Interview with Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization

Published: May 18, 2021

Cited by: RIA Novosti, Urdu Point

UNWTO Predicts Tourism Sector to Need Up to 4 Years to Recover From COVID-19

MOSCOW, May 18 (Sputnik), Jonathan Rowson – Experts at the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) are predicting that the global tourism sector will need up to four years to recover from the financial damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered the worst crisis in the history of the industry, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili told Sputnik in an interview.

The rapid spread of COVID-19 across the globe in spring 2020 prompted governments in all corners of the world to impose stringent restrictions on tourist travel.

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COVID-19 Vaccination Certificates Not Enough to Restart International Tourism – UNWTO Head

MOSCOW, May 18 (Sputnik), Jonathan Rowson – The widespread use of COVID-19 vaccination certificates, sometimes termed vaccine passports, will not be enough to successfully restart international tourism amid the pandemic, as other tools, such as digital health passes and effective testing, will be required, Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), told Sputnik in an interview.

“The rollout of vaccines is going at different paces in different places. Vaccinations are just one part of the solution to the restart of tourism. UNWTO works for a tourism that is inclusive and non-discriminatory in every way. Therefore, vaccination status should not be the sole criteria for allowing tourists to enter a destination,” Pololikashvili stated.