ASSOCIATED PRESS • April 26, 2021
As vaccinated Americans start to get comfortable traveling again, popular summer destinations are anticipating a busy season. But hotel, restaurant and retail store owners warn that staffing shortages exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic could force them to limit occupancy, curtail hours and services or shut down facilities entirely just as they’re starting to bounce back from a grim year. The problem is twofold: The annual influx of seasonal foreign workers has stalled in places because of the pandemic. Businesses have also struggled to attract U.S. workers, even as many have redoubled their efforts to hire locally amid high unemployment. President Joe Biden let expire a ban on temporary worker visas imposed by former President Donald Trump. But American embassies and consulates remain closed and the U.S. has also imposed restrictions on travelers from countries