U.S. Travel Reacts to Expansion of Travel Restrictions to UK and Ireland

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement:

“The public’s health and safety is priority No. 1, and we hope the aggressive steps taken by the federal government succeed in putting the moment of greatest concern behind us. Hearing of the need to further expand travel restrictions—especially the inclusion of our No. 1 overseas source market, the UK—is obviously not the development the U.S. travel industry was hoping for. Aggressive steps will also be needed to address the health of the U.S. economy, the small businesses that make up 83% of all U.S. travel employers, and the 15.8 million travel-supported jobs that are going to feel a catastrophic impact from coronavirus.”

The UK accounted for 4.7 million visitors to the U.S. in 2018, who spent $15.7 billion.

531,000 Irish visitors to the U.S. spent $2.0 billion in 2018.