US Lifts Historic International Travel Ban, Welcoming Back Fully Vaccinated Travelers from 33 Countries

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The US reopened its borders to fully vaccinated international travelers from 33 countries on November 8, 2021, after nearly two years of restrictions. Travelport reported flight bookings to the US reached 70% of pre-pandemic levels, with international travel comprising 52%. Notably, the UK showed a significant increase in interest, with a 108% rise in bookings following recent travel announcements. The top US destinations for UK travelers include Orlando, New York, and Miami. Overall, the reopening is expected to significantly benefit the US economy, recovering losses of $1.5 billion per week during restrictions.

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Flight bookings to the US reached 70% of pre-pandemic levels, with international travel at 52%.
UK travelers displayed a 108% increase in bookings after travel announcements.
The top five US destinations for UK travelers include Orlando, New York, and Miami.

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11/08/2021 - 07:00 AM

LANGLEY, England, Nov. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After nearly two years, today, the US has reopened its borders to fully vaccinated international travelers arriving via air from the 26 Schengen countries in Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. Research from the US Travel Association estimated that for every week that international travel restrictions were in place, the US economy lost out on $1.5 billion in spending just from Canada, the European Union and the U.K. alone. Travelport, a global technology company that powers travel bookings for hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotels worldwide, today released the below trend data highlighting the world's excitement to return to the US.

Recovery Impact

In the last month, flight bookings to destinations across the USA reached 70% of pre-pandemic levels. International travel accounted for 52%.
With the US closed to international tourists for the past 21 months, visitors are eager to travel to the US now. The most popular month for international travelers to visit the US is November 2021, followed closely by December 2021. The most popular departure date for US-bound international flights is today, November 8^th – the first day restrictions lifted.

U.K. Most Excited to Visit US

Following President Biden's first travel announcement (September 20^th) which stated that fully vaccinated travelers from the U.K. and the EU would be allowed to enter starting November, travelers from the U.K. were the most excited to visit. Within 24 hours of the announcement, US-bound flights originating from the U.K. were searched more than US-bound flights from all other European countries, combined.
Flight bookings followed a similar trend, with travelers in the U.K. booking more US-bound flights than travelers in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland and Denmark combined.
After President Biden's second announcement (October 15^th) when even more countries were added to the approved list, the U.K. stayed on top as the number one country searching and booking flights to the US, resulting in a 108% increase in bookings from the week prior to the first announcement.
In the 24 hours following each announcement, US-bound flight bookings from the U.K. for the 2021 Thanksgiving weekend increased by 1,600% and 2,200% respectively.
The top five US destinations for Brits are Orlando, New York, Miami, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Global Travel Trends Emerging

Following behind the U.K., the countries that booked the most flights to the US were Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
The top five US-destinations booked by international travelers are New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Orlando, and San Francisco.
Specifically, New York, Los Angeles and Miami are top destinations for travelers originating from France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Greece and South Africa.
Couples and families were the most ready to get away, with an increase in flight bookings of 108% and 65%, respectively, following the second announcement.

For more trend data or travel insights, please contact the PR team at Travelport.

Notes for Editors:

All search and booking data is derived from Travelport's travel retailing platform.
All search data is derived from Travelport's shopping request platform. It reflects the first origin and first destination of any search string.
Travelport's air booking data has been compiled to show the impact of the two recent US travel announcements (September 20^th and October 15^th) on international travel to the US.

About Travelport:
Travelport is a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide. Buyers and sellers of travel are connected by the company's next generation marketplace, Travelport+, which simplifies how brands connect, upgrades how travel is sold, and enables modern digital retailing. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom and operating in more than 180 countries around the world, Travelport is focused on driving innovation that simplifies the complex travel ecosystem.