(TAN): The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has laid out its new guidelines Safe & Seamless Travel including testing and tracing, following medical evidence, to ensure people can enjoy Safe Travels in the ‘new normal’.
The guidelines will ensure that the travel sector is provided with an extensive framework to help governments and private business work in collaboration to create aligned testing and contact tracing programmes.
The initiative is part of the WTTC’s Safe and Seamless Traveller Journey (SSTJ) which aims to enable a seamless, safe and secure end-to-end traveller experience including flights and non-air travel.
[ALSO READ: United Airlines to resume service between San Francisco and Shanghai]
It includes systematic biometric verified identification during the journey, for long haul and international travel, replacing manual verifications and is contained within a new WTTC report.
Travellers and those who work in the Travel & Tourism sector can be assured of a more secure and safe environment, thanks to a leap in use of contactless technology.
This includes biometrics, faster clearance for inbound and outbound passengers and offsite processing as part of enhanced SSTJ capabilities which helps to reduce transmission.
The detection and isolation of those people with the virus has proved to be an effective mechanism to curb previous outbreaks. Since 80 % of COVID-19 carriers are asymptomatic according to medical experts, testing and tracing becomes crucial to control and reduce the transmission.
[ALSO READ: Four Seasons Hotel Milano reopens its doors on July 1, 2020]
The new guidelines were produced by extensive consultation with various stakeholders, including WTTC Members, health experts and government officials, and according to WHO and CDC guidance, and ICAO CART Take off guidance. WTTC in partnership with global management consultants, Oliver Wyman, conducted the consultations and produced this report.
The resulting principles and recommendations of the new guideline frameworks will help governments who require testing, tracing, receipt of a traveller test/vaccination certificate and COVID-19 specific traveller health insurance to include them as part of their overall recovery plan.
By encouraging their global adoption, WTTC aims to ensure aligned and consistent messaging through coordinated, collaborative, and transparent partnerships across the Travel & Tourism sector.
They are also supported by medical fact-based evidence, as provided by multiple state governments and public health authorities such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The safety and hygiene of travellers is paramount. Which is why our new guidelines for Safe and Seamless Travel including testing and tracing, are designed to assist in the recovery of Travel & Tourism through the identification and/or isolation of infected travellers.
“The new WTTC guidelines mean that we can now replace the confusing mix of different measures including highly-damaging quarantines, which currently exist, to offer confidence to travellers and governments alike while protecting public health.
“Travel ‘bubbles’ or ‘corridors’ between low-risk COVID-19 areas/zones or countries will also help limit testing requirements for travellers and support efforts by governments and private businesses working in partnership together to stimulate traveller demand.”
