To the editor:
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every business in the country in one way or another. But few sectors have been as hard hit, or face a longer road to recovery, than the travel-agency industry. And still, government restrictions, such as inbound-testing rules, are further delaying our industry’s recovery and creating roadblocks for travelers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) inbound-testing order is the single biggest barrier to the full recovery of the international travel system on which my business is largely based.
This rule, in place since January 2021, requires proof of a negative COVID-19 test for all air passengers arriving from a foreign country, regardless of vaccination status.
Why is this a business setback? Simply put, travelers’ fears and risks range from uncertainty about the availability of testing overseas to the financial and psychological burdens associated with being prevented from returning home due to a positive (or false-positive) result.
If the government is unable to provide increased funding to hard-hit businesses like my travel agency, at the very least, exempting vaccinated travelers from this rule would help my business begin to recover from the devastation of COVID-19.
My message to elected officials in Congress, on behalf of the more than 160,000 people who work in the travel-agency industry is simple: When it comes to travel planning, we need consistency and certainty. The solution is within our reach: Exempt fully vaccinated U.S. travelers from the inbound-testing requirement.
Kathy Burns Lamphier
President, Posh Travel
Greenland, N.H.
