Popular holiday hotspots Tunisia and Ras Al Khaimah are among the latest destinations to sign up to the world’s first ever global safety and hygiene stamp, launched recently by the World Travel & Tourism Council, while St Petersburg and Benidorm also sign up to the world’s first ever global safety and hygiene stamp.

The growing list of endorsements have come from many major holiday and city destinations around the world, such as Kenya, St. Petersburg, and the ever-popular Spanish resort of Benidorm, among many others.

WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, designed the Safe Travels stamp to enable travellers to identify destinations and businesses around the world which adopted its health and hygiene global standardised protocols.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has welcomed the WTTC Safe Travels stamp, which place the safety and hygiene of travellers as top priority.

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Our Safe Travels stamp is proving a great success and we are delighted to see many more major countries and destinations receive the stamp. Top holiday destinations like Tunisia, and popular cities such as St Petersburg, have joined the growing list of global destinations adopting our private sector protocols.

“The early success of the WTTC Safe Travel stamp demonstrates its importance not only to countries, destinations and businesses, but also to travellers and the 330 million people around the world who work in and depend on, the Travel & Tourism sector.

“The stamp is critical to re-establish consumer confidence in Travel & Tourism and ensure travellers can rest assured that enhanced standards of hygiene are in place and they can once again experience ‘Safe Travels’.”

Since the launch of the WTTC Safe Travels stamp, destination countries, cities, and hotspots around the world such as Turkey, Egypt, Mauritius, Panama and Portugal have now adopted WTTC’s new protocols.

Sergey Korneev, Tourism Development of Saint Petersburg, Chairman of the Committee said: “A fast and effective recovery of the Travel & Tourism industry will require a coordinated approach. The northern capital is the first Russian city to adopt the protocols recognised through the WTTC Safe Travels stamp, and our main priorities as a major tourist centre, is ensuring safety and reducing risk factors during the journey.

“We are confident that the Safe Travels stamp will serve as a signal of trust and confidence and will be an opportunity for the city to attract many more visitors."

Raki Phillips, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority CEO said: "The Safe Travel Protocols and the Global Safety Stamp are demonstrative of WTTC’s efforts to revitalise the travel and tourism industry during the wake of COVID-19, and in the years to follow.

“With all these measures in place, we are witnessing an uptick in domestic travel and preparations are well underway to welcome international markets as travel corridors open up. WTTC has been instrumental in this process by providing consistency in global protocols and rebuilding trust and confidence in the travel experience."

Dr. Emad Hijazeen, Jordanian Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities Secretary General, said: “We appreciate and support the WTTC initiative of making travel and tourism a safe activity.

“Protecting the health of Jordanians and our visitors is a top priority for the Government of Jordan.”

As part of its Safe Travels protocols, these worldwide measures provide consistency and guidance to travel providers and travellers about the new approach to health, hygiene, deep cleansing and physical distancing, in the ‘new normal’ of COVID-19 world.

The protocols were devised following the experience of WTTC members dealing with COVID19 and based on guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019, Travel & Tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs (330 million total), making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs.