- The New Safer Tourism Seal program by the World Tourism Network was relaunched on July 1. Program was stopped in January to study the COVID-19 threat to the travel and tourism industry.
- The green, blue, and red Safer Tourism Seal reflects vaccination rates, test requirements and case rates. It has all the simple tools to become a new standard for international measurement. It’s designed to bring business back and gain the confidence of the traveler, the destination and workers.
- The Safer Tourism Seal for destinations and stakeholders is now inclusively available to members of the World Tourism Network, the organization behind rebuilding travel, facilitating the first global discussion on COVID-19 with travel and tourism industry stakeholders and destinations.
Travel safety and security depend on both the provider and the receiver, and it takes leadership. Recognizing this fact, Rebuilding Travel is the first global discussion about the threat of COVID-19.
It was established by eTurboNews, Safer Tourism, PATA, the African Tourism Board, and the Nepal Tourism Board on the sideline of a canceled ITB Trade show in Berlin on March 8, 2020. ITB never took place, but the rebuilding travel breakfast was the start of more than 200+ zoom discussions with stakeholders around the globe.
Dr. Peter Tarlow or Safer Tourism warned about the emerging COVID-19 Crisis at the Safer Travel launch event in a video message recorded in February 2020.
In December of 2020, Rebuilding.travel created the Word Tourism Network (WTN), a networking organization with close to 1,500 members of the travel and tourism industry in 127 countries.
WTN created the Safer Tourism Seal for destination and travel and tourism industry stakeholders in July of 2020. The Jamaica Tourism Board was the first destination awarded the seal on July 9, 2020, followed by the Kenya Tourism Board.
When WTTC announced more than a hundred destinations received that organization’s safer tourism stamp, the World Tourism Network decided after it was formed to put the Safer Tourism Seal on hold quietly to allow a more clear understanding of COVID-19 and the threat to visitors and the tourism industry.
With the introduction of the vaccination program, and record tourism emerging in major markets including Hawaii, the World Tourism Network decided to relaunch the Safer Tourism Seal again on July 1, 2021, one year after it was originally created.
Chairman and WTN founder Juergen Steinmetz said: “It is important for us to create a program that can truly gain the confidence for the traveler, the destinations, stakeholders, and those employed in this global sector.
“We don’t have the recourses to get into detailed assessments. I think the WTTC Stamp did a great job in integrating detailed data and had stamp holders check off their policy items for their destination or company, so they could receive the WTTC endorsement. We took Hawaii’s Safe Travel program as a model, and our message is simple. Vaccination, tests, and the spread of the virus are the numbers we can easily measure before awarding our Safer Tourism Seal.
” WTTC stamp and the WTN seal are complimenting each other. Ideally, every company qualified to get our seal first should apply for the WTTC stamp second. Every destination or company carrying the WTTC stamp may want to apply for our seal next. WTTC message is based on details of the business or destination, we are focusing simply on the current state and results.
“It would ensure the basic requirements of operating in a currently safe destination is met, before working on the details and small print.
“We have to be confident that anyone receiving our seal should be able to grow tourism from this point on. You can have all the details of a hotel operation in place, but when your destination is not yet safe, all of this doesn’t matter much.
“With daily tourism arrivals to Hawaii, that are higher compared to top days in 2019, even though without international travel, Hawaii has been seen as a model of success. The Hawaii model kept everyone in the State and visitors safe.
“We feel comfortable leaning on this success story in Hawaii and having the key points of the Hawaii model integrated into our requirements for the Safer Tourism Seal makes a lot of sense. “
The Safer Tourism Seal (STS) builds on established certifications through evaluations and endorsements. The seal provides additional assurances when traveling during these uncertain times. STS helps destinations and their stakeholders through a standardized multi-point checklist of the current situation in your place of business.
The Safer Tourism Seal is exclusively available to members of the World Tourism Network. The Safer Tourism Pass for travelers, the Heroes Award is also available to anyone.
Different from other Seal or Stamp endorsements, the World Tourism Network Safer Tourism Seal has a simple requirement based on vaccination rates, test requirements, mask-wearing, social distancing rules, and COVID infection numbers combined with a self-assessment from those applying for the Safer Tourism Seal.
WTN offers three seals:
The GREEN Safer Tourism Seal
available to destinations and stakeholders. It is strictly based on your own assessment and on FOUR of the following minimum requirements for your destination
1) 25% vaccination rate of your population
2) Negative COVID-19 test or vaccination required for arrival visitors
3) Your 7-day case rate per 100,000 population needs to be less than 9 on average a day.
4) Mask wearing
5) Social distancing.
The BLUE Safer Tourism Seal
The evaluation is based on your own assessment and on ONE of the following 2 scenarios:
1) Your destination has to have a 50+% vaccination rate of your population AND your visitors have to show full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test before arrival in your country, state, or region AND your 7- day case rate per 100,000 population less than 7 daily; mask-wearing inside and social distancing
2) OR Your destination has to have a 60+% vaccination rate AND your 7- day case rate per 100,000 population needs to be less than 5 on average daily
3) Social Distancing
The RED Safer Tourism Seal
evaluated & endorsed:
Based on your own assessment endorsed by WTN safety experts and WTN members and both of the following:
1) Your destination has to have a 70+% vaccination rate of your population
2) 7- day case rate per 100,000 population less than 3 daily
The WTN expert team can adjust requirements based on independent data and evaluations.
For more information on the Safer Tourism Seal, and to apply go to www.safertourismseal.com
