The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is pushing for an exemption from quarantine for international business travellers on short trips and says it would be “a significant step in the direction towards the wholesale revival of business travel”.
The Council’s comments come after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (EASA/ECDC) issued guidelines that said that quarantine is ineffective in the current stage of the Covid virus when transmission is widespread in communities.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC president & CEO, said: “The revival of international business travel is crucial to kickstarting the global economic recovery, as last year, inbound international business travel across Europe accounted for US$111.3 billion, whilst globally it accounted for more than US$272 billion.
“The EASA/ECDC proposed guidelines to exempt passengers from quarantines for travel of 72 hours or less would be a significant step in the direction towards the wholesale revival of business travel.
“Airlines, hotels and a vast infrastructure of businesses within the global travel & tourism sector, all heavily rely upon business travel.
“The loss of international business travel leaves airlines especially exposed, particularly on highly competitive short-haul and transatlantic routes, which depend upon them for the bulk of their profits."
However, the WTTC said it was aiming to persuade EASA and ECDC to focus on testing at departure, rather than at the point of entry “so as to reduce the possibility of transmission on board aircraft and reduce unnecessary barriers to travel”.
The UK government says it is looking at exempting short-term international business travellers from quarantine.