Often the issue of diversity was buried in more general traveller safety, with a risk management provider or an internal safety and security team providing guidance for travellers as a matter of course, particularly for geographies that have a record of discriminatory laws or cultural norms.
“We direct all travellers to our travel risk management site, where there is travel advice available depending on travel destination,” was an open-ended survey response that illustrated a typical process among respondents who had educational resources in place.
For others, the responsibility fell to the individual to voice their needs and reach out to the travel manager, their direct manager or a corporate safety officer to discuss accommodation for travel concerns. In such companies, one respondent said, “Travel is completed in the same way for all, but if a traveller were to approach with a specific concern, that concern would be taken seriously and changes to the itinerary made as appropriate.” Whose judgment determined what might be “appropriate” was not specified.
Still other respondents indicated their companies were focused on offering the same travel policy for everyone, with few exceptions. Those responses varied from a simple, “We treat everyone the same,” to the more philosophical, “Our organisation’s approach towards business travellers is based on mutual respect and not on differentiation on gender or colour,” and to the dismissive, “People are people, none of this other nonsense.”
Discrimination while travelling on business
Global travel manager Kate Scully knows firsthand what it feels like to be the target of discrimination on a business trip.
“As a Black woman, I can never go into a hotel in Dubai… without being ‘prostitute-checked.’ Even if I walk in with three of my colleagues, I will get pulled to the side and asked to show my room key,” she said. “I could have been staying there for a week and I will continue to be pulled aside in front of my white colleagues. And they look away, and I look anywhere – at my shoes, just anywhere – and let them know that I will see them at the lifts or whatever.”
Only on one occasion did a colleague intervene on her behalf and decry what was clearly a racist directive from hotel management. “A Brazilian colleague – a compliance guy – actually stepped in and was outraged,” she said.
More than half of survey respondents said their companies had mechanisms for reporting discrimination and bias while on the job, including travel. Respondents were split about how that reporting takes place – whether it comes directly back through travel channels or would be handled through more general corporate channels like human resources. Either way, buyers said such reports would be critical for them to receive so they could take up any incidents with suppliers.
Often the issue of diversity was buried in more general traveler safety, with a risk management provider or an internal safety and security team providing guidance for travelers as a matter of course, particularly for geographies that have a record of discriminatory laws or cultural norms. “We direct all travelers to our travel risk management site, where there is travel advice available depending on travel destination,” was an open-ended survey response that illustrated a typical process among respondents who had educational resources in place.
For others, the responsibility fell to the individual to voice their needs and reach out to the travel manager, their direct manager or a corporate safety officer to discuss accommodation for travel concerns. In such companies, said one respondent, “Travel is completed in the same way for all, but if a traveler were to approach with a specific concern, that concern would be taken seriously and changes to the itinerary made as appropriate.” Whose judgment determined what might be “appropriate” was not specified.
Still other respondents indicated their companies were focused on offering the same travel policy for everyone, with few exceptions. Those responses varied from a simple, “We treat everyone the same,” to the more philosophical, “Our organization’s approach towards business travelers is based on mutual respect and not on differentiation on gender or color,” and to the dismissive, “People are people, none of this other nonsense.”
Discrimination While Traveling on Business
Global travel manager Kate Scully knows firsthand what it feels like to be the target of discrimination on a business trip.
“As a Black woman, I can never go into a hotel in Dubai … without being ‘prostitute-checked.’ Even if I walk in with three of my colleagues, I will get pulled to the side and asked to show my room key,” she said. “I could have been staying there for a week, and I will continue to be pulled aside in front of my white colleagues. And they look away, and I look anywhere—at my shoes, just anywhere—and let them know that I will see them at the lifts or whatever.”
Only one time did a colleague intervene on her behalf and decry what was clearly a racist directive from hotel management. “A Brazilian colleague—a compliance guy—actually stepped in and was outraged,” she said.
More than half of survey respondents said their companies had mechanisms for reporting discrimination and bias while on the job, including travel. Respondents were split about how that reporting takes place—whether it comes directly back through travel channels or would be handled through more general corporate channels like human resources. Either way, buyers said such reports would be critical for them to receive so they could take up any incidents with suppliers.
