ASTA Releases Statement on Omicron

The American Society of Travel Advisors released a statement on the Omicron travel bans. President and CEO Zane Kerby noted that the travel bans cause economic damage and don't prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Country-specific travel bans are too blunt an instrument and often create unintended but substantial economic and societal damage," Kerby said in the statement. "This swing back to country-specific bans, coming just weeks after the U.S. reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers, is deeply frustrating and comes just as the industry’s recovery was gaining steam."

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Kerby quoted World Health Organization’s Africa director, noting that restrictions will only slightly reduce the spread.

“In the U.S., a robust system of masking, testing and vaccination requirements – painstakingly crafted over the past few months – obviates the need for country-specific bans every time a new COVID variant emerges, which is inevitable. ASTA therefore urges the Biden Administration and governments across the world to lift these bans as soon as possible," said Kerby.

Kerby also noted that Congress should act and pass the SAVE Act (H.R. 2120) to help travel advisors.

“Further, as we have said time and again, when government action, taken in the interest of protecting public health, has a disproportionally negative impact on a specific industry, as is the case here, logic dictates that the government provide targeted relief to the businesses most severely affected," he said. "Thus far, that has not happened. We call on Congress to recognize that for many businesses the pandemic is not over and, at minimum, pass the SAVE Act (H.R. 2120) to include travel agencies in the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program or equivalent relief and restore the Employee Retention Tax Credit for the fourth quarter of 2021.”