The European Commission published recommendations on resuming tourism
The document, released on May 13, contains the fundamental principles on which the European Commission plans to resume tourism activities in the EU. First, it is complete safety for tourists and service personnel through phased measures based on recommendations from epidemiologists. Second, uniform conditions for restoring the tourism business for all member states, which are currently in different epidemiological situations.
To ensure these principles, the European Commission approved a package of recommendations based on a joint "roadmap" for exiting the lockdown regime. These include the following:
1. Gradual opening of borders. Lifting restrictions at borders between regions with a similar epidemiological situation.
2. Safety of travel between countries to maximize the safety of tourists and transport workers. This point implies reducing the number of passengers on buses, trains, and ferries, installing partitions, enhancing ventilation, frequent disinfection, etc. Transport operators are also recommended to develop strategies in case a passenger shows symptoms of coronavirus during the journey. It is proposed to sell tickets and conduct check-in only online to avoid unnecessary queues at train stations and airports.
3. Support for travel agencies and carriers through vouchers that will be issued to clients in case of flight or trip cancellation instead of a refund. Such vouchers will guarantee the provision of a service fully equivalent to the one purchased. Those who do not wish to use the voucher can request a refund, but only 12 months after its issuance.
4. Guarantee of medical care. Those EU countries that want to host European tourists this summer must be confident that their medical systems can handle a possible influx of coronavirus patients. This applies both to COVID-19 diagnostics and the number of hospital beds.
As reported by Vinegret.cz, the document also contains recommendations for ensuring epidemiological safety for hotels and restaurants. Its full text in the official EU languages can be viewed on the European Commission website.