July 20 - Amid a new round of coronavirus-related economic closures and fresh data that Americans are as wary as ever of traveling, the devastated U.S. travel industry on Friday July 17 submitted to Congress and the administration its policy requests for the next coronavirus relief package.

 

The slate of proposals includes measures to help travel employers survive the worst of the downturn; assistance with health-related necessities such as robust sanitation and personal protective equipment; and, eventually, incentives to get Americans safely traveling again when a reopening is fully possible.

 

Without broad and comprehensive federal assistance, industry leaders fear the travel sector will remain in depression long after a recovery begins. Spikes in COVID-19 infections and subsequent re-closures in several U.S. states are certain to further delay a rebound in travel, which supported employment for one in 10 Americans before the pandemic but has since lost more than half of its 15.8 million related jobs.

 

And the latest polling data confirms that recent news has considerably worsened Americans’ overall feeling about returning to travel. The percentage of poll respondents who say they will travel this fall has slid to 36%, down from 50% in early June, according to Destination Analysts. Meanwhile, Harris Poll figures show that:

• 58% of leisure travelers say they will substitute vacations with staycations for the remainder of the year
• While 43% say they miss flying on a plane, only 37% say they feel safe flying right now
• 74% of business travelers are more likely to substitute business meetings that require flying with virtual meetings for the remainder of the year
• More than three-quarters (77%) of respondents support states enacting mandatory 14-day quarantines for out-of-state travelers from states with a high resurgence of COVID-19

 

Travel industry legislative requests include:

• Extend the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) until the end of the year; expand eligibility to destination marketing organizations (DMOs)—both non-profit and quasi-governmental entities that conduct economic development; increase the amount of the loan; and allow for a second loan. In any transition to a longer-term solution, DMOs and other non-profits should be included • Provide up to $10 billion in federal grants to promote safe and healthy travel practices, which are crucial to the resumption of travel • Provide temporary and targeted liability protections for travel businesses to reopen • Create temporary tax credits and deductions, including: a tax credit to encourage Americans to travel at the right time; a tax credit to restore activity in the business meetings and events sector, including conventions and trade shows; increase the deductibility of business and entertainment expenses; and a tax credit to help businesses of all sizes offset the cost of mitigating the spread of COVID-19, including the cost of structural barriers and personal protective equipment • Enhance the Employee Retention Tax Credit to increase business’ ability to retain and rehire workers • Support airports

For more information, please visit ustravel.org

 

 

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