Join us for our 2023 ASTA Holiday Showcase! Make sure to save the date on your calendar now!

We just concluded another successful event! Our Holiday Showcase this year was our most popular ever and we would like to thank all of our attending Travel Advisors and Suppliers that made it so successful. To view the photos, go to our "ASTA Seattle News" page and choose event gallery!

Thanks Lindsay for representing the ASTA Greater Seattle Chapter at Legislative Day in Washington, DC!

Have you registered for the Western Washington Destination Showcase for March 17th? If not, you need to do so now, it will be a great event with some great prizes. 

www.astaseattle.org/westernwashowcase.html

For the latest information on the Biden administrations COVID-19 Travel Order, CLICK HERE. The information in the article is for Dues paying ASTA Members only, and can not be published on this site. 

As most have heard, the CDC is implementing new testing requirements for all travelers inbound to the United States. To see the details of this new policy on the ASTA website, CLICK HERE to view the article on ASTA's homepage. Please note that the details of the article are password protected for dues paying ASTA Members only. 

​Please visit www.asta.org often for the most up to date updates. 

Here is the public statement from ASTA:

January 13, 2021
Contact: Erika Richter
[email protected]
ASTA Statement on New CDC International Travel Restrictions

Alexandria, VA, January 13, 2021 – Zane Kerby, President & CEO of the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), issues the following statement in response to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) announcement that it will require international inbound airline passengers to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure, effective January 26:
“ASTA supports an accurate, rapid-response testing regime for airline travelers in lieu of mandatory quarantines and travel bans. However, requiring a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of departure will not ensure that COVID-19 will not spread. It is very possible to be infected within 72 hours of having received a negative test result.  As the CDC has already acknowledged, on its own, the new testing regulation will not halt the virus’ spread due to lag time between test and flight, incubation period, and false positives.  
 
"Implementing such a requirement without a rapid-response, reliable test threatens to create a logistical crisis. When travelers are stranded because they are unable to obtain an in-destination test in time for departure (if at all), this will set off a domino effect throughout the supply chain - stranded passengers missed connections, and canceled flights.  The inability to procure a test and the uncertainty of being stranded will cause many travelers to postpone plans, resulting in further mental, emotional, and economic harm.  At the least, the CDC should communicate its list of exempted destinations so that travel advisors and consumers can make informed decisions regarding their travel plans.  
 
“Additionally, now that vaccines are available, we have a solution to ensure that travelers are protected. ASTA remains committed to advocating for more resources for vaccine distribution, increasing the capacity and timeliness of testing in our own backyard, and a federal mandate requiring masks in all public places.
 
“The CDC Director has said that wearing a mask is the single most important step you can take to protect yourself from the virus.  This is why we have called on the incoming Biden Administration to require passengers to wear masks on all flights, foreign and domestic. Requiring virus testing when the global infrastructure to perform testing doesn’t exist will strain the travel economy further without addressing the problem at hand."##
ABOUT ASTA
Rebranded in 2018 as the American Society of Travel Advisors, ASTA is the leading global advocate for travel advisors, the travel industry and the traveling public. Its members represent 80 percent of all travel sold in the United States through the travel agency distribution channel. Together with hundreds of internationally-based members, ASTA’s history of industry advocacy traces back to its founding in 1931 when it launched with the mission to facilitate the business of selling travel through effective representation, shared knowledge and the enhancement of professionalism. For more information about the Society, visit ASTA.org. Consumers can connect with an ASTA travel advisor at TravelSense.org.