Reducing the 14-day quarantine period to only five days is hailed as a positive development by the World Travel & Tourism Council for the UK travel industry.
WTTC's 20th Global Summit Aims to Restore Travel and Tourism
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is set to host its 20th Global Summit in Cancun, Mexico, from March 23-25, 2021. The event, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will take place in a hybrid format, with a limited number of delegates attending physically and many thousands more participating online.
The WTTC Global Summit is one of the most influential annual events in the Travel & Tourism calendar, and past guest speakers have included former US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. This year, the summit will be hosted by the Government of Quintana Roo.
The WTTC has been at the forefront of combating and supporting the affected travel and tourism industry since the start of the pandemic. Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, stated that while the reduction in quarantine is real progress, it is not enough to bring back business travel. For business travel to significantly aid the Travel & Tourism sector, quarantines need to be reduced further or completely replaced with a comprehensive and internationally recognized test upon departure.
According to the 2020 WTTC Economic Impact Report, Travel & Tourism generated one in four of all new jobs and made a 10.3% contribution to global GDP. The report also revealed that Travel & Tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs (330 million in total). Thousands of businesses in the sector are still in balance, and the jobs of 174 million people employed globally in the sector could be lost if action isn't taken to restore international travel.
WTTC supports any viable alternatives to damaging quarantines, such as the oneworld airline alliance trial with British Airways and American Airlines. Until a vaccine is widely available, WTTC believes this is the only way to get business travellers moving again.
The UK government is also taking steps to reduce travel quarantine lockdown, with passengers testing negative on the fifth day facing a reduced quarantine of 5 days. This trial offers free COVID-19 tests to eligible customers on select flights between the UK and the U.S.
The WTTC Global Summit aims to lead the Travel & Tourism sector into recovery and restore millions of jobs around the world. The council considers this move significant progress to restoring travel, particularly for leisure travellers. The summit is part of a series of international initiatives led by WTTC to support the stricken Travel & Tourism sector during the pandemic.
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