MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. The Russian Association of Tour Operators has turned to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and to the tourism bodies of a number of European and Asian countries with proposals for the recovery of international tourism, as well as drafting common standards for trips, the association’s press service announced on Wednesday.
"A delay with the issue will only deepen the crisis in the global tourism sector," which is why it is necessary "to start the recovery of mutual trips," without waiting for the pandemic to end, according to the association. To allow this, it suggests developing a unified set of rules for the entry of non-vaccinated tourists and those who have had the coronavirus. The issue is about "introducing and mutually acknowledging Safe Travel standards."
"We believe that vaccinated people should be able to move around the world, travel and have vacations without restrictions as was the case before the spread of the coronavirus. The quarantine requirements and other restrictive measures that are still valid in many countries for foreign citizens should not apply to them. The permission to freely move around the world for vaccinated citizens may also become one of the most important steps for restarting international tourism," the association said.
The Russian Association of Tour Operators has sent a similar proposal to tourist associations of Spain, Italy, Britain, China, Japan, as well as other European and Asian-Pacific countries asking for support of the initiative.