Florida tourism fears as Biden mulls domestic travel ban
The Biden administration is weighing up domestic travel restrictions, with Florida possibly singled out for an interstate travel ban.
Officials are trying to stamp out the spread of new more contagious variants which now make up about 15% of all new cases.
The UK variant, known as B.1.1.7, is especially rampant in the Sunshine State.
More than one third of all US cases of the variant are in Florida.
That makes Florida most likely to have travel curbs imposed.
"There are active conversations about what could help mitigate spread here, but we have to follow the data and what’s going to work. We did this with South Africa, we did this with Brazil, because we got clear guidance," a White House official said.
"We’re having conversations about anything that would help mitigate spread. No decisions have been made, but we certainly are having conversations across government."
The possible alternative to an outright travel ban across state lines is a pre-flight testing program for all domestic flights.
This has understandably attracted strong opposition from airlines and tourism trade groups.
"We have concerns around the idea of a domestic testing requirement, because not only would it require a 42% increase in the testing capacity nationwide, but it’s really not scalable, feasible or effective," said Tori Emerson Barnes, EVP of Public Affairs at the U.S. Travel Association.
Talk of a travel ban for Florida has unsurprisingly been met with strong opposition within travel and tourism as well as republican state lawmakers.
Written by Ray Montgomery, US Editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
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.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports