Ethiopia receives WTTC’s Safe Travels Stamp

Ethiopia is the latest destination to be awarded the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Safe Travels Stamp – the world’s first-ever global safety and hygiene stamp – following major steps implemented by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism last year to ensure safety for residents, travellers, and workers and businesses in the tourism value chain, as Ethiopia reopened its borders to international visitors.

Ethiopia is among 200 other major popular holiday hot spots around the world such as Kenya, Turkey, Portugal, Argentina, Tunisia, and Indonesia, who together are using the stamp to reassure travellers and restore confidence to travel.

WTTC, which represents the global Travel and Tourism private sector, created the Safe Travels Stamp in May 2020, to allow travellers identify destinations and businesses around the world which have adopted the global standardised health and hygiene protocols. The globally recognised Stamp has also helped revive the global travel and tourism sector, which has been left devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has also welcomed the WTTC Safe Travels Stamp, which places the safety and hygiene of travellers as a top priority.

Since the launch of the WTTC Safe Travels Stamp, destination countries and cities, around the world have now adopted WTTC’s new protocols. As part of its Safe Travels protocols, these worldwide measures provide consistency and guidance to travel providers and travellers about the new approach to health, hygiene, deep cleansing, and physical distancing. The protocols were designed following guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and taking best practices from WTTC’s Members into account.

Eligible businesses in Ethiopia such as hotels, restaurants, airlines, tour operators, restaurants, outdoor shopping, transportation, and airports, will be able to use the stamp once the health and hygiene protocols, outlined by WTTC, have been implemented.