Safe Travels Protocols (UNWTO, WTTC) – New Sanitary and Health Security Rules after COVID-19
Safe Travels Protocols in the Dominican Republic
COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be an unprecedented challenge for tourism industry all over the world. When your company is focused on working directly with tourists, this new unexpected reality does not give you many alternatives: you either quit or adapt to new norms of living.
Our company has been working with tourists, property owners and co-owners in the Dominican Republic for more than 5 years by now, and this COVID-19 pandemic challenged us to become as strong as never before.
The COVID-19 pandemic clearly showed that the economies of lots of countries are very dependent on the tourism industry. A few months, during which the sightseeing life of travelers around the world practically stopped, caused great harm to all market participants. That is why today, ordinary citizens and businesses of many countries require their governments to return to normal life, which in this case means opening borders, restoring flights, launching tourist facilities, and the like.
When the Dominican government suspended all tourist activities in the country in March 2020, we had to take a deep breath and wait until we had a chance to reopen our business in a new way on July 1st. What have we done during the three months of emergency?
We checked and read thoroughly new sanitary and health security protocols issued by WTTC, the Dominican Government, and INTRANT – National Institute of Transport. We realized that we had a chance of saving our business only if we followed these protocols, as well as elaborated and implemented our own protocol. And here we are – you can see them all attached and described below.
Safe Travels Protocols hierarchy in the Dominican Republic
| Level | Organization | Protocol | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Worldwide | UNWTO | Global Guidelines to Restart Tourism and Priorities for Tourism Recovery | The first set of global recommendations to support jobs and economies through tourism. More information → |
| 2. | Worldwide | WTTC | Leading global protocols for the new normal hospitality | Global Guidelines for tourism worldwide. Base for government guidelines. More information → |
| 3. | Government | Ministry of Tourism | Protocolo general de actividades turísticas | Government Guidelines for tourism in the Dominican Republic. Base for local guidelines. More information → |
| 4. | Local Organizations | INTRANT | Protocolo de distribucion de los pasajeros en unidades de Transporte Turístico | Guidelines from National Institute of Transport (INTRANT) in the Dominican Republic. Base for local guidelines. More information → |
| 5. | Local Business | Everything Punta Cana LLC | COVID-19 Safety Protocol from Everything Punta Cana LLC | Our own Protocol based on global and Government guidelines above. |
Pay attention to these key documents if you are running business in the Dominican Republic and have to adapt to the new norms of living. You also have to develop your own health security protocol and make sure your staff is trained and ready to provide a secure and joyful experience to clients.
Brief WTTC and UNWTO Safe Protocols Analysis
A few words about the protocols from WTTC and UNWTO that were analyzed to create our own Safe Protocol.
At the end of May 2020, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) issued a document with global recommendations for restarting tourism, which can be applied in our companies of Everything Punta Cana, Complete Hospitality Management and the Dominican Republic as well. In order for us to minimize losses and restore the Dominican tourism after the coronavirus crisis, all market participants have to adhere to the new requirements of the time, creating safe conditions at every stage of travel.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), together with health professionals, has developed a special Safe Travels Protocol, a label on compliance with which is given to countries and cities that have introduced new requirements to ensure the safety of tourists after the coronavirus pandemic. The protocols are designed for hotels, restaurants, airlines, train stations and airports and other agencies and organizations from the tourism industry. They provide new rules for the disinfection of premises, the introduction of contactless technologies and social distance of clients and guests.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Prevention (CDC), has developed a series of protocols for the entire industry, understanding that “the new face of the tourism industry will require strict hygiene and sanitation rules for the premises.”
The World Council’s attempt is to standardize the criteria and provide medical advice to suppliers, operators and tourists from all over the world so that they can travel safely after the critical phase of COVID-19.
Our company always focuses on its guests! Therefore, this pandemic has become a real challenge. We always keep our finger on the pulse and follow the official recommendations of WHO, WTTC, the Dominican Government, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Tourism. We continue to work in a limited mode and comply with all recommendations, because we provide properties for people who weren’t able to leave the Dominican Republic because of the pandemic and closed borders. After the protocols from WTTC and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention appeared, we immediately examined and applied them! Also based on them we have created our own protocol, which you can find above.
How to create our own Safe Protocol in Tourism industry
What have we done in all our hospitality companies to deliver a safe experience to our clients and create a safe environment for our staff?
The below suggested rules for hospitality were compiled based on input from leading hospitality companies either directly or from their public announcements around the safe, healthy and responsible reopening of hotels to the public. The rules also take into account WTTC, World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, El Centro de Control y Prevención de Enfermedades) guidelines. The objective is to ensure that rules are in place across all relevant functions with an increased focus on health, safety and social distancing guidance which travellers will need and expect.
We have studied and synthesized the official protocols and created and implemented our own one based on the key requirements from the main protocols for Dominican tourism, hospitality and transport sectors. We have implemented our own protocol and follow it daily, gaining a unique experience of work in emergency and post-emergency environment. For example, our protocol establishes:
- Compulsory use of facemasks, hand disinfectant and gloves by the personnel
- Provision of facemasks and hand disinfectants to our clients
- Daily temperature check-up for personnel and clients before check-in
- Free consultation and advice to our clients in case of any questions regarding the current situation in the Dominican Republic, health and medical services and actions in emergency situations
- Social distancing rules and contact-free methods of payment and check-in
- And more practical rules that guarantee a safe experience to our clients and our staff.
At the level of the Dominican Republic and interstate cooperation, coordinated work is very important. This applies, first of all, to a clear definition of the roles and areas of responsibility of governments, businesses (the private sector) and travelers.
Protocols and procedures should be adopted in accordance with risks, the assessment of which is based on evidence from leading international health authorities, and travel restrictions themselves should be regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain proportional to the threat to public health. It is understood that protocols and procedures related to travel and tourism should be harmonized globally.
All the steps involved are important to ensure reliable information support. Information on all protocols, travel restrictions, as well as their gradual removal should be simple, consistent and accessible for both business and travelers.
Now we are ready to share our experience with you, provide assistance in elaborating a protocol for your company and implementing it for the safety of your team and your clients. If you feel that continuing your business activities in the current circumstances is impossible, you might probably be wrong. We have given a new safe and secure push to our business despite all the challenges and restrictions. Your company can do it as well. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about our own Safe Protocols implementation experience.
We can help you, our partners and potential new property owners and co-owners to implement all the new rules that the tourism industry dictates. We also provide unique consultations and personal checks that will help to find all the flaws, correct them and implement what is needed for the successful operation of the apartment management business! We analyze the company from A to Z and provide recommendations, as well as help with the adjustments of any details. We help with the correction of every little thing that may be the reason why your company is still not successful in the property management market and brings only losses.
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