WTTC welcomes the launch of the EU Digital COVID Certificate

Virginia Messina, Senior Vice President WTTC, said: “WTTC is confident the EU Digital COVID Certificate will boost consumer confidence and the wider Travel & Tourism sector across Europe, which has been in a fight for survival for over a year.

“The certificate is a great example and should aid the return of safe international travel; help recover jobs and signal the revival of a sector which will be critical to the economic recovery across the continent.

“We’d like to commend the EU Commission and institutions for adopting this swiftly, however, EU Member States must take a coordinated and harmonized approach, aligning policies to avoid fragmentation and confusion among holidaymakers who need easy-to-understand rules and regulations to make travel seamless during this difficult time.

“The devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global Travel & Tourism sector has wiped out millions of jobs and seen its contribution to GDP plummet. The lives of the millions of people who rely on the sector have also been turned upside down by the pandemic, causing huge stress and concern.

“We are hopeful the new Digital COVID Certificate will play a major role in safely reopening a sector that will be critical to saving jobs, livelihoods, and economies around the world.”