Citing data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the association said an additional 105,000 leisure and hospitality roles were filled in February.

However, despite this "strong job growth", Freeman said a lack of temporary workers, in particular, was harming the US travel and tourism sector’s recovery from the pandemic, with supply of labour unable to keep up with demand.

"Despite strong job growth, a staggering 1.7 million leisure and hospitality jobs are open—a concerning figure as we head into the peak summer travel season," said Freeman. "Travel is essential to our nation’s economy, but its success is reliant on access to workers to serve the travelling public."

Freeman continued: "One way the federal government should address our workforce shortage is to increase the allotment of H-2B visas, which is at least 100,000 short of demand, to provide the industry with the temporary workers it so desperately needs."

Meanwhile, Freeman and the association have hailed the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s decision to end mandatory Covid-19 testing for travellers to the US from China.

"We applaud the Biden administration for implementing a sensible policy and changing that policy as the situation evolved," said Freeman. "The same logic should be utilised to immediately eliminate the vaccine requirement for international visitors to the US."