Over the past years, the popularity of cryptocurrencies has been growing at a wild pace – and so has the consumer appetite for more use cases of crypto in travel. There may be a long way to go, but the progress has certainly been promising: Out of the top crypto-friendly industries, travel is number one, a recent study claims.
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Whether launched by an innovative crypto startup or a global behemoth, blockchain-based solutions have been flooding the space, with many designed to tackle the most prominent traveler pain points. For example, the consulting giant Accenture has recently partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to launch the Known Traveler Digital Identity System. This blockchain collects and hosts data from frequent international travelers to streamline their next customs declaration and clearance experience.
It’s now as clear as day that cryptocurrencies – and their underlying principles – are bound to have seismic effects on the travel industry. Here’s how.
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Easy, Transparent Payments All Around
In January, Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, hit Twitter to survey the company’s followers on what the company should launch this year. The result? Unsurprisingly, what came out on top of the list was being able to pay for bookings in crypto.
These findings go hand in hand with the results of another survey, which found that 22 percent of American travelers now want to pay with crypto. Luckily, the industry has wasted no time to react to this growing demand, with platforms like Expedia already allowing customers to pay for hotel bookings using Bitcoin. And airlines are starting to follow suit, with AirBaltic, Norwegian Air and LOT Polish Airlines being some of those already accepting crypto payments.
Crypto is plain perfect for travel because it can cement an industry that has been historically fragmented and rigid, with many manual and even paper-based processes. After all, a traveler’s experience entails various touchpoints, from car rentals and flights to restaurants, hotels or activity bookings. With a single, transparent system that bypasses gatekeepers and expensive third parties, travelers can pay for their experience in a way that’s direct, faster and safer.
Enabling crypto payments is also the key to attracting increasingly growing demographics. The number of global crypto millionaires soared in 2021 to over 100,000, and there’s considerable interest on their part to use their crypto gains on travel experiences, particularly those centered around luxury and personalized services.
Loyalty Programs, Redefined
According to MasterCard data, loyalty programs have never been as popular as they are today, with 90 percent of US adults belonging to at least one. For travel, loyalty and cashback programs are fundamental, helping businesses compete with aggregator platforms, bring back returning customers and encourage them to travel more often.
But while traditional loyalty programs have been around for decades, they have lost their shine compared to exciting crypto rewards.
The main hiccup of most loyalty programs is that they don’t offer enough value. Today, the most common kind of reward programs are reward points, which are fully controlled by the company – if it chooses to discontinue them or offer less in exchange, there’s nothing a customer can do. However, cryptocurrency is decentralized, meaning that its value will fluctuate with market demand. And what’s more: It empowers travelers to even trade or exchange their loyalty points for fiat, providing a new incentive for them to participate – and gain value in new ways.
For example, Northern Pacific Airways, a new carrier planning to launch later this year, plans to reward frequent flyers with flyCoin. Customers will be able to redeem the token for free flights and elite airline status, among other things.
The use of cashback in the travel industry has been plagued by its problems, too. It tends to be very region-based and doesn’t consider inflation, so the reward value diminishes over time. Crypto cashback allows customers to realize the value of their rewards and cashout or spend anywhere around the world – no matter the currency. With crypto, cashback becomes a sort of investment: A traveler invests every time they book a trip and earns coins they can use for further experiences.
Bitcoin trading market data chart (Photo courtesy of KeremYucel/iStock/Getty Images Plus)
Bidding Goodbye to Physical Tickets and Manual Confirmations
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will be a critical blockchain-powered innovation to shake up travel, too. Representing the true proof of digital ownership (that can manifest in the real world), NFTs could act as a form of passport or ticket to provide verifiable and transparent access to goods and services within the travel industry.
Lost or flawed reservations or a traveler having to use different platforms would be a thing of the past. With NFTs, travelers could simply have all the information stored in their wallets, decreasing the risk of fraud while enhancing their customer experience.
