Destinations with better Environmental Performance Index (EPI), higher health and hygiene standards, and a greater reliance on tourism tended to lift travel restrictions earlier, allowing a faster recovery of the sector, a report said.
Conversely, emerging economies and SIDS (Small Island Development States) often imposed full border closures more quickly, maintained them for longer and introduced additional requirements for travelers, according to the UNWTO report titled “The end of Covid-19 travel restrictions: Summary of findings from the Covid-19 related travel restrictions reports”.
The decision by the World Health Organization (WHO) to determine that Covid-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern represents a major milestone in the global effort to combat the virus. In this context, UNWTO has released its analysis of both the introduction and lifting of travel restrictions during all stages of the pandemic´s emergency phase.
The report highlights key findings of the 11 reports published by the United Nations Specialized Agency for tourism on the issue.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, these reports provided the global tourism sector with timely guidance and assessments on travel restrictions, and examined factors influencing those restrictions, such as tourism’s economic importance, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and a specific Health and Hygiene Indicator (H&H), as well as grouping destinations according to economic blocs. This allowed for a deeper analysis of the relationship between travel restrictions and sustainability issues.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “We welcome WHO’s decision to end the emergency status for Covid- 19. This is an important signal and a moment to stand back and reflect on how we can overcome challenges only in a collaborative manner. We must ensure that we learn the lessons from this phase of the pandemic, including the ones on travel restrictions. This new UNWTO report will help in this endeavour and be another milestone in UNWTO’s actions that guided the sector through these unprecedented times.”
The new report provides an overview on the evolution of travel restrictions, which peaked in May 2020 when 75 per cent of all destinations worldwide had their borders completely closed, bringing international tourism almost to a standstill. With the better understanding on the virus, a more risk-based approach became possible and allowed destinations to replace complete border closure with softer measures, such as testing and vaccination requirements for tourists.
The report highlights the current situation with nearly all destinations having lifted Covid-19 related travel restrictions. However, as of March 22, 2023, 18 destinations still required vaccination as a condition for entry, which is not consistent with International Health Regulation provisions or current temporary WHO recommendations.
