By staying home today, we can travel tomorrow”.The hashtag #TravelTomorrow encapsulates this message of solidarity and hope, through whichthe World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) calls for shared responsibility among travellers and the tourism sector around the world to deal with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Discovering different cultures, practicing solidarity and respect, caring for the environment, continuing to learn, fostering decent work, development and sustainability, generating new opportunities for all. These are the core values of tourism advocated by the World Tourism Organization and which constitute the main pillars of the #TravelTomorrow campaign.
#TravelTomorrow has become the common thread that runs through the World Tourism Organization’s response to thecurrent crisis, highlighting the enduring values of tourism.
This online campaign has had a massive impact on social networks and is being embraced by a growing number of countries, destinations and companies linked to tourism, cities, media outlets and individuals from all over the world. Countries such as Germany, Morocco, Mongolia, Oman and Uruguay, as well as cities such as Bogotá or Vienna, have already endorsed the hashtag #TravelTomorrow, thus amplifying the voice of tourism, which is united in the face of this unprecedented global challenge.
A digital resource platform has been created to provide different options for any individual, business or institutional user to join this initiative, offering elements such as images for social media profiles, electronic signatures, as well as relevant audio-visual content on tourism and COVID-19, all available here.
“Historically, tourism has proven itself as a key driver of international recovery, and as early as now, we must begin to prepare in order to build the foundations of the future resilience of tourism,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.
Crisis Committee
The Global Tourism Crisis Committee, chaired by the UNWTO, has also supported this initiative within the framework of the recommendations it has developed to address this crisis. “Our response must be fast, coherent and united so that we can all travel again soon and do so in a safer, more sustainable and more respectful way, learning from the lessons of the current crisis,” concluded Pololikashivili.
Among the recommendations promoted by the Committee is the need for financial and political support for recovery measures aimed at the tourism sector, in coordination with international development organizations, in order to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on employment, protect the most vulnerable segments of society and accelerate recovery.
At the same time, it is important for policies and actions to ensure the promotion of sustainable development, in line with the mandate of the UNWTO, especially at the beginning of the Decade of Action—ten years to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals deriving from the 2030 Agenda.
