The Global Tourism Crisis Committee has met for the last time in 2020, to continue advancing coordination and cooperation among all parts of the sector. The virtual meeting of the Committee, established by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) at the start of the pandemic, was hosted by Portugal ahead of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, beginning in January. It was accompanied by in-person meetings of the highest political level between the UNWTO leadership, Prime Minister António Costa.
This seventh meeting was focused on ensuring efforts to restart tourism are coordinated and harmonized in terms of cross border travel both pre and post-vaccine. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili called for more explicit affirmation from governments and international organizations that safe travel is possible and so tourism can restart responsibly. The meeting began with a message of support from the very highest level of the European Institutions. Margaritis Schinas Vice President of the European Commission, applauded the coordinated approach to addressing the key challenges facing tourism’s restart while stressing the importance of the sector to Europe’s economies and the steps already taken to support businesses and jobs, including through unprecedented levels of financial assistance.
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