Tourism Recovery, Restoring Trust Top G20 Agenda

Restoring trust through simple and clear rules which will enable safe mobility will go a long way in aiding tourism industry recovery in the post-pandemic era, said Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi during a G20 meeting of tourism ministers on Tuesday.

The tourism ministers of the world’s wealthiest nations (G20) committed this week to support, complement, and coordinate with the main international initiatives currently being developed for safe international mobility, including the EU’s Green Digital Certificate.

Italy, which currently holds the rotating G20 presidency, tabled ways to address the impact of Covid-19, and defined the policies needed to “build a better normal” and ensure the relaunch of sustainable and inclusive growth.

Draghi said clear and simple regulations were required to ensure that tourists will be able to travel freely in the aftermath of Covid-19.

Participants endorse ‘G20 Rome Guidelines for the Future of Tourism’

Meeting participants in collaboration with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), endorsed the “G20 Rome Guidelines for the Future of Tourism”, which foresee actions in seven key policy areas: safe mobility, crisis management, resilience, inclusiveness, green transformation, digital transition, and investment and infrastructure with a focus on “people, planet and prosperity” – Italy’s priorities.

“We need clear rules and agreements amongst countries to safely restore international mobility, which will in turn enable the return of safe international travel and bring back millions of jobs. It will also protect a sector which will be instrumental in powering the global economic recovery,” said World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) President & CEO Gloria Guevara on Tuesday. 

The meeting also focused on the industry’s green transformation and on the need to support the evolution of global tourism in a sustainable direction. 

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Photo source: governo.it

Draghi, who also announced among others that Italy would be re-opening to tourists this summer and that national travel passes would be issued this month, added that the EU’s Covid-19 certificate would be available in mid-June.

According to the latest World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and WTTC data, international tourist arrivals fell by 73 percent worldwide in 2020 and almost 62 million jobs in the sector were lost due to the pandemic taking tourism back 30 years.

In a statement, G20 ministers stressed that “the resumption of travel and tourism was crucial for global economic recovery” and called for urgent international action and coordination.