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Rebuilding confidence - key steps

World Travel & Tourism Council launches protocols for aviation, airports, Mice and tour operators to aid the
reopening of travel and tourism sector

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The UAE’s flag carrier, Etihad Airways, is partnering with Austrian-based healthcare technology company Medicus AI to launch a Covid-19 risk-assessment tool that will empower guests to make informed decisions about travelling

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has unveiled the second phase of measures to rebuild global consumer confidence to encourage the return of travelling. The latest protocols are designed to drive the return of safe travel and enable industries, namely tour operators and convention centres, meetings and events to thrive once again.

Those relating to airports and airlines have been devised following close consultation with WTTC Members such as Iberia, Emirates Group, Etihad and Oman Aviation Group among others, as well as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airports Council International (ACI), to rebuild trust and provide reassurance that airports and airlines will offer safe environments in which to fly once travel restrictions are relaxed.

According to WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019, travel and tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs, making a 10.3 per cent contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs.

The welfare of travellers and the millions of people employed throughout the travel and tourism sector at the heart of this new comprehensive package of Safe Travels protocols. They also provide consistency to destinations and countries as well as guidance to travel providers, airlines, airports, operators, and travellers, about the new approach to health and hygiene in the post Covid-19 world.

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “For the first time ever, the global private sector has rallied around our Safe Travels protocols which will create the consistency needed to allow a re-invigorated travel and tourism sector re-open for business.

“Among the most important of these measures are those which will enable the aviation sector to take-off. Aviation’s return is critical to help repower the global economic recovery.

“WTTC aviation protocols were created in close collaboration with ACI and IATA. We thank their leaders Angela Gittens and Alexandre de Juniac for their guidance, as it is vital we restore consumer confidence to get people travelling and flying safely.

“The expertise from large and small tour operators, contributed to define the new experience via tour operators and visiting event venues again, was defined in coordination of experts from this segment, through these robust global measures which have been embraced by businesses around the world.”

Angela Gittens, ACI World Director General said: “Our industry has been brought to a standstill. A balanced and effective restart and recovery of the global travel and tourism sector depends on collaboration among the key participants in this ecosystem and we welcome the ambitious approach taken by the WTTC.

“Collaboration will help to establishing a globally-consistent approach to recovery which will be the most effective way of balancing risk mitigation with the need to enable travel and foster economic recovery while also reassuring the travelling public that health and safety remain the overall priorities.”

Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO at IATA said: “Covid-19 is a gamechanger for the travel and tourism sector, requiring us to enhance our approach to health and safety to protect our travellers and workforce. Aviation is the business of freedom and it is vital to enable its restart on a safe basis. IATA is delighted to lend its framework and collaborate with WTTC on the Aviation Protocols as part of its Safe Travels initiative. This is an excellent example of the industry solidarity and cooperation that will be so vital to ensuring a strong recovery for travel and tourism.”

Backed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the new protocols will recognise businesses and governments worldwide which have adopted them to rebuild confidence among consumers, encourage the return of ‘Safe Travels’ and enable the travel and tourism sector to reopen for business.

Drawn up by WTTC Members and based on the best available medical evidence and following guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the new Safe Travels protocols avoid the emergence of multiple standards, which would only confuse the consumer and delay the sector’s recovery.

Detailed discussions took place with key stakeholders and organisations to ensure maximum buy-in, alignment and practical implementation, to set clear expectations of what travellers may expect during their next flights in the ‘new normal’.

Evidence from WTTC’s Crisis Readiness report, which looked at 90 different types of crises, highlights the importance of public-private cooperation to ensure that smart policies and effective communities are in place to enable a more resilient travel and tourism sector. 

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.

