COVID restrictions impact statewide tourism

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

This week, the Biden administration has declared that it will maintain existing restrictions related to COVID-19 on all international travel to the United States.

The travel representatives, lawmakers, and foreign governments have been urging the U.S. to raise restrictions.

As of now, the decision means tourists from China, India, Brazil and majority of Europe will not be allowed as globally cases of delta variant are in rise. This means a major hit to all the popular foreign tourist destinations during the summer travel season.

Almost a dozen people in mid-August were planning to come to San Diego and ride Segways from the United Kingdom.

“They canceled it because they can’t leave the U.K. to the United States because of the travel ban,” said Kenneth Lippman, president of Another Side Tours. He was certain that restrictions would get raised. Now, he’s not making any promises.

Fortunately, domestic bookings are rising cushioning for the missing foreigners for Lippman.

Even though international tourists spend more than domestic travelers, said Adam Burke, president of the L.A. Tourism and Convention Board.

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