BKNG Stock – Vaccine passports will boost international travel: CEO of Booking Holdings | Instant News

As millions of Americans get vaccinated and demand for travel returns, some major players in the travel industry are supporting the idea of ​​vaccine passports in an attempt to jumpstart international travel. “We need to start rebuilding international travel. And if there’s something like a technological way to show that you can travel safely, then I’m in favor of that, ”said Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings (BKNG), the parent company of Booking. com, Kayak and Priceline. Yahoo finances. “We really need international travel to come back and the only way to do that is to get more people vaccinated and governments think it’s safe to travel.” After more than a year of restrictions, a full rebound in travel relies on reopening international destinations, especially in tourism-dependent countries. A vaccine passport, which is a digital card that would show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, could help countries do just that. The idea is that it would help reopen the borders by relaxing some of the testing and quarantine mandates, and if that happens, it’s up to the private and nonprofit sectors to implement a system. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that the administration would not support “a system that requires Americans to wear a title” and that there will be “no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain only one proof of vaccination ”. (BA)Y SHORE, NEW YORK – MARCH 03: Susan Maxwell-Trumble holds up a vaccination card at South Shore University Hospital after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on March 3, 2021 in Bay Shore, New York. (Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images) ‘Strong pent-up demand’ for travel According to a recent Booking.com survey, travel demand is showing signs of recovery. 71% of adults in the United States say the COVID-19 vaccination makes them more upbeat and optimistic about travel in 2021. Meanwhile, 74% of Booking.com’s accommodation partners in the United States say they are ‘Cautiously optimistic’ about the future of their business ‘There is absolutely a lot of pent-up demand,’ Fogel said. “We know people love to travel. Basically they expect to feel safe and now that people are getting vaccinated they feel it is okay to travel. We start to see [the rebound] The survey also showed that more than half of Americans reassessed the importance of travel in their lives. They now see it as more important than before the pandemic because of “the role it plays in their emotional well-being.” As more people book vacations, demand will eventually struggle to keep up, pushing prices higher after being depressed for more. “You should have done it yesterday,” Fogel said of booking the summer vacation. “We are seeing an increase in the prices of airline tickets and hotels.” And this is certainly reflected in airports across the country. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents screened 1.58 million travelers on Friday, marking the busiest travel day since the start of the pandemic. In fact, the TSA has screened more than 1.5 million people at airport checkpoints every day since the start of the month. Seana Smith is the anchor of Yahoo Finance Live’s 3:00 p.m. ET program. Follow her on Twitter @SeanaNSmith LEARN MORE:

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