Continuing British Travel Ban Takes Hit on Orlando Tourism
The Orlando tourism industry relies heavily on visitors from the United Kingdom during the summer months. Hundreds of thousands of Brits visit the area’s theme parks annually during the summer holiday.
Yesterday, the hopes of British toursits to finally return to the Walt Disney World resorts took quite a hit when National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted that the United Kingdom travel ban may not be lifted until September.
Fauci’s Prediction for International Travel
The disappointment will most certainly spread across the country’s citizens who are eager to take postponed trips to “the most magical place on Earth.”
“I think once they get more and more people vaccinated and get the people who’ve gotten a single dose to make sure they get their second dose, I think the UK is going to be in a very favourable position by the time we get to the end of the summer,” Fauci said in an interview with ITV news.
Fauci added that it would “reasonable” to expect the ban to be lifted by September, if the UK’s vaccination roll out continues with success. At least then, visitors would then be able to come this fall for the 50th anniversary celebration at the Walt Disney World resort.
He did, however, also caution hopeful travelers that anything could still happen in the course of the pandemic.
“You really can’t tell because things happen, variants occur, things happen with regards to infection,” he discussed.
British Government Optimistic
The British government also addressed the issue of international travel this summer with a more optimistic view. Treasury Minister Jesse Norman specifically mentioned talks going on about expanding tourism opportunities for fully vaccinated individuals, according to The Sun.
Private industries as well as tourism advocates for both countries hope to again establish a travel corridor to reignite the vital sector of travel for both countries. Each year, over 5 million people travel from the UK to the United States and 4.5 million Americans travel to Britain, according to The Sun article.
With both countries achieving great success in their vaccine rollouts, the reality of the corridor might not be too far off. To get a dose of Disney, United Kingdom residents can jump on select Magic at Sea cruises this summer.
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