Trade & investment

ICC roadmap for resuming international travel safely and quickly

  • 6 October 2020

ICC roadmap for resuming international travel safely and quickly

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In an open letter to G20 tourism ministers, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO has said Covid-free travel can be achieved through a balance of right policy settings, technological tools and industry buy-in.

The immediate reaction—closing borders, zoning, testing on arrival, quarantine—was successful in slowing the spread of the virus. But as the economic toll grows and our medical tools improve, we now must shift to a plan that appropriately balances the need to protect our health and reopen the global economy. Public health authorities, including the WHO and ECDC, recognise that border restrictions do not make sense where there is community spread of the virus within a country.

Until a vaccine is developed and deployed, the simplest and safest path to restore international travel—and a safe and open global economy—is through the development of a G20-wide pre-departure testing system that would only allow non-infectious people to travel. The precipitous drop in demand for international trade will only rebound once travellers can be assured that flights are infection free.