The European Tourism Manifesto alliance has urged its member states to reach a mutual coordination in travel restrictions and assure prompt implementation to help the travel and tourism sector overcome the financial crisis caused by the pandemic.
The European Tourism Manifesto Alliance consists of over 50 European public and private organisations which address all issues related to the tourism sector.
Among the most affected industries, since the Coronavirus outbreak is the tourism and travel industry, due to lack of coordination in travel restrictions which has led to lowering the traveller confidence and reducing the consumer demand, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The European Tourism Manifesto alliance has praised the European Commission’s attempts and last week’s initiative of the German Presidency of the European Union Council on re-establishing Schengen Area’s integrity as well as improving cross-border travel harmonisation.
Through a press release, the manifesto has called on the national governments to approve the European Commission’s proposal and start working on the following:
• Establishment of common criteria assessed in a detailed regional level and thresholds on defining the epidemiological risk
• Implementation of common measures defined upon arrival and return from high-risk zones
• An organised and transparent process which provides clear, comprehensive and prompt information regarding any travel restrictions
Moreover, the measures that must be determined in a more detailed way, include:
• Quarantine to be replaced with comprehensive and cost-effective testing and tracing programmes
• Avoiding restrictions on the free movement by applying more targeted measures, limited in the geographical scope
• Avoiding travel restrictions imposed for passengers in transit
• Coordinating on common rules for demanding pre-travel Coronavirus negative test in areas where needed
• Assuring the information exchange of contact tracing apps in the EU as well as the coordination of Passenger Locator Forms in compliance with international standards
Lately, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also called on European governments to reopen the borders and continue with relief measures to help airlines during the Coronavirus. Besides, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), have already published a set of recommendations to help enterprises reopen in a safe way.
The measures that have been taken to combat the Coronavirus spread, in particular, entry restrictions as travel bans and quarantine measures have affected the economies of all EU member states. The UK, for example, is set to lose £22 Billion by the end of the year, while Germany is expected to lose €38 Billion, Italy is expected to lose €36.7 Billion, and France could also lose €48 Billion.
