Travelers from all over the world will soon be able to enter the United States without being required to present proof of COVID-19 vaccination as the country has decided to drop such a requirement on May 11.
The news on the move was announced by the White House on Monday, which also said that the COVID-19 vaccination requirements would also end for federal workers on the same date, VisaGuide.World reports.
The decision of the US to drop the vaccination requirement for international travelers as well as federal workers follows the significant improvement in the situation.
Data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that infection case trends dropped throughout March. The number of deaths also decreased during the same period, reaching a relatively low trend by the beginning of April.
Reuters explains that the US House of Representatives voted in favor of lifting the requirement that most foreign travelers be vaccinated against the Coronavirus. Following the vote, this new rule will not become fully effective next Thursday, permitting all international travelers to travel to the US without having to worry about COVID vaccination anymore.
In addition to the above-mentioned, the same source noted that the Homeland Security Department said that starting from May 12, it would also no longer require international travelers entering the US via land ports of entry as well as ferries to be vaccinated against Coronavirus and provide proof of vaccination when required to.
Now that the requirement to present proof of vaccination will be dropped, the US is expected to register a high number of tourists his year. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the US travel and tourism sector is expected to exceed the 2019 levels this year.
“The Travel & Tourism sector in the US is recovering strongly with strong visitor demand. This year we expect tourism to add more than $2.2 trillion to the U.S. economy, beating the all-time high of 2019. The number of jobs created by Travel & Tourism stands at 16 million, but by the end of this year, it will reach almost 17.4 million jobs, only one percent behind 2019 numbers,” WTTC President and CEO Julia Simpson said.
WTTC further noted that the travel and tourism sector is set to contribute around $2.24 trillion to the economy of the US this year, thus, surpassing the 2019 pre-pandemic high of $2.17 trillion.
WTTC also forecasted that the travel and tourism sector in the US would create over 1.2 million jobs this year, recovering almost all jobs that were lost due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
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