He called on the countries of the region to follow the example of the UAE to accelerate the recovery of the tourism and travel sectors
IATA: Continuous growth of the aviation and travel sector in the UAE during the coming period
The UAE has launched a set of measures to ensure the health and safety of all travelers.
archival
Kamel Al-Awadi: "Opening visas for those receiving the vaccine confirms the state's flexibility in dealing with crises and finding alternative solutions."
picture
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that the aviation and travel sector in the UAE will witness continuous growth during the coming period, especially during the last quarter of this year, which witnesses many international events and events, which attract large numbers of visitors at the international level, most notably Expo 2020 Dubai and the Dubai Air Show continue to ease international restrictions on travel and tourism, and reopen many destinations.
International visitors
Kamel Al-Awadi, IATA's regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East, confirmed to "Emirates Today" that there are expectations that the UAE will receive millions of visitors during the Expo 2020 Dubai, pointing out that according to previous studies conducted by many companies. The exhibition is expected to witness a large international presence, due to several factors, including hosting it for the first time in the Middle East, and the advanced infrastructure of the city of Dubai, as well as developing a distinguished gradual approach to reopening the borders of the emirate to international visitors, as it was one of the first countries in this field.
Al-Awadi stated that the UAE was one of the first countries in the region to respond quickly to the repercussions of the “Covid-19” pandemic, by launching a set of measures to ensure the health and safety of all travelers, especially since the country’s airports are the busiest in the world.
State flexibility
Al-Awadi added that the UAE's decision to open visas for all recipients of the anti-Coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine confirms the country's flexibility in dealing with various crises, and finding alternative solutions that primarily guarantee the health and safety of its visitors and residents.
He stressed that the decision accelerates the pace of recovery in the tourism and travel sectors, calling on the rest of the region to follow this policy, similar to the UAE, to accelerate the recovery of the tourism and travel sectors in the countries of the region, as they are among the main pillars of the economies of the countries in the region in general.
Al-Awadi pointed out that Abu Dhabi's decision to cancel the quarantine, after more than a year and a half of its implementation, will necessarily contribute to a tangible recovery in the tourism and travel sectors, which will reflect on the number of travelers to Abu Dhabi during the coming period, and on the residents of the emirate wishing to take a vacation outside the country, both.
IATA document
Al-Awadi said that Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways are among the first airlines in the world to test the application of the IATA electronic document for the traveler.
He explained that the document allows travelers to create a "digital passport", which allows them, before traveling, to verify that the standards of "Corona" examinations or the vaccine they obtained comply with the requirements of the travel destination, as well as sharing approved examination or vaccine certificates with government agencies and airlines, to provide an experience Easier to travel.
He stressed that the application provides the ease of managing all digital documents related to travel smoothly and flexibly, and also provides access to all information and travel requirements imposed by all destinations accurately, regardless of the point of departure, and also includes a guide to Corona examination centers and approved vaccination centers.
"Contactless Travel"
Al-Awadi stated that with the spread of digital health applications, the IATA travel document is unique, as it is a developed application from the inputs of the sector, which can be integrated into the applications of airlines, based on open standards, so that the standards, network or dealers are not owned by the standards, network or dealers. , to either party, through decentralized technology.
He stressed that the IATA travel document remains an important enabling factor in “contactless travel”, even when the need to verify “Covid-19” information eventually disappears, and the epidemic recedes, as the document allows the possibility of completing contactless travel procedures comfortably starting From the check-in procedure to boarding the plane.
Government cooperation
The regional vice president of IATA for Africa and the Middle East stressed that the recovery of international travel needs the cooperation of governments to restore freedom of travel, including opening borders, lifting travel restrictions, and setting clear time plans to restart the sector.
He called for exempting travelers who have received the vaccine, or a negative PCR test result, from the restrictions imposed, as an initial step, which helps accelerate the resumption of global flights, and the recovery of the travel and tourism sectors.
Al-Awadi also called on governments to make data-driven decisions to manage the risks of "Covid-19", with regard to opening borders, and not based on fear.
He said that among the factors that negatively affect recovery and travel demand: the high cost of PCR tests, quarantine, and waiting times at airports in some countries, due to paperwork.
• “International Air Transport” calls on governments to take decisions based on “data” and not “fear” in managing “Covid-19”.
rebound in july
Kamel Al-Awadi, Regional Vice President of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for Africa and the Middle East, confirmed that the data issued showed that passenger traffic recorded a recovery at the global level, during July 2021, compared to the previous months.
He added that these results reflect the world's desire to travel again during the summer, pointing out that the demand is still much lower than the levels in 2019 or before "Corona", as the demand in July amounted to 26.4% of the levels of the same month in 2019.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news