccination, business travel has not rebounded in the same way, and international travel lags far behind. Last year, business travel was down 59%, and international, down 78%, as compared to 2019 levels, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Collectively, we’ve had to make some very difficult decisions in laying off thousands of employees. The U.S. government can help support a rebound in travel by immediately removing the requirement that all travelers to the U.S. produce a negative COVID-19 result prior to boarding." The letter continues to explain that "the greatest deterrent to international travel is the requirement that travelers – regardless of vaccinations status – produce a negative COVID-19 test within one day of departure to the United States. This discourages Americans who want to travel abroad for business or leisure from planning trips, especially with their families, out of concern that they may get stuck somewhere overseas if they receive a false positive or even an asymptomatic positive result... Other countries have recognized pre-departure testing requirements create more of a burden on travelers than they do in preventing the spread of COVID-19 – even those countries that have imposed far more stringent prevention measures than ours."

To speak with a TMC leader please contact Jill Jackson at jjackson@monumentadvocacy.com.