 

AIRPORT MEASURES

• Enhanced cleaning including to self-service equipment, baggage trolleys, counters, buggies, security checkpoints, washrooms, elevators, handrails, boarding areas, and common areas with a specific focus on high-frequency touch points

• Provide personal protection equipment (PPE) to staff, such as masks

• New signage and announcements to limit interaction and queuing at touchpoints

• Possible pre-arrival health risk assessment to prevent delays upon arrival

• Reduce passenger touchpoints through online check-in before departure, use of self-check in kiosks and bag drop, home-printed bag tags, greater use of biometric e-gates and boarding card reading at gates

• If entry-exit screening is mandated, it should be carried out in a non-intrusive, walk through manner, through full body infrared scanners using handheld infrared thermometers, and ear gun thermometers

• Enhanced food safety and hygiene at restaurants, with prepacked foods to avoid handling of food at buffets

• Possible redesign of immigration halls together with governments and airlines to speed up procedures

• Where declarations are required upon arrival, electronic options should be used to minimise contact; ideally using contactless processes.

 

AIRLINE PROTOCOLS 

• Provide personal protection equipment (PPE) to staff such as masks

• Reduce passengers’ touchpoints through online check-in before departure, use of self-check in kiosks and bag drop, home-printed bag tags, greater use of biometric e-gates and boarding card reading at gates

• Provide approved hand sanitizers as appropriate based on high-traffic areas, such as check-in and boarding areas

• Revisited guidance for cleaning teams for all areas of the plane including washrooms, as well as check in and boarding areas, with a specific focus on high-frequency touch points

• Consider boarding from back of the plane to the front, window to aisle

• Limit movement in the cabin as much as possible

• Retrain crew and frontline staff regarding infection control and hygiene measures

 

TOUR OPERATORS

• Enhanced sanitation, disinfection, and deep cleaning practices for coaches and other vehicles

• Focused cleaning on high-frequency touch points, including handrails, door handles, tables, onboard toilets, air conditioning filters, overhead lockers and headsets

• Pre-allocated seating plans with no rotation

• Limit physical contact and queuing where possible

• Explore staggered timing for access to venues, hotels and restaurants among others

• Health, sanitation, disinfection and hygiene and food safety protocols at partner restaurants

• Establish with partners and suppliers including shops, showrooms, tasting venues/shops, museums, shows theatres, concert halls, factories and farms, that they follow likely protocols

 

MICE BUSINESS

•Implement physical distancing for seating distribution and aisles, utilising government guidance if available. Create visual support to show intent as appropriate. 

• Reduce venue capacity limits for participants as appropriate and required by local legislation

• Distinguish between different areas of risk in the venue

• Consider pre-arrival risk assessment questionnaire for participants

• Limit physical interaction and possible queuing at reception and registration using advance registration to enhance participant flow

• Create isolation units outside the venue where possible for those showing Covid-19 symptoms

Additional and separate measures for the Cruise sector and insurance businesses amongst others, are currently in development and will be announced in due course.  

 



BAHRAIN ROLLS OUT NEW SAFETY MEASURES

BAHRAIN International Airport (BIA) is rolling out additional health and safe-ty measures to protect the wellbeing of passengers and staff at the terminal, said a report citing an announcement from Bahrain Airport Company (BAC).

The CAA guidelines are in line with the International Civil Aviation Or-ganization’s (ICAO latest guidelines for combating the coronavirus (Covid-19) and support preventative measures recommended by the Ministry of Health (MOH). The measures will be regularly updated based on new scien-tific findings as the situation evolves, said a report in BNA.

BAC Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah, said: “Since the start of the pandemic, BAC has implemented a number of precautionary measures recommended by the Ministry of Health and worked closely with its partners at the airport to ensure the health of pas-sengers and airport staff and the protec-tion of public health in the kingdom."

"As the world moves towards the re-covery phase of the Covid-19 pandem-ic and the resumption of flights, we are determined to put in place effective control measures to reassure and wel-come both staff and passengers safely."

"We are taking careful steps to sup-port the kingdom’s aviation sector dur-ing this time. We remind passengers that they also have an important role to play in this process and look forward to their ongoing understanding and sup-port,” he said.

 

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