Tourism Industry News: Covid-19 Safety Seal in Europe

Finally, good news arrived for professionals in the Tourism Industry: The European Committee for Standardization has developed a voluntary Covid-19 safety seal for European tourism establishments. In Summer 2021, hotels, zoos, vacation homes and other types of tourist establishments will be able to officially prove that their businesses are safe against the Covid-19 virus. How? We explain everything about it.

What is the Covid-19 Safety Seal?

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) together with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) came up with a method to reopen and re-launch tourism in Europe.

As we well know, the tourism industry has suffered a great fall, many professionals have lost their jobs, and many others have had to reinvent themselves to keep their businesses afloat. In addition, according to UNWTO (2021) between 100 and 120 million jobs are at risk due to Coronavirus. However, the European authorities are looking for ways to re-launch the industry. For this reason, the European Commission took the initiative to create a Covid-19 Safety Seal. The purpose of this agreement is to bring confidence to travellers, citizens and support professionals affected by the Coronavirus in the travel industry. And the result is a sanitary label that will be provided to establishments that take certain security measures against Coronavirus.

How is the Security Agreement made? The Safety Seal Agreement consists of two parts:

• First, the ISO PAS 5643 “Measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in the tourism industry” endorsed by the CEN which includes recommendations for different types of companies and locations. This document was prepared by industry experts from several countries.
• Second, the CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) “Guidelines and requirements to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the tourism industry”. This document offers straight guidelines to tourist establishments to be eligible for the COVID-19 Safety Seal.

This agreement was brought out on the 19th of May and was made public in a press release. In the press release, European Commissioner Thierry Breton assured that this measure will help tourist businesses to face the summer season. He also recommended relying on European aid and funding options to meet the requirements to obtain the Covid-19 Safety Seal.

Of course, having the Safety Seal will not automatically bring you a fully booked calendar. We have written an article about how to prepare your summer rentals for the high season so you get the maximum amount of bookings and improve your revenue.

How can the Covid-19 Safety Seal affect my Holiday Rental Business?

Below you can find the subsectors affected by the CEN workshop agreement (CWA):

• Night Leisure
• Scuba Diving
• Ski Areas
• Theme And Leisure Parks
• Tourist Transport
• Tourist Guides
• Tourist Visits
• Tourist Information Offices
• Travel Agencies
• Unique Public Spaces

 As you can see, the accommodation industry is directly affected by the official recommendations for the tourism industry. As a Vacation Rental owner or manager, you might already know the importance of offering a safe Covid-friendly experience.

At the moment, the main factor that stops travellers is insecurity due to the Coronavirus. Besides, the restrictions imposed by local authorities such as mandatory quarantines or tests also play an important role. But, if we take into account the speed at which the population is being vaccinated, we can expect that by the Summer of 2021 travel difficulties will have been lowered. Moreover, if we add a guarantee against Covid-19 like the Safety Seal, the chances of having more reservations and satisfied guests are very high.

Counting on an official Sanitary label to tell your guests that your property is Covid-friendly will improve your competitive advantage. Further, guests will rather travel to a place where they know for sure that there are no chances to get sick from Coronavirus.

Something that can get tricky might be how to get the covid safety seal. In this case, you might want to research how to receive European Aid if your business cannot afford the changes proposed by the commission.

Summary

In a moment when travelling is starting to come alive again, European authorities are doing their best to boost the tourism industry during this upcoming summer of 2021. The way to boost the recovery has come in the shape of a Covid-19 Stamp for businesses. Government aid will be available for companies to obtain the Label. Nevertheless, if your business was seriously affected by the pandemic, this resource can help to attract clients back to your holiday home business.

At Your.Rentals we help Rental Business professionals to manage multiple property listings in many different Rental Sites. With the bookings increasing significantly, using a Property Management Software will save you time and money. Find out more about PMS and how to benefit from it here.

More articles