While the space is still in its infancy, there’s immense potential. And pioneers are already taking action: For example, LynKey, a global platform that powers luxury resort and vacation properties with blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), recently launched a marketplace project for tokenizing and offering NFT solutions for travel and tourism.
Ultimately, such efforts will help travelers avoid many pain points, including dealing with local currencies, the lack of transparency and losing money to exchanges and third parties. Crypto solutions will allow them to personalize, modify, cancel or even sell their trips without losing money and having to go through laborious bureaucratic processes.
Both travelers and travel businesses that have not yet ventured into crypto may find it intimidating. While there are certain challenges, including the rolling regulations and value fluctuations, these will get resolved as the market matures. When that happens, it will be the early adopters that will best know how to navigate the space – and thrive.
The longer the pandemic drags on, the harder it is to navigate COVID-19 restrictions around the world. While some countries such as the United Kingdom have dumped pre-departure testing requirements, others still require a negative test and records on file just to pass through the country.
I’ve learned this the hard way. I somehow got all the way to my departure gate at Logan International in Boston just after New Year’s before I was asked for proof of a negative COVID test. I didn’t have one. I was scheduled for a connecting flight through Portugal, which still required a negative test. This mistake easily could have cost me hundreds of dollars, but I was lucky. I paid $35 to move my flight to the next day, my family picked me up at the airport, I took a self-test at home, uploaded the result to a lab for certification, got my results PDF, and the next day I was on my way across the Atlantic.
I have a hundred excuses for how I failed here, but the reality is this: Health and safety restrictions can change rapidly, they may be different for every destination you visit, and they can be confusing to navigate even when you know where to look.
If you’re traveling soon, here’s where you can check guidelines to make sure you’ll get on that airplane — and not have to quarantine when you get off.
Check COVID-19 restrictions on your airline’s website.
Some airlines have a restrictions “calculator” that lets you enter your route for a list of current entry guidelines and restrictions. I caution against trusting these systems because it’s easy to forget to add a layover destination — this is how I missed the restrictions for Portugal when using TAP Air’s guidelines checker — and you don’t want to assume airline personnel are monitoring each country’s rules and updating the guidelines daily. But this is a good starting point, and gives you a to-do list to double- and triple-check.
Check the U.S. Department of State’s guidelines.
The State Department has a robust and easy-to-navigate website that documents entry requirements for U.S. residents and citizens from every country in the world. If you’re traveling between multiple countries, don’t forget that you need to check two types of restrictions: restrictions for your country of residence/citizenship and restrictions for your point(s) of origin within the last 10 to 14 days.
Check entry requirements on your destination’s government website.
Government websites for other countries’ travel restrictions can be tricky to navigate if you don’t know where to look, especially when there’s a language barrier. Check them anyway, if only for the peace of mind that your list of necessary documents tracks with theirs.
Subscribe to email updates from a government entity.
The United States has a traveler registration program called STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) that allows you to sign up for alerts like safety concerns, updates from the local embassy, and changing COVID restrictions. The United Kingdom also issues email alerts for changes to entry requirements. I recommend signing up for these sort of alerts for all countries you’re planning to visit — even for transit — so you know as soon as possible if restrictions change before or during your trip.
Read the local news.
Tourism is a massive global business and border changes can have a huge impact on local economies. Journalists often get tips from inside sources before restrictions change, so you can often get a heads up in major newspapers that restrictions might be changing soon.
Double-check everything anyone tells you and make sure it’s in writing.
When I checked in for a recent flight from London, a man at the desk next to me was arguing with airline staff over proof of a negative COVID test. I overheard that he was flying to Uganda, which requires a PCR test within 72 hours of travel, which he didn’t have. He said that someone from the airline had told him over the phone that he didn’t need a PCR, and that his doctor had said the same. Sadly for him, that was incorrect information. You can’t talk your way out of regulations like this. (I’ve tried.) So even if you’re asking a trusted friend who lives at your destination, or has just returned from there, always independently verify every rule to make sure nothing gets missed.
