THE Covid-19 testing requirement for entry into the United States by vaccinated international travelers has been a major barrier to the country’s tourism, as well as the delay in issuing visas for Brazilian tourists.
It’s what you believe Roger Dow , president of the US Travel Association, an American tourism authority. In addition to him, more than 40 mayors from major North American cities, from Miami to San Francisco, sent a joint letter this week to the government of President Joe Biden calling for the removal of testing before departure.
“Our voters and our businesses have suffered greatly from the sharp decline in international travel spending and cannot fully recover until this vital sector of the U.S. economy recovers.” Letter.
During the IPW 2022 the largest tourism fair in the United States, held this year in Orlandoin Florida, Roger Dow was emphatic in his position when he said that the pre-departure testing requirement is an “unnecessary obstacle” and major impediment to travel to the country.
According to the U.S. Tourism Association, more than 40 nations around the world have already lifted the testing requirement for travelers to enter without adversely affecting public health, but the end of the testing requirement remains undated in the U.S. country. .
“There is a lot of work ahead, but the government must begin immediately by revoking the pre-departure testing requirement for all vaccinated international air travelers and taking steps to dramatically reduce visa wait times,” Dow said at a press conference on the new American tourism strategic plan for the next five years – which is expected to attract more than 90 million tourists by 2027.
Survey shows dissatisfaction with demand
In May, a survey commissioned by the US Travel Association with travelers from France, Germany, UK, South Korea, Japan and India revealed that 47% of respondents are unlikely to travel abroad in the next 12 months, and cited pre-departure testing requirements as a reason.
The survey also showed that 54% of respondents said the added uncertainty of having to cancel a trip due to pre-departure testing requirements would have a negative impact on their likelihood of visiting the US.
US Travel also projects that 46% of international travelers would be more likely to visit the United States if pre-departure testing requirements were lifted.
Thus, removing the requirement would bring a 20% increase in visitors for the US summer compared to previously expected numbers, which would mean an additional half a million visitors each month.
“People who come to the US have to be 100% vaccinated. Less than 70% of the population here is vaccinated, so I keep saying that Brazilians are more protected than people who live in NY, for example,” Dow told CNN Travel & Gastronomy .
The association also highlights that international arrivals to the US are far below pre-pandemic levels and are not expected to recover to 2019 levels until 2024.
Delay in issuing visas
For the president of US Travel, the answer to one of the biggest obstacles Brazilians face to enter the US is simple: the delay in issuing visas.
“It’s the biggest problem we have, getting a visa for the United States from Brazil is now taking a long, long time,” says Dow.
Data presented at the IPW show that the Brazil, one of the largest visa-issuing markets for the United States and which sent 2.1 million visitors to the country in 2019 , has an average waiting time of about 262 days for issuing the document. To give you an idea, the wait can reach 750 days – about two years – in the Dominican Republic and up to 529 days in Argentina.
“We need to resolve this. The Brazilian travel community is phenomenal for us. They like to travel, they like to spend money and come to the US,” says Dow.
But then how to make the processes faster and more efficient? Technology and online interviews are among the outlets, he said.
“We have to use more technology and find ways to do interviews with people over the internet. Why do they have to stand in line at a US consulate for an individual interview?”, asks the president of the North American tourism association.
As with the end of departure tests for the US, talks have been taking place to pressure the US government to make changes.
“The government needs to set a goal, we will have to reduce this time [de espera] from more than 400 days to 10 days. We’ve done this before, so it has to be a government priority. We are pressing hard because, otherwise, Brazilians don’t want to come here, they go to Panama, to Mexico, they go elsewhere”, he concludes.
Source: CNN Brasil