The global travel industry, aviation in particular, has been one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.The safe easing or lifting of restrictions on travel is essential for the restart of travel and tourism and the return of the social and economic benefits the sector offers.International tourists and visitors are vitally important to businesses and workers across the globe who have struggled to regain losses from this valuable sector.In this context the recent decision by the Biden Administration in the US to drop Covid testing requirement for international travellers is seen as big boon to the travel industry, aviation in particular. Last week, the United States rescinded a 17-month-old requirement that people arriving in the country by air test negative for Covid-19, a move that follows intense lobbying by airlines and the travel industry.The requirement had been one of the last major US Covid-19 travel requirements. Its end comes as the summer travel season kicks off, and airlines were already preparing for record demand. Airlines have said that many Americans have not been not travelling internationally because of concerns they will test positive and be stranded abroad.The United States has required incoming international air travellers to provide pre-departure negative tests since January 2021. In December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tightened the rule to require travellers to test negative within one day before flights to the United States rather than three days.Nick Calio, CEO, Airlines for America, the lobbying group for the largest US carriers, said the industry looks “forward to continuing to work with the administration to prioritise the safety and well-being of the travelling public and to ensure that air travel policies are guided by science.”Although the world is not out of the woods as yet with regard to the pandemic, tourism continues to recover at a strong pace, thanks to easing of restrictions.Globally, destinations welcomed almost three times as many international arrivals in the first quarter of 2022 as in the same period of 2021, with Europe leading the sector’s rebound, according to World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), a specialised agency of the United Nations. According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism saw a 182% year-on-year increase in January-March 2022, with destinations worldwide welcoming an estimated 117mn international arrivals compared to 41mn in Q1, 2021. Of the extra 76mn international arrivals for the first three months, about 47mn were recorded in March, showing that the recovery is gathering pace.Europe and Americas lead the recovery: UNWTO data shows that during the first quarter of 2022, Europe welcomed almost four times as many international arrivals (+280%) as in Q1, 2021, with results driven by strong intra-regional demand. In the Americas arrivals more than doubled (+117%) in the same three months. However, arrivals in Europe and the Americas were still 43% and 46% below 2019 levels respectively.The Middle East (+132%) and Africa (+96%) also saw strong growth in Q1, 2022 compared to 2021, but arrivals remained 59% and 61% below 2019 levels respectively. Asia and the Pacific recorded a 64% increase over 2021 but again, levels were 93% below 2019 numbers as several destinations remained closed to non-essential travel.By sub-region, the Caribbean and Southern Mediterranean Europe continue to show the fastest rates of recovery. In both, arrivals recovered to nearly 75% of 2019 levels, with some destinations reaching or exceeding pre-pandemic levels.Destinations opening up: Although international tourism remains 61% below 2019 levels, the gradual recovery is expected to continue throughout 2022, as more destinations ease or lift travel restrictions and pent-up demand is unleashed. As of June 2, some 45 destinations (of which 31 are in Europe) had no Covid-19 related restrictions in place. In Asia, an increasing number of destinations have started to ease those restrictions.Despite these positive prospects, a challenging economic environment coupled with the military offensive of the Russian Federation in Ukraine pose a downside risk to the ongoing recovery of international tourism. Export revenues to recover faster as spending rises: The latest issue of the UNWTO Tourism Barometer also shows that $1tn were lost in export revenues from international tourism in 2021, adding to the $1tn lost in the first year of the pandemic. Total export revenues from tourism (including passenger transport receipts) reached an estimated $713bn in 2021, a 4% increase in real terms from 2020 but still 61% below 2019 levels. International tourism receipts reached $602bn, also 4% higher in real terms than in 2020. Europe and the Middle East recorded the best results, with earnings climbing to about 50% of pre-pandemic levels in both regions.However, the amount being spent per trip is on the rise – from an average $1,000 in 2019 to $1,400 in 2021, WTO noted.A higher number of experts (48%) now see a potential return of international arrivals to 2019 levels in 2023 (from 32% in the January survey), while the percentage indicating this could happen in 2024 or later (44%) has diminished compared to the January survey (64%). Meanwhile by end April, international air capacity across the Americas, Africa, Europe, North Atlantic and the Middle East has reached or is close to 80% of pre-crisis levels and demand is following.