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Canada Association of Tourism Employees

UNWTO Center East Regional Fee members talk about secure and accountable journey in Riyadh

Members of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Middle East have agreed to work on creating harmonized protocols to help resume regional traffic following the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Develop a common framework for reopening international borders
  • Creation of public health corridors between travel destinations to promote specific tourism experiences and revitalize hotspot tourism destinations
  • Working on the implementation of the IATA-UNWTO Destination Tracker, a monitoring system for tracking health data, regulations and cross-border movements

The 13 members of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Middle East met in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the day after the United Nations Tourism Organization officially opened its first regional office in the city. High on the agenda was a coordinated approach to developing consistent protocols for safe and responsible travel across the region.

UNWTO member states in the Middle East have agreed to work together on core initiatives aimed at harmonizing travel protocols and reinvigorating regional travel through:

  1. Developing a common framework for reopening international borders;

2. Creation of approved public health corridors between travel destinations to promote specific tourism experiences and restart tourism hotspots;

3. Implementing a common digital health solution to facilitate the travel experience through interoperability and blockchain as technologies to develop common standards; and

4. Work on the implementation of the IATA-UNWTO Destination Tracker, a surveillance system to track health data, regulations and cross-border movements and to protect the health and well-being of the 450 million people in the region.

Nations around the world are struggling to overcome the pandemic that is having such a devastating impact on the global tourism sector.

UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili presented his report to the Regional Commission. The report set out how the UNWTO worked with all members and affiliates across the region, most importantly helping them in their unique and joint response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This agreement opens a new chapter in regional tourism in the Middle East and sets a standard of cooperation for other regions,” said Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary General. “Nations around the world are struggling to overcome the pandemic that is having such a devastating impact on the global tourism sector. The more countries try to find their own way out of the crisis, the longer it will take to rebuild the millions of affected livelihoods. Only through unity and cooperation across borders can we overcome these dark times and make the benefits of tourism accessible to the world again.

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