The Ministry of Health (SS) and the General Health Council (CSG) are the only authorities empowered to issue protocols or guidelines for general compliance with respect to Covid-19; thus, the ‘Safe Travels’ seal issued by WTTC and other groups are only opinions based on little or no safety verification.
As PVDN has been reporting, the Safe Travel stamps being issued by WTTC has limited requirements for acceptance. To be issued the stamp of approval by the organization, a destination only needs to confirm they have a protocol for the tourism industry facing COVID-19, and the local Travel Secretary needs to provide a testimonial supporting the organization. There is no process to ensure protocols are being followed in the destination and there is no medical staff to determine the effectiveness of protocols.
In a joint press release, the Secretaries of Tourism and Health explained that they have established the necessary protocols in accordance with the “level of epidemic risk generated by the weekly evaluation traffic light.”
Hours after both agencies made this position known, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said, through a press release, that the purpose of its Secure Travel Seal is to revitalize tourism, severely damaged. because of the pandemic.
The WTTC stamp should not be used to determine a destination is safe, the stamp is misleading at best, and fraudulent in a worst-case scenario.
Last week, Periódico Viaje announced that Ignacio Cabrera, director of Tourism Diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry, considered that the coexistence of protocols, seals and certifications were causing confusion.
