Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO.
WTTC believes quarantines do nothing to help restore consumer confidence at a time when we need to encourage people to return to travelling, in line with our Safe Travels protocols, to give a hope of saving some of the 2020 summer season.
Concerning UK Government’s decision to revert Spain to its at-risk countries list, Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO said: “Requiring UK travellers returning from Spain to once again quarantine for 14 days will be hugely disappointing for thousands of UK holidaymakers – and is disastrous for the hard-pressed Travel & Tourism industry, both in Spain and the UK.
“While the health and safety of travellers – as well as those who work within the Travel & Tourism industry – is paramount, this move will be a bitter blow for those holidaymakers already in Spain who will now be forced into isolation when they return home.
“WTTC believes quarantines do nothing to help restore consumer confidence at a time when we need to encourage people to return to travelling, in line with our Safe Travels protocols, to give a hope of saving some of the 2020 summer season.
“We urge governments to consider local lockdowns instead of closing entire country’s borders. Painting an entire country with the same brush does not benefit anyone. While we understand the concern about destinations like Spain with new COVID-19 cases, the majority of the country and its islands, which are incredibly popular holiday destinations, have less cases than the UK.
“We encourage the government to consider solutions which reduce the impact on holidaymakers and those whose livelihoods depend upon Travel & Tourism.”
WTTC reveals Indonesia, Dubai and Rwanda as latest recipients of WTTC Safe Travels stamp for safety protocols
Popular holiday hotspots Indonesia, Dubai and Rwanda are among the latest destinations begin using to the world’s first ever global safety and hygiene stamp, launched recently by the WTTC.
The growing list of endorsements have come from many major holiday and city destinations around the world, such as Sharjah as well Malaga which joins the growing list of Spanish summer sun destinations including Alicante and Benidorm.
WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, created the Safe Travels stamp to allow travellers to identify destinations and businesses around the world which have adopted the global standardised health and hygiene protocols.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has welcomed the WTTC Safe Travels stamp, which place the safety and hygiene of travellers as top priority.
Gloria Guevara said: “Our Safe Travels stamp is proving a great success and we are delighted to see even more popular countries and destinations adopt our global health and hygiene protocols.
“The success of the WTTC Safe Travels stamp shows its importance not only to countries and destinations, but also, crucially, to travellers and the 330 million people around the world who work in and depend on, the Travel & Tourism sector.
“The stamp is a critical step in re-establishing consumer confidence in Travel & Tourism and ensuring travellers can rest easy knowing that enhanced standards of hygiene are in place and they can once again experience ‘Safe Travels’.”
Since the launch of the WTTC Safe Travels stamp, destination countries, cities, and hotspots around the world have now adopted WTTC’s new protocols.
His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), said: "As we reopen Dubai’s doors to tourism and welcome our international visitors back to the city, our foremost priority is their wellbeing, achieved through stringent hygiene and safety protocols that have been deployed across all tourist touch points. The WTTC's Safe Travels stamp endorses Dubai’s strong global cooperation in combating the pandemic with comprehensive and effective measures to ensure guest health and safety.
“We trust that our efforts not only provide an optimised experience for our visitors, but also secure their health and that of their families, further cementing the confidence that our guests have had thus far in Dubai, and encouraging people from every corner of the world to visit one of the safest cities in the world this summer.”
His Excellency Wishnutama Kusubandio, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia said: “Indonesia and the World Travel & Tourism Council have a long history of strategic cooperation, including the latest support from WTTC for the development of Guidelines on the Implementation of Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Encironment (CHSE) under “Indonesia Care” national campaign.
“Parallel to Indonesia’s efforts to restart the tourism industry after the pandemic, we are honored to be part of the Safe Travels stamp that has been designed to rebuild confidence among consumers so they can travel safely.”
As part of its Safe Travels protocols, these worldwide measures provide consistency and guidance to travel providers and travellers about the new approach to health, hygiene, deep cleansing and physical distancing, in the ‘new normal’ of COVID-19 world.
The protocols were devised following the experience of WTTC members dealing with COVID19 and based on guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
According to WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019, Travel & Tourism was responsible
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She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
