As more people are immunized against the coronavirus, so-called vaccine passports would make it safer for people to travel, according to Glenn Fogel, CEO of travel company Booking Holdings.
“I don’t know why people are still opposed to this, in terms of making it safer for people to travel,” Fogel said in an interview with CNBC’s “The Exchange” program.
The Biden administration has indicated that it wants to establish a system for providing documentation of a person’s vaccination status, which may help to make it easier to tell who is protected from the virus and who is not, but it is unclear how this will happen. Several airlines have also expressed support for vaccine documentation.
However, there are critics of vaccine passports for a number of reasons, ranging from privacy issues to scientific reasons and equity issues.
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that vaccinated people are at a “low risk” of traveling.
Fogel said he would like vaccinated people to travel again.
“The industry is so devastated, travel has been so hampered by this terrible and tragic crisis, and we need everything that can help [the travel industry] going and is allowing people to travel because [the vaccines] absolutely proven to be safe. “
Booking Holdings has brands like Kayak, Agoda, Booking.com, Priceline.com and OpenTable.
“The idea of a Covid passport that says you’re fully vaccinated [means] you are a safe traveler, you can go to places where other people may not be allowed to go, “said Fogel.
On Monday, the company offered a $ 50 post-trip credit to travelers who booked a trip by the end of May and traveled before the end of the year. The company also offers greater flexibility to cancel travel plans, if necessary. The promotion aims to get people to start booking summer trips.
“We are seeing prices starting to rise as well, which is a clear assumption of demand, so I continue to defend [people to] go out, see what you want, go get it now “, said Fogel.
Increasing vaccination rates will also help. Since the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine began in December, more than 165 million doses have been administered to people in the United States, according to the CDC.
For now, Americans may feel more comfortable traveling within the United States due to Covid’s various restrictions, he said. According to a Booking.com survey, 69% of people said they would prefer to travel closer to home in the near future.
“There will not be a lot of international travel,” he said. “In terms of people staying close to home, there is certainly still that feeling of uncertainty and wanting to be close to home, but I think it will extend and as people feel safer to travel, they will start to travel more long. “
Booking Holdings shares closed on Monday up 1.1% at $ 2,409.18.