(TAN): Tourism leaders in the Americas committed to jointly addressing the reactivation of tourism, making the sector a priority and adopting international protocols, in a meeting called by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. They also agreed to emphasize innovation and digital transformation, develop sustainable tourism and strengthen support mechanisms for workers and impacted companies, UNWTO said.
At the beginning of the meeting, the UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili commended the way Dominican Republic has handled the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and highlighted that “reestablishing trust in travel is a key first step towards tourism recovery, bringing hope to millions of people in the Americas and igniting the economic recuperation in general.”
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Among the main topics of discussion are included re-establishing confidence in travel, protecting businesses and jobs, and ensuring that the benefits of the tourism revival are felt beyond the industry itself.
The working sessions were attended in person by ministers and vice ministers of Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela, and virtually by government officials from Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Nicaragua, and Peru.