Reserving Holdings CEO helps vaccination passports and makes journey safer

According to Glenn Fogel, CEO of the travel company Booking Holdings, so-called vaccination cards would make traveling safer as more and more people are being vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“I’m not sure why people are still against it to make travel safer for people,” Fogel said in an interview on CNBC’s The Exchange.

The Biden government has announced that it will put in place a system of documenting a person’s vaccination status, which will make it easier to determine who is and who is not protected from the virus. However, it is unclear how this will play out. Several airlines have also spoken out in favor of vaccination documentation.

However, there are critics of vaccination passports for a number of reasons, ranging from privacy concerns to scientific reasons to equity issues.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that vaccinated people are “low risk” for travel.

Fogel said he would like to see vaccinated people travel again.

“The industry has been so devastated, travel has been so hurt by this terrible, tragic crisis, and we need all that can do to make it happen [the travel industry] go and allow people to travel because [the vaccines] are absolutely safe. “

Booking Holdings owns brands such as Kayak, Agoda, Booking.com, Priceline.com, and OpenTable.

“The idea of ​​a Covid pass that says you are fully vaccinated [means] Being a safe traveler allows you to visit places other people may not be allowed to go, “Fogel said.

On Monday, the company offered $ 50 post-trip credit to travelers who book a trip by the end of May and travel before the end of the year. The company continues to offer more flexibility to cancel travel plans if necessary. The action aims to get people to book summer trips.

“We see that prices are also rising, which of course is the assumption of demand, which is why I continue to advocate it [people to] Go out, see what you want, get it now, “said Fogel.

Increasing vaccination rates will also help. Since the distribution of coronavirus vaccines began in December, over 165 million doses have been given to people in the United States, according to the CDC.

Right now, Americans might be more comfortable in the US due to various Covid restrictions, he said. According to a survey by Booking.com, 69% of people said they would prefer to travel closer to their home for the foreseeable future.

“There won’t be a large amount of international travel,” he said. “In terms of people staying close to home, there is certainly still a feeling of insecurity and a desire to be close to home, but I think that will expand and as people do feel safer, they will go on longer trips. “”

Booking Holdings stock closed 1.1% on Monday at $ 2,409.18.