WTTC CALLS FOR OPENING OF ESSENTIAL AIR CORRIDORS
The World Travel & Tourism Council is urging for the opening of air corridors between global financial centres such as London, Frankfurt and New York, to help restart business travel – crucial to kick-starting the economic recovery.
The WTTC has warned governments around the world that further country-wide border closures could seriously jeopardise global economic recovery. In an official statement, the organisation says state authorities should take a more carefully calibrated approach and introduce localised measures, and only when necessary. This would avoid blanket restrictions, prevent stalling the fragile economic recovery and not cripple the already bruised and battered Travel & Tourism sector.
A number of countries around the world are experiencing local coronavirus spikes, forcing a re-think by a number of governments which are now having to consider reintroducing tough new “anti-travel” measures.
According to the latest statistics from Johns Hopkins University in the US, the worldwide COVID-19 death toll has passed 606,000 while the number of confirmed coronavirus cases has now surpassed more than 14.5 million.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Governments should not close off access to other countries in their entirety. Only regional border measures should be imposed if essential, so that the recovery of a country’s whole economy is not jeopardised in future. The establishment of ‘air corridors’ between financial centres where infection levels are low, such as between London and New York, would provide a vital boost to business travel and aid the economic recovery.”
She continued, “Enforcing country-wide restrictions is a blunt instrument which benefits no one; neither travellers, the local population, the economy or the Travel & Tourism sector which has been left reeling from the impact of worldwide travel restrictions. Such measures could undo the significant efforts to revive Travel & Tourism, which has recently shown encouraging signs of emerging from the worst of the pandemic, and which in turn has brought hope to millions of people around the world who depend upon the sector for their livelihoods.”
The WTTC President says taking a more carefully calibrated approach to strategically combating coronavirus spikes with local measures rather than country-wide closures, will contain COVID-19 and preserve a country’s attempt to kick-start their economy by continuing to attract travellers to unaffected areas.
“Travel & Tourism is critical to powering that economic recovery, generating one in four of all new jobs last year,” said Guevara. “Our 2020 Economic Impact Report shows that during 2019 the sector supported one in 10 jobs of all jobs (330 million total) and made a massive 10.3% contribution to global GDP.”
“It is perfectly possible to fight COVID-19 and support the economic recovery through the Travel & Tourism sector at the same time. We urge governments to consider only local lockdowns as the key to opening the door to a successful way forward,” she concluded.
WTTC has also called for more consistent COVID-19 travel rules to be adopted by European countries to counter confusion by travellers and holidaymakers who faced a baffling array of different types of travel rules and advice.
WTTC also recently issued a ten-point Traveller Guideline for Safe & Seamless Travel including testing and contact tracing to ensure people can enjoy Safe Travels in the ‘new normal’.
