Flight Centre boss, Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner has backed a campaign for the immediate restoration of international travel, without waiting for or requiring a COVID-19 vaccination.
Skroo Turner has shown support for The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and major international industry bodies calling for the immediate opening of international borders, using proven processes – such as rapid testing – rather than waiting for a global rollout of the vaccine.
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Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner told the Courier Mail that “With the right protocols, there should be very little risk,” of opening up international borders.
He said “You have gold-standard testing that can give results in 10 minutes now and if people have to wait in hotel quarantine for a day or two before getting cleared by a second test, the risk to the population would be very minimal.
“It should not be necessary for the entire tourism industry to wait for widespread vaccination.”
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) said in a press release that it recognises that public health is paramount and welcomes the recent rollout of the game-changing vaccines, which in the long-term will play a major role in combating coronavirus and restoring international travel.
However, they must not be a requirement to travel as this will further delay the revival of the already ailing Travel & Tourism sector, which needs to restart now to save itself, millions of jobs in the sector and beyond, and the global economy.
The WTTC believes that getting people back to work will also provide enormous health benefits to those around the world, whose livelihoods have been affected by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce had already warned that a vaccine will be compulsory for all passengers choosing to fly internationally with Qantas.
“We will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft … for international visitors coming out and people leaving the country we think that’s a necessity,”
Alan Joyce, Qantas Group CEO
“There are always exemptions for any vaccine on medical grounds, but that should be the only basis.” Said Mr Joyce.