Many countries in solution mode to save the summer tourist season


By Geneviève Cournoyer-Scalise March 23 2021

Spring’s arrival normally heralds the onset of the high tourist season for many countries where the travel industry plays an important role in their economy. The pandemic and its effects are still with us, but its spread is slowly decreasing with the vaccination campaigns being organized all around the world. Countries where the campaigns are going well are rather optimistic about the return of tourists in the near future and have not hesitated to work upstream for a gradual resumption of passenger flights, without necessarily making vaccination mandatory to travel.

According to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which aligns with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), “proof of COVID-19 vaccination should not be made a condition for international travel. At such time as evidence shows that vaccinated persons would not transmit the SARS-CoV-2 virus or would present a reduced risk of transmitting the virus, Member States may exempt such individuals from testing and/or quarantine measures,” noted the ICAO in a press release. 1

China launches its digital health passport

While waiting for the results of studies on this issue, several nations have started to adopt concrete measures to revive their travel industry. China recently launched a digital health passport. This health certificate for international travel is only available for Chinese citizens via a smartphone application that displays and authenticates passenger health data to avoid false declarations and facilitate a possible border reopening. The UK and United States also seem tempted to adopt a similar system. Considering that some Americans are now vaccinated, many have returned to traveling. The popularity of travel and passenger confidence seem to have returned for our neighbors to the south. On March 12, 1.35 million passengers checked into various US airports, a record after more than a year of the pandemic. 2

EU presents its green passport

Soon, the European Union (EU) will present to the European Commission their project for the implementation of a green passport, which could be put in place by June to preserve the summer tourist season. The green passport would be available in a digital or paper version, drafted in the language of the country of origin but translated into English, to ease comprehension across EU countries. If accepted, the passport would include the following information: “whether the person has been vaccinated, has recently recovered from COVID-19, or has had a negative test permitting them to travel,” specified the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Mr. Thierry Breton. 3However, France and Germany are concerned about such a measure, which calls into question medical confidentiality, in addition to the risks associated with cybersecurity and the sharing of private data.

Creating health corridors

ICAO is encouraging all countries to create health corridors between nations with harmonized measures to facilitate the gradual recovery of the airline and tourism industry. For instance, Australia and Singapore are working together to establish a travel bubble that could be effective as soon as July. The agreement between the two countries aims to allow Australians and Singaporeans who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel between the two countries without a mandatory quarantine. “As the vaccine rolls out, not only in Australia but in other countries, we will reopen more bubbles,” said Australian vice prime minister, Michael McCormack, in an interview with the broadcaster ABC. 4 Note that a one-way bubble with New Zealand already exists, allowing New Zealanders to travel to Australia without a mandatory quarantine.

Other recommendations

Along with all these measures, ICAO also recommends: “accelerating the digitalization and harmonization of COVID-19 tests internationally, access for air crew to vaccination as quickly as possible. Moreover, States should take into consideration aviation’s crucial role in the fight against the pandemic when defining their national policy, including, notably, the transport of vaccines”. 5

For its part, Canada has remained silent on the topic. The ICAO, whose offices are located in Montreal, has called a ministerial conference scheduled for next October to secure governments’ commitment to the full resumption of air transport. As an international freight forwarder, Cargolution supports this initiative considering that air transport capacity has been drastically limited since the beginning of the pandemic which has negatively impacted the whole freight industry including customers. With the low number of passenger flights still in operation, demand for air cargo is exploding, delivery times are longer than usual regardless of destination, and shipping rates have been increased based on the logic of supply and demand. With the adoption of a recovery plan and the implementation of globally harmonized health measures, we continue to hope for a return to normal flight operations as quickly as possible. Fingers crossed!

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