The worst of the pandemic is behind us, but there is a lot of work ahead, said U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow during the group's annual state of the travel industry address.
"Domestic leisure travel has largely recovered. We saw a surge in travel demand after the deployment of the vaccines last year, and recent data found that more than 80% of Americans are excited to travel within the next six months," Dow told journalists at the Press Club in Washington.
Despite those positive trends, he said the U.S. travel industry's losses are "a staggering $730 billion" and that 7% of all travel and hospitality jobs -- about 1.2 million positions -- are still lost.
International travel "is critical to our economic recovery," said Dow, but it isn't expected to reach pre-pandemic levels until 2024.
To help expedite travel's recovery, Dow pushed some of the association's familiar priorities, like making it easier to enter the U.S. and restoring funds to promote the U.S. as a destination, which he said is "critical to rebuilding our global competitive marketplace and market share."
"One of the biggest challenges is the excessive wait times of visa processing," he said. "In some markets the wait time for a visa to come to the United States is over one year. This is unacceptable."
Dow also reiterated the importance of travel facilitation and improving the travel experience "from curbside to cruising altitude" via use of biometrics at all ports of entry, expanding trusted-traveler programs and increasing TSA and customs staffing.
He recalled that 9/11 was followed by record numbers of international travel for decade and the 2008 financial crisis preceded 10 years of the greatest travel industry growth ever. Dow said travel is a "coil spring that cannot and will not be contained."
"Countless natural disasters and health scares have threatened the vitality of many destinations, only to see every one of them come back stronger than before," Dow said. "And this temporary setback, although a large one, will be no exception. ... There are a lot of good times on the horizon for the travel industry."