As more people are vaccinated against the coronavirus, so-called vaccine passports will make it safer for people to travel, according to Glenn Fogel, CEO of travel company Booking Holdings.
“I’m not sure why people are still objecting to making it safer for people to travel,” Fogel said in an interview on CNBC’s “The Exchange.”
The administration of Biden has indicated that it wants to put in place a system to provide documentation of the person’s vaccination status, which could help determine who is protected against the virus and who is not, but it is unclear how it will play out. Several airlines have also expressed their support for the documentation of vaccinations.
However, there are critics of vaccine passports for a number of reasons, ranging from privacy issues to scientific reasons to fair issues.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that vaccinated people have a ‘low risk’ of traveling.
Fogel said he would like to see vaccinated people start traveling again.
“The industry is so devastated, travel has been so hurt by this terrible, tragic crisis, and we need every thing that can help [the travel industry] go and allow people to travel because [the vaccines] it is absolutely proven that they are safe. ‘
Booking Holdings owns brands such as Kayak, Agoda, Booking.com, Priceline.com and OpenTable.
‘The idea of a Covid passport stating that you are fully vaccinated [means] ‘you are a safe traveler, you can go to places where other people are not allowed to go,’ Fogel said.
On Monday, the company offered a $ 50 credit offer for travelers who book a trip by the end of May and travel before the year is over. The company also offers increasing flexibility to cancel travel plans if necessary. The promotion is aimed at getting people to start booking summer trips.
‘We see that prices are also starting to rise, which of course is the assumption of demand, so I strive [people to] go out, see what you want, go get it now, ‘said Fogel.
Rising vaccination rates will also help. Since the spread of the coronavirus vaccine in December, more than 165 million doses have been administered to people in the United States, according to the CDC.
For now, Americans can travel more comfortably within the U.S. due to various Covid restrictions, he said. According to a Booking.com survey, 69% of people said they would prefer to travel closer to home for the foreseeable future.
“There’s not going to be a huge amount of international travel,” he said. ‘As for the fact that people live close to home, there is still the feeling of insecurity and they want to be close to home, but I think it will expand and because people feel safer to travel, they will start traveling longer. “
Booking Holdings’ share rose 1.1% on Monday to $ 2,409.18.