Trust is the currency of our new normal, says UNWTO
The coordinated rolling out of new health and safety protocols for every part of the tourism value chain – including travel, accommodation, food, and leisure – will make it safer to travel, World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has said.
“Trust is the new currency of our ‘new normal’. And tourism is ideally positioned to be the vehicle to channel trust,” said Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO’s secretary general.
If people trust in governments and in the tourism sector to keep them safe from harm, they will indeed travel tomorrow, he added.
“As the ultimate person-to-person sector, and one that promotes solidarity and friendship, tourism will play a key role in spreading trust more widely, with benefits travelling far beyond tourism itself. Only this way can we drive our economies back towards growth and start rebuilding our societies,” the secretary general said.
“It is imperative that we get the world moving again – once it is safe to do so. Without a strong and vital tourism sector, many millions of jobs and small businesses are at risk. This week, we have been encouraged by the action plan set out by the European Union to relaunch tourism in a timely, responsible and coordinated manner,” he said.
The lifting of travel restrictions, first within nations and then across international borders, will allow the many social and economic benefits tourism brings to return not just in Europe but around the world.