by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:07 PM ET, Wed May 12, 2021
Travel industry leaders sent a letter to United States President Joe Biden on Tuesday urging the administration to quickly reopen international travel to avoid "dire economic consequences."
The U.S. Travel Association noted in the letter that current science, the success of the U.S. vaccine rollout and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s guidance allows for steps toward a safe reopening of borders.
In the letter from representatives of 23 global travel companies, they urge government officials to establish a public-private task force by the end of May to develop a risk-based, data-driven roadmap to safely welcome international tourism back to the U.S.
"While U.S. borders remain closed to much of the world, the remarkable scientific advancements to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and the tremendous vaccine deployment achieved by your administration have allowed the safe resumption of many activities," the letter reads. "For all its economic and cultural contributions, international travel should be among them and it will hasten the economic recovery we all desire."
In addition, the letter asks the White House to further pursue a "public health corridor" between the U.S. and the United Kingdom due to its importance as a travel market and similar pace of vaccinations and declining infection rates.
The U.S. Travel Association also urges the administration to utilize the upcoming G7 summit to seek commitments from other world leaders to develop and implement a global framework for reopening international travel.
"The U.S. must be a global leader in restarting international travel," the letter continues. "Using science and data as our guide, it is possible to reopen our borders and establish these important public health corridors."
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