By David Shepardson

CHICAGO (Reuters), – Monday saw the Biden Administration announce that it will award $314 Million in grants to 34 States and District of Columbia for tourism and travel — two sectors hard hit by COVID-19.

This funding is part of the larger COVID-19 relief package that Congress approved Monday. It comes just as the United States lifted travel restrictions for fully-vaccinated foreign citizens flying to 33 countries from Monday and tourists who cross land border from Mexico or Canada, which were in effect since early 2020.

Gina Raimondo (US Commerce Secretary) told Reuters, “Travel and Tourism is one of most difficult hit industries.” The new demand will give the industry a boost, but it is still in trouble.

She stated that “people want travel… Demand is high. We’re likely to see significant increases in travel.

Raimondo, an American diplomat who had previously advocated for the lifting of travel restrictions in America, said that much of the United States’s progress was still behind other countries. Raimondo said, “I tried to force that. “I think it’s essential for the economic,” she said to Reuters.

International arrivals to the United States fell 75.5% https://www.trade.gov/sites/default/files/2021-05/Fast%20Facts%202020%20%28April%202021%29.pdf in 2020, while spending by foreign nationals coming to the United States fell 64.3%, by about $150 billion.

The U.S. border with Mexico and Canada was particularly hard hit, as well as places such Florida which cater to tourists from abroad.

“Prior to the pandemic, Canadians made hundreds of thousands of cross-border trips – both day trips and overnight stays — amounting to nearly a billion dollars of annual expenditures” into New York State,” said Patrick Kaler, President and CEO of Visit Buffalo Niagara at an event Monday.

United Airlines President Brett Hart indicated that he believes international travel will return to pre-pandmeic levels by 2022. However, places like Asia seem to be lagging while forward bookings to Europe surpass 2019 levels.

Hart explained that Chicago is a major global city. He said this in an interview. The industry will pick up again as people move to the area.

U.S. Travel estimated that declining international visitoration has resulted from March 2020 in almost $300 billion of lost export income. It also estimates that international inbound travel will not return to its 2019 level until at most 2024.

U.S. Travel identifies one critical need to fully reopen visa processing at U.S embassies and to resume it to decrease the waitlist for potential visitors.

U.S. travel stated that countries not participating in the Visa (NYSE) Waiver Program face “long waits of more than 14 months to receive a visa appointment for a visitor.”

Travel restrictions were lifted for full-vaccinated travellers Monday in Britain, Ireland, 26 Schengen Area nations, South Africa and Iran.

These countries accounted for 17% of all nations worldwide, but they accounted to a shocking 53% of all foreign visitors to the United States during 2019, U.S.Travel reported.