This tutorial is about the How to Smart Technology is changing the hospitality industry. We will try our best so that you understand this guide. I hope you like this blog How to Smart Technology is changing the hospitality industry. If your answer is yes then please do share after reading this.
Check How to Smart Technology is changing the hospitality industry
Technology is changing everything from the homes we live in to the workplaces we work in. The hospitality industry is no exception. It is one of the key industries that is in transition. Issues such as mobility, flexibility, and the easy availability of information are at the heart of this disruption, helping customers make informed decisions. Gone are the days when traveling meant visiting a travel agent to book tickets or find accommodation. Institutions like Airbnb and Skyscanner try to offer customers great deals, including price comparison services and services to help them make decisions about their travel preferences.
At the epicenter of this disruption are a variety of digital technologies, including mobile apps, big data analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) that are helping hospitality providers evolve and deliver the best experience for your customers. Suffice it to say that hotels now take sanitation and hygiene practices very seriously. Hoteliers go to great lengths to ensure guests’ safety without compromising their comfort or convenience. For example, we are seeing a shift to fully contactless hotel operations, which is likely to become more common among hotels.
Ways smart technology is reshaping the hospitality industry
Smart energy management
Smart thermostats and occupancy sensors can monitor and respond to fluctuations in occupancy. In addition, intelligent energy management systems use sophisticated machine learning algorithms to continuously analyze historical thermodynamics, local weather patterns, and peak loads to optimize energy consumption in real time throughout the year. Smart energy saving is not wild speculation. Smart energy management systems can reduce hotel energy costs by up to 20 percent and achieve some of the fastest payback times in the industry (12-24 months). They can also significantly increase the resale value of a hotel. The energy savings from Internet of Things technology are not just limited to heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Smart lighting technology also allows hoteliers to better understand their energy needs, automate consumption and adapt to changes in occupancy in real time.
Just as smart HVAC systems use occupancy sensors and machine learning algorithms to continuously analyze load demand patterns and optimize HVAC energy consumption, smart lighting systems allow hotels to set preferred lighting schedules, track occupancy patterns and report on overall lighting energy use throughout the year. . For example, when the Chatwal Hotel in New York upgraded approximately 1,300 light fixtures in its hallways, common areas, and 80 guest rooms, it saved more than 410,000 kilowatt hours per year, corresponding to a 90 percent reduction in energy consumption for illumination. In fact, the Chatwal Hotel saved about $124,255 in its first year alone.
Predictive Maintenance
Just as smart EMS allows hoteliers to monitor, track and optimize energy consumption, predictive maintenance allows them to use sensor data to identify dangerous or wasteful trends and alert maintenance staff before a given problem becomes one. much more expensive. So instead of waiting for a component to fail before repairing or replacing it, IoT technologies allow engineering staff to predict maintenance needs based on system usage, prevent system failures, and reduce system operating costs. a faulty system. A single leaky toilet can cost up to $840 per year. Add to that the cost of water damage that occurs until the leak is detected.
By monitoring water lines with low-cost, IoT-enabled smart water meters, hotels can see a return on their water usage in about four years. Similarly, some online management platforms continually collect data related to HVAC runtimes for each unique room and assign efficiency ratings to them. This rating is an indicator of how quickly a room can be heated or cooled to a guest’s preferred temperature and provides engineering teams with critical alerts when HVAC equipment needs attention.
Smart guest experiences
No hotel can operate without guests, and for that reason, hoteliers can expect smart technology to shape guest experiences and expectations. Guest data can not only be used to help better meet guest needs, but in conjunction with occupancy sensors, it can also be used to automate guest interactions during their stay, reducing both friction points such as labor costs.
In this way, smart technology will continue to enable hotels to predict and personalize various guest services based on past visits and aggregated guest data.
Big Data and Big Data Protection
One of the main benefits of smart technology is how it aggregates data and makes it actionable. But with big data comes great responsibility. According to Cloudbeds, “Big data is great when you can use it to take action, whether it’s targeting a new market segment or adjusting your rate plans to compete with your competitors. However, the biggest concern around big data and the necessary data storage is the security that surrounds it. The goal of every data carrier is to keep their customers’ data secure, but that’s easier said than done.
