LONDON: The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has warned governments around the world that further country-wide border closures could seriously jeopardize global economic recovery. Rather, WTTC is urging authorities to take a more carefully calibrated approach and introduce localized measures and only when necessary. By avoiding blanket travel restrictions, it would prevent the stalling of the fragile economic recovery and not cripple the already bruised and battered travel and tourism sector.
WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara 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.
“Enforcing country-wide restrictions is a blunt instrument which benefits no one; neither travellers, the local population, the economy or the travel and tourism sector which has been left reeling from the impact of worldwide travel restrictions.
“Such measures could undo the significant efforts to revive travel and 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.”
Unfortunately, a number of countries around the world are experiencing local coronavirus spikes, which is forcing a number of governments to consider reintroducing tough and unwelcome new “anti-travel” measures. According to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine, the worldwide COVID-19 death toll has passed 617,000 while the number of confirmed coronavirus cases has nearly reached 15 million.
