Croatia, Ecuador and Ghana have become the latest destinations to be awarded a global safety stamp by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
Ecuador received its WTTC Safe Travels stamp, following a major government announcement which will see international travellers arriving with a negative test taken within the previous ten days, exempt from its 14-day isolation.
This move will help reopen its tourism sector and provide a significant boost to the economy, authorities argue.
WTTC created the Safe Travels stamp in May this year to allow travellers to identify destinations and businesses around the world which have adopted the global standardised health and hygiene protocols.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC chief executive, said: “Our Safe Travels stamp continues to go from strength to strength and we are delighted to see even more popular countries and destinations from all corners of the world adopt our global health and hygiene protocols.
Awkwardly for the WTTC, Croatia may be the next country removed from the quarantine-free safe list for UK travellers.
With 219 new cases in the 24 hours to Wednesday afternoon, the infection rate is four times higher than in the UK, prompting concern the country could follow Spain and France off the list.
Nikolina Brnjac, Croatia minister of tourism and sports, said: “Croatia is very proud to work with WTTC during these difficult times.
“As a popular European and Adriatic destination, we are doing our best to face all difficulties and to secure stability and safety for the local population and for all the travellers who have decided to visit us this year, despite the current circumstances.
“To make the new normal possible, we have gone to great lengths to prepare the necessary safety-protocols and measures.
Since the launch of the Safe Travels stamp, destination countries and cities around the world have now adopted new protocols, including holiday heavyweights such as Tunisia, Indonesia, Egypt and Dubai.
