Former Vice President and now President-Elect Joe Biden has secured enough votes to win the U.S. presidential election as projected by all major news networks and organizations.
What does that mean for the future of the travel industry?
Just after Biden's win was projected, travel associations weighed in on what they believed would change under a Biden Administration.
"The American travel industry congratulates President-elect Joe Biden on his victory," said U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Roger Dow. "We applaud President-elect Biden's objective of helping the industries most heavily impacted by the pandemic. The travel industry accounts for more than a third of overall U.S. unemployment, and policies to promote relief, recovery, and stimulus for travel businesses are integral to a U.S. economic turnaround."
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, noted that a stimulus package needs to be a priority.
"You've got to get relief in place as soon as possible, both for economic reasons but also for health reasons," Nelson told Conde Nast Traveler. "So the relief bill-and I refuse to call it a stimulus bill, because we're in the middle of an emergency-the relief bill deals with both the economic crisis and also the health crisis. I think if you look at any lame-duck session, there's not great hope there, but if we had people who actually ran for office because they believe in this country and they care about this country, then Congress would act, and at a certain point it doesn't matter what the President of the United States does."
The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) has now also weighed in that stimulus is a must going forward.
"Our top priority remains passage of a new coronavirus (COVID-19) relief bill as quickly as possible," read a statement from ASTA. "As you know, most of the relief programs contained in the $2 trillion CARES Act passed in March have long since run dry and additional support for business most harmed by COVID-19 is urgently needed. It remains unclear at this point whether the post-election "lame duck" Congressional session will provide a favorable environment for quick action on this front or if this work will stall until 2021."
ASTA also noted that new cruise guidance could change in a Biden Administration; however, with so many other pressing problems, it might not be visible on the radar.
"It is possible that the incoming Biden Administration will make changes to this order, further pushing back the cruise industry's restart," ASTA noted. "That said, the order is quite cautious and the Administration is likely to have more pressing issues to deal with in its early days."
One aspect ASTA will be keeping an eye on is changes to labor regulations. The association will be watching for changes to a likely revocation of the Department of Labor's September proposal clarifying the test used to determine the status of a worker as an employee or independent contractor (IC) and for changes to minimum salary requirements. However, ASTA points out that its win on the DOL blacklist issue may give travel agencies a different exemption from these potential new rules.
ASTA sees potential for a mask mandate on airplanes, something that it believes would take the burden of enforcement off of airlines.
"Expect an executive order early next year empowering the CDC to exercise its broad authority to require masks and/or for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to require mask usage as a part of the security screening process," said ASTA's statement.
Another area that Biden could change is traveling to Cuba. The new administration intends to roll back restrictions put in place by the Trump administration. However, with a number of more pressing priorities, ASTA expects these changes will take some time.
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