travel restrictions
Sun Is Still Shining on Australia’s Hotel Industry
STR | February 13, 2023
Australia’s hotel performance turned a massive corner during the first half of 2022 as the Omicron wave subsided and governments relaxed travel restrictions around the country. That freedom translated to consumer confidence, which boosted hotel occupancy for the remainder of the year and further stimulated average daily rate (ADR). Occupancy increases, combined with labor shortages, broader inflationary pressures, a skew toward leisure demand, and consumers’ willingness to pay for experiences, pushed room rates to record highs. That leisure skew started to fade, however, as the year went on and demand broadened, giving furthe...
Business Travel to Face Headwinds, Government Must Address Visa Delays, Travel Disincentives to Protect Economy
U.S. Travel Association | October 17, 2022
WASHINGTON (October 17, 2022)—The latest Business Travel Tracker finds American companies increasingly paring back pandemic-era restrictions on business travel amid developing storm clouds in the form of persistently high inflation and a looming recession—pointing to the need for immediate government intervention to sustain a positive rate of growth. Many companies slashed their business travel budgets during the pandemic, but less than half of companies (42%) still have policies in place restricting business travel—down from 50% in Q2. Businesses have shown a willingness to get back on the road, with 78% of business travelers ex...
U.S. Travel Reacts to Canada’s Suspension of Travel Restrictions
U.S. Travel Association | September 27, 2022
WASHINGTON (September 27, 2022)—U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes issued the following statement on the Canadian government's decision to remove all COVID-19 border and travel restrictions effective October 1: “Ottawa is taking the right step by lifting its vaccine and testing requirement to enter Canada, which will give its economy a substantial boost. Washington should follow suit by immediately suspending proof of vaccination for qualified visitors from Canada and other nations, given the wide access to effective Covid boosters and therapies. Canada is the No. 1 sourc...
Tourism Outlook: A New Spring in Its Step?
STR | April 6, 2022
Global tourism receipts were well below the pre-pandemic level in 2021 as travel restrictions and uncertainty persisted, and changing consumer behavior dented economic recovery. But now, in the spring of 2022, some two years since COVID-19 forced governments to impose lockdowns and severe travel restrictions, there are plenty of signs of optimism for the future of tourism. This is true even with potential macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds. STR has evaluated consumer views and behaviors throughout the pandemic, and our latest survey, conducted in February 2022, canvassed opinion from a global audience to gauge sentiment and the out...
Travel Industry Urges Biden Admin to Raise Cap on H-2B Visas
U.S. Travel Association | March 7, 2022
WASHINGTON — March 7, 2022 — U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes issued the following statement on the announcement that the H-2B visa cap for the second half of FY 2022 has already been met: “With the H-2B visa cap already met and millions of jobs still open, it is evident that a workforce shortage is threatening to hold back industries across the economy, especially in Leisure & Hospitality. The cap on H-2B visas must be raised to ensure travel businesses are adequately staffed—particularly ahead of the busy summer travel season when so many businesses re...
With New CDC Guidance, Travel, Aviation, Business Groups Urge Biden Admin to Lift COVID Travel Restrictions
U.S. Travel Association | February 28, 2022
WASHINGTON — February 28, 2022 — With new guidance issued Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that relaxes many COVID-era policies—including indoor mask wearing—the U.S. Travel Association, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Airlines for America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are appealing to White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients in a letter that urges the Biden administration to replace pandemic-era travel advisories, requirements and restrictions with endemic-focused policies that enable travel to resume fully and safely and the American economy to accelerate its recovery. The...
A Class Tale: Luxury Hotels Around the World
STR | December 9, 2021
As uncertainty and new cases of the Omicron variant increase across the globe, some countries have reimplemented restrictions around travel. New restrictions obviously mean potential challenges for the hotel industry, and as we have seen throughout the pandemic, every class of hotel can be affected differently. In this latest piece, we look at how Luxury class hotels have performed around the globe, especially in more recent months. ADR recovery In 2020, luxury hotels saw global occupancy lower than all other classes combined. China luxury hotels, for example, recovered 66.9% of their 2019 levels, which was 4.9% percentage...
U.S. Travel Reacts to Tighter Entry Restrictions for U.S. Arrivals
U.S. Travel Association | December 2, 2021
WASHINGTON — December 2, 2021 — U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes issued the following statement on the Biden administration’s announcement that it would tighten the pre-departure testing window for entry to the U.S. from three days for vaccinated travelers to one day: “We hope this measure to narrow the pre-departure testing window will be temporary until more is learned about the Omicron variant. In the meantime, the travel industry urges everyone to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible. “It has long been known that measures to combat the virus and its v...
