ASTA Says It Supports COVID Relief Package, But More Will Be Needed

With U.S. lawmakers reportedly closing in on a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package, the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) on Tuesday welcomed the news, but stressed that more support will be needed next year.

ASTA, in a statement from president and CEO Zane Kerby, said on Wednesday that ASTA supports the Bipartisan COVID-19 Relief Act of 2020, including provisions that it has been advocating for since April such as additional PPP and an extension of unemployment benefits for both employees and independent contractors (ICs). However, the Act should only be considered as a three month stopgap bill.

“The bill sponsors designed this package as a three-month bill and recognize that more support for hard-hit businesses will be needed next year, a sentiment we welcome given the catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on our part of the travel industry and the long anticipated recovery timeline,” Kerby wrote.

“While we support this bipartisan bill as meaningful progress, we believe that next year a more comprehensive package targeted at the travel industry and others like it hit hardest by COVID will be needed beyond this temporary bridge to March 2021.”

ASTA said that close to 95% of travel agencies’ revenue is down at least three-quarters year-over-year, and that 63% have laid off at least half of their pre-COVID W-2 employees and 73% will be out of business within six months unless Congress “provides additional, meaningful relief.”

“The situation has only become more challenging since then, even though the prospect of widespread vaccine distribution provides some hope for 2021,” Kerby wrote. 

After months of negotiating, progress on a COVID-19 rescue package was finally reported on Wednesday, more than eight months after the passage of the CARES Act. U.S. Senator Tim Kaine on Thursday told MSNBC that agreement as basically been reached, and news of the bill’s passing is imminent.

The bill reportedly includes $300 billion to the small business administration and funding for small businesses to receive as second forgivable PPP loan; an unemployment benefit expansion of $300 for 16 weeks; money for vaccine development and distribution along with testing and tracing; funding for airports and for public transit systems; a second round of stimulus checks; and more.