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ASCAME welcomes initiative to restart travel and tourism across Europe

ASCAME, the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry, issued a statement in which it welcomes the new and major European Union initiative to restart travel and tourism across Europe, especially in the 2020 summer holiday season but also for the coming years.

The European Commission’s Tourism & Transport Package has been designed to ensure a coordinated approach at a European level in order to ease restrictive measures and restore mobility. It is expected that this new EC measure consists of a phased restart of travel across Europe this summer, while ensuring the safety and health of travellers and those who work in the Travel & Tourism sector.

ASCAME praises that the EC has recognized the strategic importance of the Travel & Tourism sector, not only for survival of European economies, but also to boost jobs. Such initiative acknowledges the sector is in a critical situation, which needs a long-term pathway to recovery. Strong coordination and cooperation across Europe and also with the Mediterranean region will avoid unilateral and fragmented measures, which would only lead to confusion and disruption for travellers and businesses alike.

Some research shows that at least 6.4 mio jobs are impacted across the EU and, in order to save them and protect the livelihoods of millions of people, we must learn from the past and ensure a coordinated approach between the public and private sector, ASCAME says, noting it looks forward to continuing to work with the public sector to create a more sustainable and innovative Tourism sector, which needs a wide range of new worldwide measures to restart and projects designed to restore confidence to consumers, so that they can travel safely once the restrictions are lifted.

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