The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has launched a new campaign in response to the Covid-19 pandemic: #TravelTomorrow. The phrase will become the common thread that runs through the response to the current crisis, highlighting the enduring values of tourism.
Discovering different cultures, practicing solidarity and respect, caring for the environment, continuing to learn, fostering decent work, development and sustainability and generating new opportunities for all. These are the core values of tourism advocated by the WTO and thus constitute the main pillars of the #TravelTomorrow campaign.
The hashtag encapsulates this message of solidarity and hope, through which the WTO calls for shared responsibility among travellers and the tourism sector around the world to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
This online campaign has had an 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 Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary General.
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,” added Zurab.
Among the recommendations promoted by the committee is the need for financial and political support for recovery measures aimed at the tourism sector, in co-ordination with international development organisations, in order to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on employment, protect the most vulnerable segments of society, and accelerate recovery.
