- Julia Simpson, President & CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) issued a statement saying: “Protecting public health must remain the priority and WTTC strongly supports safety protocols to stop the spread of COVID-19.
- However, the EU’s recommendation to reimpose restrictions on U.S. travellers is a step backwards and will only slow down the recovery of the sector.
- “With high vaccination levels in both the U.S. and the EU, we should be looking at opening up travel between these two major economies.
The WTTC CEO added:
We need a common set of rules that recognize global vaccines and remove the need to quarantine for people with a negative COVID result.
“The U.S. is a key source market for the many EU Member States, such as France, Italy, Germany, and Ireland, and tourism will be critical in restoring normal life and tens of thousands of jobs in both the U.S. and the EU.
“Rather than imposing further damaging travel restrictions, the EU should be encouraging Member States to use its groundbreaking Digital COVID Certificate to safely restore international travel, fundamental for the European economy.”
The European Union three days go suspended all essential travel for American visitors due to the spike in new COVID-19 infections in the United States.
Portugal, a member of the EU today stepped away from the EU regulations announcing it would still welcome American tourists.