In recent years, we have seen massive data breaches that have literally put hundreds of millions of consumers, such as Equifax and Target, at risk.” As the price of big data solutions makes them more accessible to the mid-market segments of the hotel market, we can expect more hotel owners to adopt and invest in them. More importantly, we can expect solution providers that can ensure data protection to dominate their market segments.
Smart Reserved Parking
Hotels can now use smart sensors and hotel apps to allow guests to reserve parking spaces in advance of their visit and have their space assigned upon arrival. This will save hotels the labor cost of manually managing parking inventory and give guests a more seamless experience from the moment they check in.
Remote check in/out
By allowing guests to check in remotely via their mobile device, hotel owners can better predict/manage their staffing needs and save significantly on labor costs. This technology can also alert hotel staff when guests arrive (allowing them to spend less time on the welcome process), offer appropriate upgrades/upsells, and provide them with a more personalized guest experience, even on their first visit.
At the end of a guest’s stay, travelers can enjoy a seamless self-checkout experience that also allows them to arrange their preferred transportation to their next destination (be it a taxi, airport shuttle, or a ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft). ), additional savings in labor costs.
Mobile room keys
Today, more and more hotels offer guests room access through their smartphone app. This saves printing costs on environmentally harmful plastic cards and eliminates the hassle of managing access card inventory that is prone to loss and degaussing.
smart room service
Smart occupancy sensors will also help hotels push menu notifications to smartphones at optimal times when guests are in their rooms. These notifications can even include personalized suggestions based on previous orders. In fact, many food delivery apps already offer a similar experience, sending push notifications to frequent users at their preferred ordering times on their preferred days.
Smart marketing practices
Before hotels can deliver a smart guest experience, they must entice guests through the door; That’s where smart marketing comes in. The data opportunities of smart technology offer hotels a more complete picture of their guests than ever before. Hotels that harness data insights are the ones that will continue to succeed in the face of growing competition from Airbnb.
Final words: How to Smart Technology is changing the hospitality industry
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After months of waiting, WA’s border restrictions have finally eased, although a full reopening is still on hold indefinitely.
Premier Mark McGowan has said these adjustments balance safety and compassion and will help delay widespread community transmission of Omicron in WA until more people have had their booster.
While thousands are expected to flock to Western Australia from today, there will be plenty whose trips have been cancelled by the new rules.
So what are they? And when might they change?
Can I come to WA?
The first step is always to get a G2G pass approved.
For that, you’ll have to fit into one of these categories:
Returning West Australians with “strong recent connections”
People with “direct legitimate family connections” with WA
Anyone travelling on compassionate grounds, including for funerals, or to see someone in palliative care or who is terminally ill
Families of approved travellers
People needing “urgent and essential” medical treatment
People with “specialist skills not available in WA”, including health and emergency services
People required to attend court matters, judicial officers and staff of courts, tribunals and commissions.
There’s also a catch-all category for people in “extraordinary circumstances”, who can have their entry approved by either the State Emergency Coordinator or the Chief Health Officer.
Travellers will need an approved G2G pass.(ABC News: Keane Bourke)
But, you won’t be allowed in if you have COVID, any COVID symptoms, are a close contact or are waiting for a test result to come back.
What is a ‘strong recent connection’ or ‘legitimate family connection’?
The government’s resources describe a “legitimate family connection” as “a relationship akin to a direct relative, including an adopted family situation”.
Travel on compassionate grounds is also limited to people visiting a “direct lineal relative”.
A government spokesperson confirmed to the ABC that this generally means someone who’s one step away, like a parent or sibling, as well as grandparents.
For other family members, you’ll have to show some kind of strong link.
To show a “strong recent connection”, you’ll need to have had your “ordinary place of residence” in WA in the past two years, and be returning to live in Western Australia permanently.
