The European Tourism Manifesto alliance has issued a statement demanding some urgent measures to limit the COVID-19 outbreak’s impact on the sector.

The statement read: “The effects of the outbreak are already being felt throughout the global economy. Millions of jobs are currently at stake, while many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) risk closing their business. Support for tourism must be a priority in the crisis response, recovery plans and actions of affected economies.”

The alliance welcomes the immediate response presented by the European Commission on 13 March to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the outbreak. It calls for immediate implementation of these measures, which should be reinforced by additional instruments focused on the tourism sector.

In order to guarantee a full-speed recovery in the aftermath of the crisis, it calls for the simplification of visa rules for long-haul markets, reduction or waiving travellers’ taxes (passenger duties, city taxes, etc.) and support to destinations, by increasing their budgets for promotion, marketing and product development purposes as soon as they are ready to welcome visitors again.