The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) officially launched its “Safe Travels” protocols for hotels and retail today, following a preview it gave a few weeks ago. Cruise and aviation protocols are to come.
According to WTTC, the protocols “have been designed to rebuild confidence among consumers so they can travel safely once the restrictions are lifted.” Another goal of these measures is to provide consistency among destinations and guidance to travel operators and travelers.
“We have learned from the past, especially after the tragedy of 9/11, where the lack of coordination among governments and with the private sector caused long-lasting travel disruption, higher costs and a longer recovery time,” said Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of WTTC. “We are delighted that for the first time ever, the global private sector has aligned around these new Safe Travels protocols which will create consistency across the sector. Now we are calling on governments to adopt them so that they can be implemented globally and restore much-needed confidence in order to restart the travel and tourism sector."
RELATED: 6 Key Safety and Hygiene Protocols From the U.S. Travel Association
For the hospitality industry, key measures include:
- Revisiting guidance for cleaning teams for all areas of the hotel with a specific focus on high-frequency touch points, such as room key cards
- Ensuring social distancing for guests through signage and guidelines including lifts
- Retraining staff in infection control, social distancing and enhanced hygiene measures, including hand washing and the use of masks and gloves
- Removing all extraneous items from the hotel
- Integrating technologies to enable automation, such as introducing contactless payments where possible
- Offering room service using no-contact delivery methods
- Having clear, consistent and enhanced communication with customers on new health and hygiene safety protocols, both digitally and physically at hotels
- Safely reopening of food and beverage outlets and meeting and events spaces with specific actions to ensure social distancing, disinfection and food safety
Retail staff should be instructed to use thermal scanning.
Credit: 2020 Getty ImagesFor retail operations, key measures include:
- Utilizing deep cleaning regimes
- Training staff in new policies, including social distancing, the use of thermal scanning and the wearing of face masks
- Enforcing social distancing through special visual markers
- Minimizing touch points by introducing digital maps, digital queue management, e-menus, virtual personal shopping and roving concierge
- Promoting contactless payments and email receipts wherever possible by providing complimentary Wi-Fi access
- Installing hand sanitizers at shop entrances and exits, as well as at intervals inside premises and in bathrooms
- Providing digital menus in cafes, restaurants and other food outlets
- Paying special attention to seating and queue management in line with social distancing requirements
- Introducing capacity limits in retail car parks to prevent overcrowding
The Details
World Travel & Tourism Council
www.wttc.org
Read more from TravelAge West about the COVID-19 outbreak.
