Proactive Guidance for Restarting Travel and Tourism in Europe

Proactive Guidance for Restarting Travel and Tourism in Europe: The timing of and ways in which economic activity in the areas of travel and tourism can be rebooted are being considered and handled extremely carefully by governments worldwide. In Europe, a set of recommendations and guidelines have been published by the European Commission to provide a framework for member states to lift travel restrictions between countries and facilitate the tourism industry to pick up again and begin recovery in a safe way.

After months of lockdown, the need to get back to normal as quickly as possible is apparent to all of us. However, to do it in a way that a spike in cases of COVID-19 is avoided is paramount. Everything we do must have health precautions at its heart and ensuring the safety of passengers and personnel is the central theme of the EC’s Tourism and Transport package.

Containing the recovery strategy for the rest of 2020 and beyond, it emphasizes a gradual and unified approach to restoring free movement from country to country. It provides a framework for the easing of travel restrictions and recommends that travel vouchers as a helpful and proactive alternative to reimbursements for travelers. It also includes certain criteria for the safe restoration of tourism activities and the development of protocols for hospitality service providers that protects the health of their customers.

The premise that safe distance and limited contact be maintained between people is at the heart of the guidelines. It recommends, where feasible, reducing passenger density. The use of PPE like face masks and the continued practice of hand cleanliness. It also contains an emphasis on consumer rights regarding validity periods for vouchers and flexibility for consumers.

It is my hope that this will inspire other countries to share their recovery strategies. There has never been a time we needed cooperation and collaboration more than now. I am confident that these guidelines will help Europe begin to move again, and I look forward to working across continents to get back to the connectivity we all miss so dearly.

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