UNWTO will work with the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) to strengthen ties between tourism and public health in Europe’s smallest states. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of building more sustainability and resilience into both economies and public health systems. Recognizing the need to learn from the lessons of the crisis, the two UN agencies will further develop their collaboration and strengthen cooperation. In the eighth high-level meeting of the WHO/Europe Small Countries Initiative (SCI), held in Bečići, Montenegro, UNWTO set out the case for promoting health and sustainable tourism in small countries, including the 11 European countries with fewer than 2 million people. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili told the meeting: “COVID-19 sh...
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The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have called for the lifting of travel bans as they do not provide added value and continue to contribute to economic and social stress. The two UN agencies agreed to collaborate on a global trust architecture for recovery of the travel sector. Over recent days, a growing number of countries around the world have started easing their rules for international arrivals, including the easing of travel bans. These decisions are in line with WHO’s latest recommendations for safe international mobility, which highlight the ineffectiveness of blanket restrictions in controlling virus transmissions. Such a trend is also consistent with UNWTO’s repeated warnings of the great social, economic and development harm of res...
Read MoreThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on states to follow new guidance on travel from the World Health Organization (WHO). The guidance recommends a “risk-based approach” to implementing measures related to COVID-19 and international travel. It will be presented to the WHO COVID-19 International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Thursday 15 July. Specifically, WHO recommended that governments: Do not require proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a mandatory condition for entry or exitRemove measures such as testing and/or quarantine requirements for travelers who are fully vaccinated or have had a confirmed previous COVID-19 infection within the past six monthsEnsure alternative pathways for unvaccinated individuals through testing so that they are abl...
Read MoreThe World Health Organization on Thursday urged Europeans to travel responsibly during the summer holiday season and warned the continent was “by no means out of danger” in the battle against COVID-19 despite a steady decline of infection rates in recent weeks. “With increasing social gatherings, greater population mobility, and large festivals and sports tournaments taking place in the coming days and weeks, WHO Europe calls for caution,” the WHO’s European head Hans Kluge told a press briefing. People sunbathe on the Luz beach, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Lagos, Portugal, June 3, 2021. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes “If you choose to travel, do it responsibly. Be conscious of the risks. Apply common sense and don’t jeopardize hard-earned gains,” Kluge said. Ove...
Read MoreThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on governments to ensure that high costs for COVID-19 testing don’t put travel out of reach for individuals and families. To facilitate an efficient restart of international travel, COVID-19 testing must be affordable as well as timely, widely available and effective. An IATA sampling of costs for PCR tests (the test most frequently required by governments) in 16 countries showed wide variations by markets and within markets. Findings include: Of the markets surveyed, only France complied with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for the state to bear the cost of testing for travelers. Of the 15 markets where there is a cost for PCR testing to the individual - The average minimum cost for testing was $...
Read MoreThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged states to comply with recommendations on international travel from the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee on testing and risk management during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, IATA highlighted the following recommendations for states: “Do not require proof of vaccination as a condition of entry.” IATA believes that the freedom to travel across borders should not be limited to those who are able to be vaccinated. It does, however, support governments opening borders to those who have been vaccinated and that testing should also play a key role where vaccination is not possible. Together—testing and vaccination—are key measures for states to safely reopen their borders a...
Read MoreThe head of a global travel organisation have opposed making COVID-19 vaccinations a requirement for travellers in the fight against the pandemic, despite scepticism about reaching herd immunity this year. Several health experts said during the Reuters Next conference that the mass roll-out of coronavirus vaccines would not result in enough people having immunity to be able to effectively stop COVID-19 from spreading. FILE PHOTO: Vials labelled "COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine" are placed on dry ice in this illustration taken, December 4, 2020. Picture taken December 4, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Some policymakers have proposed immunisation should be compulsory for air travel as the world steps up the battle to curb the spread of COVID-19, and Australia’s Qanta...
Read MoreThe risk of COVID-19 spreading on flights appears “very low” but cannot be ruled out, despite studies showing only a small number of cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. “In-flight transmission is possible but the risk appears to be very low, given the volume of travellers and the small number of case reports. The fact that transmission is not widely documented in the published literature does not, however, mean it does not happen,” the WHO said in a statement to Reuters. The characterisation of the risk echoes the findings of a U.S. Defense Department study that last week described the probability of catching the disease on airliners as “very low”. Some airlines have however used more robust language to describe the risk of onboard transmission. Southwest Airl...
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