Just a few days after Emirates airlines announced a COVID-19 cover for its passengers, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has unveiled its Insurance Guidelines to rebuild global consumer confidence to help encourage the return of travelling. The guidelines are designed to drive the return of safe, healthy and responsible travel and ensure the insurance sector is fit for purpose to operate for travellers in the ‘new normal’ of the COVID-19 world.
Emirates had earlier announced that it will cover medical expenses of up to EUR 150,000 and quarantine costs of EUR 100 per day for 14 days, should its passengers be diagnosed with COVID-19 during their travel, while they are away from home. This cover is provided by the airline, free of cost to its customers. It will also pay for the cost of quarantining in a hotel for up to two weeks at €100 per day. Thus, Emirates airline, the United Arab Emirates flag carrier, became the world’s first airline to offer to cover customers’ medical expenses and quarantine costs should they contract Covid-19 during their trip. In the event of a passenger’s death due to Covid-19 the insurance cover will provide €1,500 towards the cost of their funeral.
Insurance is always regarded as a vital part of the Travel & Tourism experience, providing peace of mind and risk mitigation to consumers, suppliers, and organisations across the Travel & Tourism sector. New WTTC guidelines were compiled based on input from leading companies, many of which have partnered with trusted experts in public health and governments to support safe, healthy, and responsible travels.
While Emirates was the first airline to take this step to boost traveler confidence, it was not the first player in the tourism industry to offer Covid payouts. Uzbekistan promised the sum of $3,000 as compensation to visitors who contract Covid-19 while vacationing there. Similarly, Mediterranean island of Cyprus was pledging to cover the cost of lodging, food, drink and medication for visitors who test positive for the virus during their stay.
In this wake, the WTTC guidelines aim to promote consistent standards across all relevant functions with an increased focus on health and safety, in line with what travellers need and expect. They provide practical insights and guidelines around insurance for the Travel & Tourism private sector to equip them with the knowledge of risks, what insurance coverage they need to look for, and how to attain appropriate coverage for their needs.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Insurance is vital for travellers to have peace of mind and confidence to travel and it is now more important than ever to create confidence for consumers travelling in the ‘new normal’ of COVID-19.
Robin Ingle, MSH Ingle International, Travel Navigator and Novus Health CEO, said: “The survival and growth of Travel & Tourism is important in many ways, particularly for the global economy and for promoting cross-cultural understanding transcending borders. Insurance protects and supports the operations of these stakeholders and thus plays a key part in the successful transition of the industry into the ‘new normal”.
WTTC divided the new guidance into four pillars including operational and staff preparedness; ensuring a safe experience; rebuilding trust and confidence; innovation; and implementing enabling policies.
WTTC recently unveiled its Safe Travels protocols for hospitality, outdoor retail, airports, airlines, tour operators, convention centres, meetings and events, which were widely endorsed and supported by top CEOs and business leaders globally. Backed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the new protocols recognise businesses and governments worldwide which have adopted them to rebuild confidence among consumers, encourage the return of ‘Safe Travels’ and enable the Travel & Tourism sector to reopen for business.
According to WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019, Travel & Tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs (330 million total), making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs.
Emirates said that its cover will be available to all customers, at no extra cost, from now until October 31, 2020. It is valid for 31 days from the moment they fly the first leg of their trip, so passengers can continue to have the benefit even if they travel onwards from their Emirates destination.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates group chairman and chief executive said, “Emirates has worked hard to put in place measures at every step of the customer journey to mitigate risk of infection, and we have also revamped our booking policies to offer flexibility. We are now taking it to the next level, by being the first in the industry to offer our customers free global cover for Covid-19 medical expenses and quarantine costs should they incur these costs during their travel.”
Ironically less than three weeks ago, the president of Emirates had said that his company is set to cut as many as 9,000 jobs because of the pandemic. Tim Clark said the airline had already cut a tenth of its staff, but it will probably have to let go of a few more, probably up to 15%. Prior to the crisis, Emirates had 60,000 staff.
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