EU looking to establish a strategy for safe, clean and sustainable tourism

Published on February 26, 2021
Canary IslandsNews from Canary Islands
eu safe travel vaccine passport

EU criteria for safe and clean tourism, including a common vaccination certificate, should be a part of a new EU strategy on sustainable tourism, said members of the European Parliament.

The draft resolution on establishing an EU strategy for sustainable tourism, adopted by Transport and Tourism Committee on Thursday by 47 votes in favor and 2 against, urges EU countries to include the tourism and travel sectors in their recovery plans and consider temporarily reducing VAT on these services.

The vaccine certificate could become an alternative to PCR tests

The text of the resolution says that the pandemic shifted traveller’s demand toward ‘safe and clean’ and more sustainable tourism. It asks the member states to implement common criteria for safe travel, with an EU Health Safety protocol for testing before departure and applying quarantine requirement as a last resort.

MEPs want a common vaccination certificate, which could become an alternative to PCR tests and quarantine requirements, once there is sufficient evidence that vaccinated persons do not transmit the virus or mutual recognition of vaccination procedures. They also stress the importance of deploying the EU Passenger Locator Form and developing voluntary, interoperable and anonymized tracking, tracing and warning apps.

The draft resolution also urges the Commission to introduce the EU hygiene certification seal, which could certify minimum COVID-19 virus prevention and control standards and could help to restore consumer’s trust in tourism and travel sectors.

Check the latest info on travel inside the EU on the official Re-open EU portal

If you want to know the current measures or restrictions in place in order to travel to a country inside the EU, check the official website of the European Union ‘Re-open EU’ portal.

Quote

“With summer just around the corner, we want to avoid past errors and put in place uniform travel measures, such as an EU protocol for tests before departure, a vaccination certificate, and a European sanitary seal. Tourism is one of the sectors that has been hit the hardest by this pandemic. It needs to be properly included in the Member States’ recovery plans”, said EP rapporteur Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar (EPP, PT).

The resolution still needs to be voted by the full house of the EU Parliament

The resolution on establishing an EU strategy for sustainable tourism now needs to be voted by the full house of the Parliament, possibly during the March II session.

Share This Story
Was this helpful?
© Copyright GuideToCanaryIslands 2024. All rigths reserved.
Loving the Canary Islands? We will notify you when we publish new articles!
No, thank you. Yes, please.
We do not collect personal data.