Will hotels require a Covid-19 vaccination certificate?

Will I need a Vaccine Passport for my ESTA USA travel and Hotel booking?

If you’re a British person and you’re looking to visit the US, you’re probably wondering when it will be possible to travel normally again. And you’re likely thinking if a vaccine will be mandatory to visit the US.

2020 was the worst year on record for the travel industry. But is now travel is resuming in the world. And travelers have a lot of unanswered questions. One of the biggest questions that surround the travel industry is vaccines. How will they affect travel in the future?

The UK, for example, has one of the highest vaccination records in the world and Boris Johnson has just announced to ease travel restrictions for British citizens and the same move is expected from the USA. This means you can apply for your ESTA Visa and if you have completed your course of vaccinations, you’ll soon be able to travel to the USA and vice versa without any restrictions. All you’ll need is your ESTA and your vaccination “passport”.

The question remains on whether hotels will need a Covid-19 vaccination certificate. And in this article, we will look into hotels and the ongoing impact of the covid-19 pandemic. But more importantly, will travelers need vaccination certificates for future travel?

When will ESTA travel fully resume?

It remains unclear when travel will return to the numbers of 2019. Since the covid-19 pandemic started in early 2020, travel has dropped massively. Statistics show that there is a 42.5 percent decrease in global travel revenue since 2019.

Statistics have also shown that tourist arrivals in 2020 are likely to drop by 58 percent. That brings global tourism numbers down to their lowest since 1998.

London Heathrow Airport, the busiest airport in Europe, has seen air traffic decreased by 88 percent in the past 12 months. And the airport has decided to close terminal 4 until the end of 2021.

The damage to travel has been paramount. And there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for the travel industry. But it’s important to remember that travel is worth 10% of the global economy. And one out of ten jobs is linked to travel. Therefore, it’s likely that we will see a push for travel to resume in 2021.

What is the current situation for travel?

Although travel corridors have started to appear around the world, travel remains at record low numbers. Despite many countries now allowing international travelers, many of those countries are still requiring a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival. The European Union opened its borders in June.

However, due to increasing outbreaks, most EU borders now have restrictions. And the Asian continent remains predominately closed for international travel. The United Kingdom government has implemented a traffic light system since July, which identifies countries as low, medium, or high risk.

But when nations have had a rise in cases, it has led to the United Kingdom government issuing a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival in the UK. That has stopped many people from traveling.

If you’re looking to travel to the United States, you face a mandatory quarantine 14-day quarantine if you’re from the United Kingdom. And there has been a mandatory quarantine on any traveler entering the UK from America since June.

So, although borders have opened since March, travel remains extremely low compared to normal times.

What is the future of travel with ESTA?

Are vaccination passports going to be likely?

Towards the end of 2020, vaccines have become closer to widespread use. That has led to countries discussing the options on how to resume travel when vaccinations are widespread.

And there has been increased discussion on whether vaccine passports are the way to bring back traveling. It is likely that are vaccine passports will be a thing? It would appear so. There seems to be a high demand in countries around the world to bring in mandatory vaccinations before arriving. Although, no country has stated exactly how they would implement this.

Alan Joyce, the CEO of Australia’s biggest airliner Qantas recently stated the need for a vaccination passport. He claimed that “we are looking at changing our terms and conditions for international travelers, that will ask people for vaccination before they get on.” It seems clear that the many key figures in the travel industry are angling towards supporting a vaccination passport. It might be the only way to get the travel industry moving again.

And will hotels require vaccination certificates?

The hotel industry in the USA has seen a huge drop in bookings in 2020. Many hotels in America’s tourist hotspots such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas were forced to close throughout the year. However, hotels have taken meticulous precautions ever since the pandemic started. That includes regular cleaning and social distancing measures. But travel still hasn’t increased to normal numbers.

As we enter 2021 vaccines are going to become widespread and freely available, does this mean hotels will require proof of vaccination? It does seem likely, the hotel industry is hurting more than most due to covid-19. And hotels are likely going to take government advice on whether to require vaccination certificates.

Although there has been no confirmation from countries regarding future travel policies, it seems likely there will be a mandatory vaccine on arrival. And it seems just as likely that hotels will want evidence of a vaccine too.

But it’s likely to be on a country-by-country basis. Some countries will enforce on hotels the requirement for vaccination certificates, and others will not.