And if you’re hoping your specialist skills will be enough to get you in, you’ll need to prove they are time-critical and not reasonably available in WA.
WA Police confirmed almost 25,000 G2G applications had been approved, as of 8am Friday, for arrivals on or after February 5.
It accounted for about 60 per cent of the total number of applications for travellers hoping to cross through WA’s new hard border, with the remaining applications rejected or still pending.
What are the rules if I’m travelling from interstate?
Proof of a negative rapid antigen test within 24 hours of your departure
Quarantine in a “suitable place” (basically, somewhere where you can have your own bedroom) for 14 days
Get a PCR test within 48 hours and on day 12.
Children aged under 12 won’t have to show proof of vaccination or a negative RAT, but will have to comply with all other requirements.
Police officers will be checking G2G passes at the airport.(ABC News: Keane Bourke)
Once you arrive, you’ll be processed at the airport by WA Police who will check your G2G pass, but be warned that this could take some time.
A big change this time around is that everyone in the same home as you will also have to self-quarantine and get tested on day 12 with you.
You’ll all have to use the G2G Now app to prove you’re in quarantine, and police may come check on you.
The G2G Now app allows police to monitor people in self-quarantine.(ABC News: Hugh Sando)
What if I live in WA and go on holiday interstate?
That depends on if you’d be covered by any of the exemption categories.
If you’ve left WA to reconnect with family, or you’ve primarily lived in WA within the last two years, you should be fine.
Thousands of people are expected to fly into WA over coming days.(ABC News: Rachel Pupazzoni)
“An expansion of compassionate guidelines ensures people who leave WA after February 5 for specific family or compassionate reasons and have a significant connection to WA and a legitimate right to return are offered a pathway for return to WA,” the official advice states.
Can people come over for my wedding?
Maybe, depending on who they are.
If they’re your direct family they should be given the all clear, but for friends, it’s a bit of a different story.
If they have family connections here in WA, or they’ve primarily lived here in the past two years, they can apply to enter on those grounds.
Anyone else will be out of luck, unfortunately.
Can I drive across the border?
People can drive across the border at the Eucla/Eyre Highway checkpoint, with some conditions.
Trucks will still be allowed to enter through the Kununurra checkpoint, as well as people living in border communities, but not ordinary travellers.
Existing rules for truck drivers and transport workers will still be in place from today.(ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Jarrod Lucas)
What about if I’m coming in directly from overseas?
To start, you’ll have to meet the Commonwealth’s requirements, which include being double-dose vaccinated at least seven days before travelling and returning a negative COVID-19 test (unless you’ve recently had COVID).
You’ll also have to fit within WA’s international arrivals cap, which the government says will remain at 265 people each week.
The 14-day quarantine requirement remains, but with a slight tweak.
The first seven days will have to be in a government-run hotel quarantine facility, which will cost $180 a day for one person, or $1,260 for a week.
WA will still require travellers to take PCR tests, rather than RATs.(ABC News: Keane Bourke)
If you return negative PCR tests on days one and six though, you might be able to quarantine elsewhere.
Either way, you’ll be tested again on days nine and 12.
If you self-quarantine in the second week, anyone you’re staying with will also have to quarantine and be tested on day 12.
If you arrive in Australia in another state and then travel to WA though, you’ll be treated as a domestic traveller and will be able to skip hotel quarantine.
Construction of a quarantine facility has been beset by delays.(ABC News: Supplied)
“Obviously we’ll set a date, [but] when it’s appropriate to do so,” he said on Thursday.
“I know some people want us to rush decisions. I’ve found rushing decisions on this to be unwise.”
Mr McGowan has consistently defended his hardline stance on WA’s borders.(ABC News: Keane Bourke)
Won’t the Premier just change his mind and close borders again?
When asked whether West Australians can trust any of his future announcements, Mr McGowan said the current situation justified the last-minute change.
“We’ve had to delay the date, and that’s because we want to save West Australian lives,” he said.
“We’re not just going to deliberately open the border and have scores of people, potentially hundreds of people, die because I wasn’t prepared to wait a little while.”
