5 'simple' measures for international tourism to recover

According to Julia Simpson: Before the pandemic, in 2019, travel andtourismcontributed 10.4% to global GDP, equivalent to 9,170 billion USD; 334 million people participated in this sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has lost nearly 50% of that value; causing 62 million people in the travel and tourism sector to lose their jobs.tourismlost job

Ms. Julia Simpson - President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council has outlined 5 measures to restore international tourism in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Currently, the World Travel and Tourism Council has proposed and called for the implementation of 5 measures to ensure the restoration of international tourism and accelerate the recovery of this sector, which are:

The first,Simplified rules for international travel are needed, allowing fully vaccinated citizens to travel without restrictions. Testing procedures also need to be simplified.

Monday,Digital solutions need to be developed and implemented that allow people to prove their COVID-19 status and enter the country quickly and easily, similar to how people can use QR codes or QR tickets to travel on trains.

Tuesday,Vaccines licensed by the WHO or a regulatory authority (SRA) must be recognised for travel.

Tourists return to the sunflower field. Photo: Quang Dung

Wednesday,Most importantly, today’s travellers will have very high expectations for health, safety and cleanliness standards. Destinations, hotels and tourism organisations must ensure that their services and products meet the highest health and safety protocols.

Final,Another very important thing is vaccine equity. 4 billion people in the world have not had access to vaccines. That is why the World Travel and Tourism Council has joined COVAX to help get vaccines to the world faster.

Ms. Julia Simpson predicts: In 2022, if countries can implement the 5 measures proposed and called for by the World Travel and Tourism Council, travel and tourism could reach 8,000-8,600 billion USD. And the labor force in the tourism sector could reach 324-349 million people.

Julia Simpson emphasizes the message “Keep it simple” to restore international tourism. Photo: WTTC

In the Asia-Pacific region alone, the recovery in jobs will be faster, with 181.5 to 198 million jobs expected by the end of 2022. This can only be achieved if countries keep their borders open and allow fully vaccinated people to travel.

At this point, the recovery of tourism is mainly driven by the domestic market. To recover international tourism, Ms. Julia Simpson emphasized the message of “Keep it simple”. Simplifying international travel regulations should be a priority and should also be maintained./.