With the EU’s recent announcement that vaccinated Americans may be able to visit all 27 EU countries as soon as this summer, the recent World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 20th Global Summit in Cancun, which took place late last month, was a place for both reflection and optimism, as well as caution.
“In order to restart, we have to walk the walk,” said Harry Throcharis, minister of tourism of Greece. “You cannot restart just by closing your eyes and wishing the problem away. The problem (COVID-19) is still here. We cannot just say ‘open tourism’ — we have to work in order to make tourism work.”
You cannot restart just by closing your eyes and wishing the problem away. The problem (COVID-19) is still here. We cannot just say ‘open tourism’ — we have to work in order to make tourism work.
Throcharis was one of 600 in-person attendees at the event, held April 25-27 at Moon Palace Cancun resort; more than 30,000 attended virtually, watching pre-recorded sessions that aired simultaneously. It marked the first major, live conference since the COVID-19 outbreak;as such, enhanced safety protocols were in place. Although a negative COVID-19 test is not required to enter Mexico, all attendees were required to be tested on arrival. Masks were worn indoors, seating was socially distanced, and dining was outdoors.
Travel Industry Leaders Look for Clarity in Europe’s Reopening
News of the EU reopening was still fresh when the conference began, and most countries were not prepared to announce a date for receiving U.S. travelers again. Greece, however, had already set its plan in motion, stating it would raise the curtain on tourism starting May 14.
“We had a discussion with the prime minister and we agreed, even if the internal landscape is gray, we need to give clarity to the market,” Throcharis said. “When we put a stake in the ground and said we’re opening middle of May, this forced the internal decisions to come together. Everyone had to work toward the date.”
But Throcharis was careful to specify that Greece would not implement different protocols for residents and visitors, as has been the case in Turkey, where foreigners are exempt from the strict lockdown currently in place.
We do not have two countries, one for locals, one for tourists — we believe that long-term, this is what tourists want as well.
“We do not have two countries — one for locals, and one for tourists — we believe that long-term, this is what tourists want as well,” Throcharis said. “The experience means nothing unless it’s the authentic experience that the locals feel, as well. I’m adamant that we need to keep one country and not two sets of rules.”
Several recurring themes emerged, including the importance of clear communication moving forward out of the pandemic.
“World Health Organization identifies a set of activities as high risk, and one of them is still traveling,” said Rita Marques, secretary of state of tourism for Portugal. “The health authorities are in the pilot’s seat. We have to have a clear message from the WHO saying [that] traveling does not bring any extra risk, as long as you comply with the rules.”
“We haven’t gotten that message yet,” she added. “We know the future is going to be bright; we just don’t know when it’s going to happen.”
Fernando Valdes Verelst, secretary of state of tourism of Spain, said that with the arrival of the vaccines in February, it became apparent that there were countries [in Europe] where tourism was not as important. But the EU’s tourism-dependent countries — Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy, for example — realized they needed to push forward on travel mobility.
The best thing that governments right now can provide to travelers is certainty.
“It’s a completely different scheme than last summer,” Verelst said. “The best thing that governments right now can provide to travelers is certainty. Give [them] the proper information and the security that they can travel, and they can come back knowing what they can expect. We are going to give these travelers certainty.”
Spain, Verelst added, will be ready for travelers in June.
One travel company that is helping to provide a better understanding of the landscape is IC Bellagio, a destination management company specializing in Italy. Andrea Grisdale, CEO and founder of the company, says her business, normally about 8,000 passengers annually, was down 95% in 2020. But she and her colleagues have spent the pandemic doing as much travel as possible throughout Italy.
“We’ve made such a big effort to be out there — staying in hotels, going to restaurants, going to places like the Vatican that our guests would be visiting — to show you exactly what the experience is, to set expectations,” Grisdale said. “We’ve had so much feedback from people who followed us on social media or in the virtual presentations we’ve been doing, [thanking us] for showing exactly what to expect when [they] actually get to Italy.”
Grisdale added: “We have to educate, we have to communicate. But above all, we have to make it easy, and we need streamlined protocols.”
The U.K. Is Working Closely with EU Officials to Resume Travel
Though the harmonization of protocols between European countries has been seemingly impossible to achieve and highly criticized, Nigel Huddleston , minister of tourism of the U.K. said most governments across Europe have acted quickly to try and reassure businesses and industries, as well as dealing with health issues.
“There’s a lot of empathy among government ministers,” Huddleston said. “We do all recognize that we’re dealing with a fast-moving situation. We shouldn’t confuse clarity of communication with speed of decision making. Sometimes things change really quickly, and we recognize that’s incredibly inconvenient, to both the public and businesses, but we have to deal with the world as it is.”
Huddleston also noted that one of the myths of Brexit is that the U.K. and EU are no longer on speaking terms.
“We have left the EU, but we still work incredibly closely with our European partners, so that we can enable travel,” Huddleston said.
Cruise Lines Return to Europe Despite Complications
Cruise lines visiting multiple countries are one example of how coordination between governments is essential for restarting that particular travel sector. Silversea Cruises, which typically visits more than 100 countries a year, is pinning its summer return on just a few European countries, starting with Greece. Roberto Martinoli, president and CEO of Silversea, stressed the importance of cooperation between operators and legislators.
“The problem is that things change from one country to another, even if they are close to each other,” Martinoli said. “It’s not a homogeneous situation; it’s very challenging. We need to be acting with a lot of agility because many things are happening quickly.”
“Cruising for us is an essential,” added Throcharis, who called the resumption of cruises in Greece “a particularly complex endeavor.” Though implementing port protocols throughout the pandemic has been challenging, Greece still assisted cruise lines throughout the crisis last year.
“We allowed them to refuel, to replenish their supplies. We built those bridges, those trust relationships. We’re very grateful for that,” he said.
Overtourism Concerns Still Linger for Popular Destinations
Another theme at the Global Summit was a carryover from the 2019 WTTC summit: overtourism. The consensus that emerged from multiple speakers this year was that the pandemic presented a silver lining, as it allowed popular destinations to reassess their objectives.
“The pandemic has been horrible from a human perspective, but it brought about something important,” said Marian Muri, director general of Turisme de Barcelona. “We’ve had a year to reflect, to think, to analyze and reset our priorities as a city.”
Muri said that Barcelona is initiating new strategic guidelines, starting with content, with a goal to decentralize, deseasonalize and diversify its tourism offering. The city is also investing in creating digital tools to guide visitors, suggesting alternatives to busy attractions.
“This will accomplish two things,” Muri said. “This will give a better experience for visitors, and a better quality of life for residents — we kill two birds with one stone.”
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