The US announced on Friday (15 October) the long-awaited date to reopen the US border to Europeans, after a ban of more than 18 months since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
An Abta spokesperson said: “The decision to allow double-vaccinated travellers to travel to the US from the UK from 8 November is great news for holidaymakers, business travellers and those who have been separated from friends and family for so long.
“It also sends a strong message that long-haul travel is open for business so should help to boost consumer confidence in travel more broadly. The US is one of our most popular long-haul destination and in a normal year attracts almost five million visitors from the UK.”
Barrhead Travel president Jacqueline Dobson said the US decision, alongside the UK’s move to lateral flow tests from 24 October, was “music to the travel industry’s ears”.
“The US market is paramount to our recovery – particularly during the winter period where destinations like New York attract Christmas shoppers while Miami attracts sunseekers,” said Dobson.
“We fully expect this announcement to have a powerful impact on our pre-Christmas recovery and look forward to connecting people with the US once more – whether that’s for well-earned getaways or emotional family reunions.”
Lisa McAuley, managing director of Gold Medal, said: “We saw an immediate positive reaction to the news about the reopening of the US’s international borders this afternoon – calls jumped up by a factor of six and our team has been very busy responding to agent enquiries ever since.
“Coming so soon after the announcement about PCR test requirements, it feels a bit like all our Christmases have come at once.
“This last 18 months has been such a slog, but we can finally look forward now and rebuild in earnest. Our marketing and agent support teams will be all over this is the days ahead, so look out for campaign news, fantastic deals and more.”
While WTTC chief executive Julia Simpson said: “It has been a long time coming, but the travel and tourism businesses on both sides of the Atlantic will be breathing a sigh of relief.”
The reopening of the transatlantic travel should also be a major boost to the corporate travel market in the UK.
Clive Wratten, chief executive of the Business Travel Association, said the move was “excellent news for British business”.
“With over £200 billion in annual trade between our two countries, the US has been an integral part of so many UK business travel itineraries,” added Wratten.
“The restart of this vital corridor will pay huge dividends for both economies, and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, and is another important step on the road to recovery for the business travel sector.”
