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After almost two years of staying at home and not being able to travel or go out like before, people are now having an urge to travel like never before. The internet has baptized that urge as “Revenge Travel”.
Revenge travel means catching up on your missed travel experiences curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic. This travel comeback is benefiting the economy in many countries as people are spending on hotels, food, and entertainment and will help create more jobs and opportunities for many people.
The US has lifted COVID-19 testing requirements for international travelers arriving by plane.
Arrivals no longer have to show a negative COVID-19 test result or proof of recovery to enter the country, after the rule was scrapped on June 12.
In May, a U.S. Travel Association survey showed that vaccinated international travelers in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, and India found that pre-departure testing requirements were a deterrent to travel and were making it significantly less likely that people would choose to visit the U.S.
More than half of international travelers (54%) said the added uncertainty of potentially having to cancel a trip due to U.S. pre-departure testing requirements would have a big impact on their likelihood to visit the U.S.
A large majority of adults surveyed (71%) agree they prioritize traveling to destinations without cumbersome entry requirements, including 29% who strongly agree.
U.S. Travel estimates that $1.05 trillion (in 2019 dollars, adjusted for inflation) will be spent on travel in the United States in 2022, but this is still 10% below 2019 levels and 16% below where it should have been in 2022 if not for the pandemic.
The forecast, based on analysis from Tourism Economics, projects that domestic business travel volume will reach 81% of pre-pandemic levels in 2022 and 96% in 2023. However, domestic business travel spending, when adjusted for inflation, will not fully recover to pre-pandemic levels within the range of the forecast.
The findings provided further evidence of the testing requirement’s negative impact on the travel industry’s recovery.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the tourism industry due to the resulting travel restrictions as well as a slump in demand among travelers. The United Nations World Tourism Organization estimated that global international tourist arrivals decreased by 58% to 78% in 2020, leading to a potential loss of US$0.9–1.2 trillion in international tourism receipts.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and regions imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. Some countries and regions imposed global restrictions that apply to all foreign countries and territories or prevent their citizens from traveling overseas.
The World Health Organization reported the coronavirus as a global health risk at the end of January 2020. Many businesses stopped their operations, and many of them were unable to survive during this crisis. There was a large number of bankruptcies, lay-offs, and requests for aid. As people needed to survive without income, many people applied for unemployment in the United States. Tourism is one of the industries that was impacted deeply, and some of the companies are still struggling with the labor shortage issue as employees prefer to stay at home.
Budget hotels are hugely impacted due to their characteristics, and are vulnerable as they are mostly owned by individuals lacking finances, manpower, strategy, or a plan to overcome the crisis.
