“BLANKET TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS DON’T WORK”: UNWTO ADDS ITS VOICE TO WHO STATEMENT

The World Tourism Group (UNWTO) has welcomed the decision of its sister UN company World Well being Group (WHO) for restrictions on journey to be lifted or eased.

Citing the various world  responses to the emergence of the of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, WHO has reiterated that restrictions on journey should not efficient in suppressing the worldwide unfold. Consistent with UNWTO’s recurring warning in opposition to the usage of blanket restrictions, the tenth assembly of the WHO’s Worldwide Well being Laws Emergency Committee (Geneva, 19 January) expressed concern that such measures could cause financial and social hurt. They might additionally “discourage clear and speedy reporting of rising Variants of Concern”, the WHO added.  

The Committee additionally famous that measures utilized to worldwide travellers similar to testing, isolation and quarantine, and vaccinations, ought to be primarily based on “threat assessments and keep away from inserting the monetary burden on worldwide travellers in accordance with Article 40 of the IHR”.

UNWTO Secretary-Common Zurab Pololikashvili says: “Relating to stopping the unfold of latest virus variants, blanket journey restrictions are merely counterproductive. Actually, by slicing the lifeline of tourism, these restrictions do extra hurt than good, particularly in locations reliant on worldwide vacationers for jobs, financial wellbeing and sustainable change.”

The United Nations World Financial State of affairs and Prospects Report for 2022 – to which UNWTO offered the official journey associated information – has famous that in each developed and growing, restoration from the impacts of the pandemic is “uneven and fragile”. It additionally highlights the “substantial reversal in progress in the direction of attaining the Sustainable Growth Objectives (SDGs).

“It’s crucial we restart tourism and so kickstart restoration and get again on observe in the direction of assembly the SDGs whereas responding to Local weather Imperatives,” Mr Pololikashvili provides. “UNWTO welcomes WHO’s new steering, highlighting the ineffectiveness of blanket journey restrictions, and we additionally amplify their suggestions in opposition to utilizing vaccination standing as the only situation for welcoming vacationers again, particularly when vaccination charges stay so uneven.”