Earlier Delta, Now Omicron Variant Impacts Hospitality Industry
During the third quarter, several travels and hotel industries increased their spending on government lobbying as COVID-19 cases increased owing to the highly contagious delta variant. There’s no evidence of that tendency slowing down as the omicron variety expands. The first verified case of the omicron form in the United States was detected on Wednesday, and numerous additional cases have since been confirmed in the country.
In the late summer and early fall, the delta variant surged in the U.S. The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases rose from a 15-month low of 12,000 in late June to over 160,000 in late August, according to CDC numbers. Last week, the World Health Organization classified the omicron variant as a “variant of concern,” bringing about an onslaught of momentary travel restrictions and a potential threat to travel and hospitality companies.
According to an OpenSecrets investigation, the airline sector upped its spending to $5.6 million in the third quarter of 2021. The industry spent $5.4 million on federal lobbying during the same period in 2020.
Despite Delta’s dominance, aircraft makers boosted their investment. Boeing, the leading lobbying spender in the aviation industry, spent $3.8 million on federal lobbying in the third quarter alone, up from $3 million in the third quarter of 2020. Boeing has spent a hefty $10 million on federal lobbying in 2021 so far. Textron Inc. also upped its lobbying spend to $1.4 million in the last quarter — more than it’s ever spent on federal lobbying during any third quarter in its history.
Despite the advent of omicron, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told legislators on Tuesday that he believes the COVID-19 virus’s impact on the economy would fade with time.
“I’m not thinking that the effects on the economy will be remotely comparable to what happened last March with the shutdowns or that there will be additional shutdowns,” Powell said.
Instead of the shutdowns or lockdowns seen by Americans during the start of the epidemic, President Joe Biden revealed Thursday plans for more widespread vaccines, boosters, free at-home testing, and extra medical professionals.