BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Local travelers have expressed an interest in visiting Europe this summer, but exactly when Americans can travel overseas again is still a mystery.
The European Union is finalizing plans to allow tourists to travel to the 27-nations this summer, officials said on Monday.
"It is the first positive indication that things are starting to look like they're going to be getting back to normal," Kevin Bloom, Senior Travel Advisor with AAA of WNY, said. "We've got a lot of people when they were cancelled in 2020 that were re-booked for 2021. They were concerned or they've already been contacted that their trips are affected and they're re-booking. Some are still booking for later in 2021. A lot have moved to 2022. In the last few weeks, we've actually starting seeing a large new increase in brand new requests."
Many of the new inquiries have asked about the possibility of traveling to Europe in August. While only EU officials know for sure when Americans can travel to Europe, Bloom estimates mid-September to be the time when travelers will be able to return again.
"You could have restrictions," he said. "One country might still be a higher number than others in terms of cases and they're waiting for them to lower down...But there are people that are going to be traveling in August and traveling in September. Definitely we've got people who are going later."
European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz told reporters that the EU's executive body is hoping to restore nonessential "trans-Atlantic travel as soon as it is safe to do so."
It wasn't immediately clear if only full vaccination would be accepted for entry, or whether a negative PCR test or proof of recent recovery from COVID-19 could be presented as well.
More than 15 million Americans were estimated to travel to Europe annually before the crisis. Bloom said it's had an effect on travel agencies. It caused some employees to retire early and be furloughed. Still, those who are still working have been helping travelers book their trips.
"The CDC is recommending delaying your travel until you're fully vaccinated," Bloom said. "You still have to pay attention to what the situations are in other countries. That's one of the first things that's giving you that freedom to be able to do it. It's still going to come down to a personal choice, but I know I'm ready."
