May 14, 2020

European Commission Adopts A Package Of Guidance And Recommendations To Coordinate A Safe Return To Travel And Tourism This Summer

Extract from yesterday’s speech (13/5) by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager on the Tourism and Transport Package.

“The European Commission has adopted a package of guidance and recommendations, to coordinate a safe return to travel and tourism this summer. This package is built on the Joint European Roadmap towards lifting containment. It’s about coordinating, not replacing, the work that’s being done by businesses and by national and local governments in Europe.”

The essence:

  • Reopening borders
  • Possibility to travel between European countries
  • Travellers and workers need to know that the places that tourists visit are safe
  • EU consumers have a right to a cash refund, if that’s what they want. But many companies will come under pressure and this liquidity crunch would be less severe if customers accepted vouchers, instead of cash refunds. “So today, we adopted a recommendation on how to make these vouchers more attractive.”