The Premier has insisted that border rules wouldn’t necessarily be made redundant if case numbers continue to rise in WA.
But as we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, there’s no predicting what happens next.
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Data shows many older Australians haven’t had their booster
More than a year and a half after COVID-19 concerns prompted the U.S. to close its borders to international travelers from countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom and much of Europe, restrictions are shifting to focus on vaccine status.
Beginning Monday, bans on travel from specific countries are over. The U.S. will allow in international travelers, but they must be vaccinated — with a few exceptions.
The U.S. is also reopening the land borders with Canada and Mexico for vaccinated people. Most trips from Canada and Mexico to the U.S. are by land rather than air.
Here are some questions and answers about the changes:
WHY ARE THESE CHANGES HAPPENING?
The goal is to restore more normal travel while limiting the spread of COVID-19, the government says. The travel industry and European allies have pushed for an end to country-specific bans. Americans have been allowed to fly to Europe for months, and Europeans have been pushing the U.S. to change its policies.
In 2019, before the pandemic, about one-fifth of the roughly 79 million visitors to the U.S. came from Europe.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN REQUIREMENTS?
All adult foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. must be fully vaccinated before boarding their flight. Like before, travelers will still have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure to the U.S.
EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE VACCINATED?
Yes, with some exceptions. Children under 18 don’t need to be vaccinated but they do need to take a COVID test. Kids 2 and younger are exempt from testing requirements.
WHAT ABOUT ADULTS WHO AREN’T VACCINATED?
Since half the world remains unvaccinated, and vaccine distribution has been so skewed to rich countries, the Biden administration is leaving a loophole for people who live in countries where vaccines are scarce. That list includes about 50 countries where fewer than 10% of people have been vaccinated. Travelers from those countries will need permission from the U.S. government to come, and it can’t be just for tourism or business travel.
The U.S. government says it will permit unvaccinated international visitors to enter the country if there is a humanitarian or emergency reason, such as an emergency medical evacuation. Those exceptions will be applied “extremely narrowly” and require approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There could also be a medical exception, with documentation from a doctor.
WHAT WILL AMERICANS HAVE TO DO?
Americans who are unvaccinated have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within one day of international travel. If you’re vaccinated, you need to take a test within three days of your departure, for both Americans and citizens of other countries. This does not apply to flights within the U.S.
WHO IS GOING TO ENFORCE THE VACCINE RULES?
That’s up to airlines. They will have to verify vaccine records and match them against ID, and if they don’t, they could face fines of up to nearly $35,000 per violation. Airlines will also collect information about passengers for contact tracing efforts. There will be CDC workers spot-checking travelers for compliance in the U.S.
WHICH VACCINES WILL LET YOU IN?
Most but not all of them. Any COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, which include the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines used in the U.S. as well as most used overseas, such as AstraZeneca and China’s Sinovac. Not currently allowed is Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, which is authorized in 70 countries. The WHO is reviewing Sputnik but hasn’t approved it.
WHAT IF YOU DRIVE IN FROM MEXICO OR CANADA, OR TAKE A FERRY?
The land borders have only been open for “essential” travel. Now, anyone can come, if they’re vaccinated against COVID. Be prepared to show proof of the shot to Customs and Border Protection agents. Children are exempt from the requirement.
HOW WILL THIS AFFECT TRAVEL?
While the administration is characterizing this as a reopening, some people who were technically allowed to fly to the U.S. earlier in the pandemic are now blocked because of their vaccination status. Other roadblocks to normal travel resuming are big delays in issuing U.S. visas, which people in most countries need to visit the U.S. for business and tourism, and restrictions in other countries that make travel difficult.
Even though people coming from China will now be allowed into the U.S., for example, not many are expected to travel because of restrictions at home. Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were a lucrative market for the U.S. travel industry.
Industry experts do expect a big influx in people flying from Europe, and hope that a broader recovery in travel follows as more people globally get vaccinated, U.S. visa processing speeds up, other countries lift their own restrictions and people feel less scared about getting COVID because of travel.
