Tour guides: our category should be included among those to be vaccinated first

AGTA - Associazione Guide Turistiche Abilitate (Association of Licensed Tourist Guides) argues that the category of tourist guides and tour leaders should be included among the categories to be included as a priority in the vaccination plan against Covid-19. This is what AGTA has officially requested from the relevant ministers and the presidents of all regions: the rationale is that vaccinating tour guides is a necessary condition for restarting tourism, a strategic economic sector for Italy.

“In order to plan a restart of tourism, which has been completely at a standstill since last March,” the official request reads, “it is essential that professionals in the sector who work in contact with the public (guides and tour leaders in primis) be vaccinated as soon as possible, in order to protect their health and that of travelers.”

At the European level, the guides point out, they are talking about a vaccine certificate or passport that could be used to be able to travel by air. Even cruise ships, whose operations have been permitted by the most recent legislative measures, have been scheduled to operate under health bubble conditions, thus preventing passengers from any contact with potentially infectious (therefore unvaccinated) people for the entire duration of the trip. This, according to AGTA, means that “guides and escorts, for whom the cruise market constitutes a significant part of the turnover, will in fact only be able to work if they have a vaccination certificate, with the real risk of being replaced by the ship’s internal staff. This situation risks creating discrimination and situations of unfair competition; and risks severely penalizing licensed professionals (who could be replaced by personnel without certification) and even all Italian operators vis-à-vis their colleagues from beyond the Alps, the moment some have access to the vaccine before others.”

“Let’s remember,” AGTA continues, “that tour guides and tour leaders were among the categories hardest hit by the post-Covid crisis. At a time when we are working on a restart of the sector, allowing cruises (already authorized) or the reopening of borders and tourist travel (hopefully soon), it becomes essential to guarantee the right of operators to be able to carry out their professional activities. The urgency of vaccination arises not only because of economic and social issues: tour guides and tour leaders are two categories who, during their work, are in close contact with people of all nationalities: in museums, churches, on buses, in restaurants, bars, and hotels. They are therefore among the categories at risk. it is true that now the activity is completely stopped, but, if there is a hope that in a few months we can restart even minimally, it is necessary that precisely these two categories be ready and vaccinated; it is important to protect them as workers and the tourists, who will be much calmer knowing that they are being looked after by vaccinated people. This needs to be planned from now, not when tourism starts again.”

“In addition, just for the purpose of restarting, so from a national marketing perspective,” AGTA guides conclude, “the vaccination of tourism professionals helps to give the image of a country that is safe in terms of health and that pays the utmost attention to the protection of tourists-a very important message for those who will want to travel again and choose the country to go to. We therefore ask that guides and tour leaders be included among the categories to be vaccinated as a matter of priority because of the type of work they do, to protect themselves and the public with whom they relate.”

Tour guides: our category should be included among those to be vaccinated first

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