JNelson113

I think that a fair number of people would, frankly. My family of three would pay for it. Also, by the time Europe decides to open the cost could have been driven down quite a bit through market innovation.

Dieuwer

I doubt that the low-cost WOW type (paying $50 per ticket) is gonna fork over $150+ just for a test.

JNelson113

I figured that since this thread is about countries open to US tourists that we're talking about US travelers going to Europe? That ticket is usually $700+. I apologize if something else is being discussed here.

nomiiiii

From the east coast a typical ticket on TAP/AerLingus/IcelandAir etc can be much less than $700 - basically the college student backpacker trip to europe budget - those kinds of trips are basically over. Also over are short trips to Europe (from the easy coast it was entirely possible to do a 3-5 day trip, but now no one will want to pay $150++ on a test for a short trip). Also over are bigger family trips (say a group-vacation of 2-3 families because there is always a chance that one person's positive covid test result scuttles the entire trip.

Basically the test requirement is a big hurdle in getting things back to normal - its not a simple small ask for regular travel to get tested before every border hop.

Boraxo

Au contraire, the test requirement is exactly what is needed to get back to normal. Many of us refuse to board a long flight unless everyone on the plane is pretested. And many countries (plus Hawaii) are unlikely to re-open to US visitors without pre-testing.

If the cost is too high then maybe you should consider other cheaper options like national parks or Mexico, or one of the countries listed in the wiki.

nomiiiii

Cost isn't high for me because I am rich.

I am talking about all the college students and young people - who currently are partying in frat houses and obviously have no problems with getting on a plane due to virus concerns. But they do have a limited budget.

Given how immensely popular Florida/Turkey/Croatia/Mexico etc are now for vacations because they are open vs other places you are likely under estimating how many people are completely okay with travelling but cannot do so due to govt rules around testing/quarantines etc.

TomMM

Agree. Got to start somewhere.

the810

Testing may be the solution for semi-essential trips, but it will hardly revive tourism or non-essential business travel. It's costly and it's too much hassle. I was intrigued by Iceland's proposition back in May, when everything else was closed. By the time it actually came in force, many other countries opened up (for EU citizens) without test requriement and I completely discarded the idea of going to Iceland (even though I'm very fond of the place and like to visit it every few years).

It's important to keep in mind that virus doesn't care about borders. When we all end up with more or less the same epidemiologic situation, border restrictions will become obsolete (if they are even efficient now, when almost everyone has a comunity spread). Judging by previous pandemics, this should hopefully happen after the second wave - I'm just worried that what we're seeing in Europe right now is not the second wave, but delayed first wave.

This! Travel industry keeps trying to appeal to customers by introducing new meassures, restrictions and other hassle that makes travel miserable. Meanwhile, those that pursue strategy of keeping things as normal as possible are the ones who actually achieved at least partial success (considering the circumstances).

I understand IATA's proposal, it will make travel at least possible and it will gain airlines some customers from the niche group of semi-essential travel such as meeting family or maintaining one's own property (as discussed in another thread). But I don't think it will be as revolutionary as some people hope. To revive leisure and business travel we need to get rid of border restrictions.

Goldorak

Fully agree with you.

enviroian

RE Testing. Is there a pharma company that is close to releasing a $10 per test that takes 15 minutes for results? Wouldn't this be a game changer?

nomiiiii

Again, no. This will likely be an improvement over the current system, but it will absolutely not be a game-changer. Answer me these questions, considering you're a very average leisure tourist who typically does no-hassle package holidays (the majority of tourists):

- Will you be willing to spend 2-3 hours extra at the airport to have this test done (remember, even if the test itself takes only 15 minutes, there are hundreds of people who will need to get this done at the airport and you don't know how long that line will be).
- If the requirement is to not do this at the airport, but beforehand then we are back at the same issue of one extra hassle-step which most leisure tourists won't deal with and simply go somewhere without restrictions.
- Most importantly, are you willing to risk failing this rapid test at the end of your trip, and be stuck in Kenya or Peru or wherever the test was done before your return flight

I am an extremely savvy tech-smart rich traveller without kids or family or work on-site obligations, and even I am hesitant to go anywhere with testing restrictions because of the possibility of too much hassle on failing/delaying of the test. Now imagine the mindset of your typical family with specific dates and specific budget. They will simply not want to deal with it.

stimpy

Isn't testing free for most people, or included in their insurance? It is free for all New Yorkers for example. And with my insurance it is also free.

enviroian

expedited PCR testing charges a premium surcharge. That being said I don’t know if the extra cost is covered.

anyone have any experience?

enviroian

I respectfully disagree. If this test is to be conducted at home (as it’s marketed) then why wouldn’t anyone not go through this step to be able to visit “X” w/o quarantine? Sounds like a no brainer to me.

What country currently requires you to take a test upon leaving? I don’t understand the end of your trip comment. As a US National I’m not required to take a test to re-enter my country.

However I do agree of the test can only be administered at an airport it would be completely useless as the time factor would be too long.

nomiiiii

Lots of countries in middle east and africa require a covid test to get on a plane, even if your destination does not require it.

E.g. https://qatarairways.zendesk.com/hc/...all-countries- (notice it says *from* not *to*). Emirates, Etihad and lots of other middle eastern international flights have the same requirement. Will you risk being stuck in any of these countries because you cannot get a test in time? Many places require a test even if you're doing just international airside transit (e.g. DXB)

And of course, the world doesn't revolve around US nationals. UAE requires everyone entering the country to have a covid test, even their own citizens. Many many many many other countries have the same requirement, even for their own citizens.

"Test administered at home" will never be an acceptable option specially in africa/asia because people will just fake the results. Photoshop exists. This is why lots of these countries have a specific list of labs where test can be taken, nowhere else.