Mandatory Covid-19 vaccines for travel would ‘kill the sector’

The rollout of vaccines against Covid-19 has intensified debate about whether they should be made mandatory, with the head of a major tourism lobby saying that doing so would cause irreparable harm to the struggling sector. “I don’t think governments will require vaccination next year” for travel, Gloria Guevara, head of the World Travel and Tourism Council, said Thursday. “If they do that they will kill their sector.” Those first in line to get the jabs include the elderly and vulnerable, who “are the last people who will travel,” she said. Instead, rules for virus testing before departure are likely to be bolstered. Alan Joyce, the CEO of Qantas, ignited an industrywide debate last month when he said proof of vaccination would be a condition for travelers entering or leaving Australia on the carrier’s planes. So far, no country has made inoculation compulsory or said it would be required for people crossing borders. The use of digital systems as a way to revive travel has had mixed results so far. The Rome airport started a corridor with some US destinations this month, but another one planned between Singapore and Hong Kong was postponed until next year amid a resurgence in Covid-19 cases. In addition to CommonPass, IATA is working on its own mobile app, the Travel Pass, and is planning a test program with BA parent IAG this year. The AOKpass from travel security firm International SOS is being used on flights between Abu Dhabi and Karachi and Islamabad in Pakistan.<br/>