THE United States now requires travelers to present negative Covid-19 test results for entry.
This was revealed by several panelists during a webinar with American carriers on Wednesday hosted by the US Embassy in Manila. Michelle C. Reyes, sales manager of Delta Airlines said, “Delta requires passengers to get a Covid test within three days of departure,” adding it can be an antigen test. She explained that this was a requirement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (As per the CDC web site, the requirement also covers vaccinated individuals.)
The webinar, largely directed at Philippine travel and tour agencies, was held even as the US State Department issued a Level 4 advisory on the Philippines last week. Level 4, is this the highest category in US travel advisories and discourages Americans from traveling to the Philippines, due to “a very high level of Covid-19 in the country.” The State Department also advised its citizens to “exercise caution due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping.”
Embassy officials, however, declined to respond to questions regarding the Level 4 announcement and resumption of their visa processing, despite prompts from media and some local travel agencies.
According to data from Statista, arrivals from the Philippines in the US fell to an estimated 45,812 in 2020, or more than a six-fold from 332,022 in 2019.
Speakers from the tourism boards of New York and Los Angeles also spoke about the reopening of their main attractions; both cities are strong magnets for Filipino tourists.
Delta, along with other carriers—American Airlines, United Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines—underscored the health and safety protocols they follow to ensure passengers feel safe and protected against the Covid-19 virus. They also talked about the resumption of their flights to and from the Philippines transiting via third countries or code sharing with other carriers.
The carriers, however, didn’t respond to a question on whether they were joining International Air Transport Association’s (Iata’s) initiative to use the Travel Pass, a digital mobile solution designed to inspire confidence in people to travel again.
Meanwhile, Jackie Ennis, vice president for Global Markets of BrandUSA, forecast the staggered tourism recovery of their country. “To be very honest…we anticipate that some markets will recover faster than others based on both source market and home market conditions. A lot depends on airline connectivity and when you see the massive reductions in connectivity, that we have to the United States, it is fairly extensive. So full recovery, I think, we probably are looking at 2024.”
She added: “But we also recognize that there is an incredible pent-up demand for travel from across the globe. Every market that we’re talking to…people have been in lockdowns, people have been travel-dreaming, armchair escaping, you name it. You know, we’ve heard it and we definitely feel that the United States is well positioned as a true aspirational destination.” BrandUSA is the main tourism promotion arm of the US government and the private travel trade sector.
She said leisure travel to the US will likely rebound much quicker than business travel.
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