US tour operators see cancelations after removal from EU safe list

Friday, 20 Sep, 2021 0

About three-quarters of US outbound tour operators have reported postponements of 2021 European bookings after the EU removed the United States from its ‘safe list.‘

Terry Dale, USTOA president and CEO said, "What we have heard from our tour operator members is that the EU policy change – and the resulting news coverage – immediately raised confusion among travelers, along with hesitation and doubts about their ability to proceed with European vacation plans this year."

"In fact, vaccinated Americans, for the most part, can move forward with their travel plans to Europe and many of our members have been operating travel programs and tours successfully in Europe for months."

However Dale says 79% of member tour operators have guests who are proceeding with their booked 2021 Europe travel.

The USTOA found nearly half (45%) reported no changes in their operations, while nearly half said they are cancelling some departures.

It found 42% said they are running smaller groups due to cancellations.

Due to the EU policy change, roughly 19% of active members said they’ve seen an increase in non-European destination bookings.

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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

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