IAAPA, the global association for the attractions industry, is one of 24 national travel and tourism trade associations in the US to call for border restrictions to be eased. The group have provided the government with science-based recommendations and guidelines for safely doing so, in order to boost leisure and business travel.
The plan, called “A Framework to Safely Lift Entry Restrictions and Restart International Travel” is strongly supported by IAAPA, as easing travel restrictions will stimulate economic recovery and job growth.
Safe easing of restrictions is essential
“IAAPA, the global association for the attractions industry, supports the safe easing of border restrictions as a critical step in stimulating international leisure and business travel, an industry that supports 11 million jobs in the US,” says John Hallenbeck, vice president and executive director, IAAPA North America.
The full guidelines can be found here.
The group of trade organisations is asking for the safe reopening of key travel corridors, such as Canada and the UK, to help the country recover from the financial impact of the pandemic. The $500 billion loss in travel spending has cost the US $1.1 trillion in economic output.
Pre-COVID, direct travel jobs accounted for 6% of the workforce and total travel-supported jobs accounted for 11%. Last year, direct travel jobs accounted for 35% of jobs lost and total travel supported jobs accounted for 65%, as a result of the crisis.
Previously, attractions generated $51.6 billion in direct annual impact. Over the 13 month period after the outbreak, the sector saw a $23 billion decline as venues were closed or had their capacity limited. As a result, last year there was a 41% decline in employment nationwide, from a 2019 high of 275,700.
IAAPA also recently issued a call for entries and nominations for the 2021 IAAPA Awards Programs.
