WHY IT RATES: The WTTC's Safe Travels stamp is helping to restore consumer confidence denoting those destinations around the world that uphold a globally standardized set of COVID-era health and safety protocols. - Laurie Baratti, TravelPulse Associate Writer
Iceland, Argentina, Kazakhstan, Colombia, and Turks and Caicos are the latest major destinations to adopt the World Travel & Tourism Council's (WTTC) global safety and hygiene stamp, which was launched earlier this year.
The Safe Travels stamp was developed as the first of its kind to help restore confidence in travellers and aims to revive an ailing Travel & Tourism sector. It is now being used by over 145 destinations, including major holiday hotspots such as Puerto Rico, Philippines, Portugal, Turkey and Maldives.
The stamp allows travelers to identify which destinations around the world have adopted standardized global health and hygiene protocols, so they can experience 'Safe Travels'.
This landmark move by WTTC also received the backing of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The launch of global protocols to recover the Travel & Tourism sector have been embraced by over 200 CEO's, including some of the world's major tourism groups.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: "We are absolutely delighted with the success of our Safe Travels stamp. More than 145 destinations now proudly use the stamp, all of which are working together to help rebuild consumer confidence worldwide. Global coordination is more important than ever in the road to recovery.
"As the stamp continues growing in popularity, travelers will more easily be able to recognize destinations around the world which have adopted these important standardized global protocols, encouraging the return of 'Safe Travels' around the world.
"The success of the stamp shows its importance both to countries and destinations, but also to travelers and the 330 million people around the world who work in and depend on, a thriving the Travel & Tourism sector."
Mr. Skarphedinn Berg Steinarsson, Director General, Icelandic Tourist Board, said:
"The Icelandic Tourist Board has implemented Clean & Safe guidelines for tourism businesses who are working hard to adhere to government and public health and is committed to achieve traveler confidence and ensure safety. The guidelines are aligned with WTTC, to whom we want to express our gratitude for its effort in establishing and developing the new global safety stamp and Safe Travels protocols.
"As the tourism industry starts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and people feel like travelling again, it is important that tourism companies are ready to welcome their guests and customers in a safe and responsible way. Global collaboration with harmonized guidelines is vital and help us in achieving this goal, as to restore the public's confidence in the tourism sector for future travel.
Yerzhan Yerkinbayev, Chairman, JSC, National Company, Kazakh Tourism, said:
"While the world is shifting to a new normal and the industry is seeing a tremendous transformation, we at Kazakh Tourism strongly believe in a single voice of the businesses and governments in these trying times. Customers across the globe expect safety and comprehensive protocols at various tourism outlets, and therefore a single approach that derives from the tourism businesses who form the core of WTTC, is much needed now than ever before.
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