‘Covid passport’ could open up tourism opportunities

Little more needs to be said about Covid-19’s impact on tourism.

Travel numbers, not just in SA but globally, make for disturbing reading and many in the industry have not made it.

In places like Cape Town, the international arrivals forecast dropped a staggering 80% for the period December 2020 to November 2021 compared to the previous year.

The new normal has not been forgiving, but after more than a year most people are learning to live with the situation, however begrudgingly.

The early success of vaccines is giving hope that tomorrow will be a better day, especially to those who make their living in the tourism sector.

After severe lockdowns that have redefined cabin fever, travellers want to spread their wings again.

Countries and their respective tourism agencies have recognised this and in the past few weeks a lot of attention has begun to fall on the so-called “Covid passport”.

Broadly defined, a Covid passport would tell the authorities of a host nation that a visitor has been vaccinated, thereby giving the person greater freedom to visit attractions in that country.

Effectively it is an evolution of the visitation requirements for Covid-19 testing and clearance that have been developed at the height of the pandemic.

Moves are already afoot to formalise these digital documents.

In November, the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), which represents 290 airlines around the world, announced it was developing  its IATA Travel Pass.

“The main priority is to get people travelling again safely,” the association said.

“In the immediate term that means establishing confidence in governments that systematic pre-departure Covid-19 testing can work as a replacement for quarantine requirements. And that will eventually develop into a vaccine programme.”

“The IATA Travel Pass is a solution for both. It is built it in modules as an industry solution based on open source standards. It can be used in combination with other providers or as an end-to-end solution.

“The most important thing is that it is responsive to industry needs while enabling a competitive market.”

Several countries are already on board with the Covid passport concept, most notably Denmark and Israel.

The Nordic nation appears to be leading the way in this regard, announcing only this week that it intended to roll out the digital document by the end of February.

While business travel has been permitted by many countries, albeit under strict conditions, Denmark hopes that its coronavirus passport will allow people to enjoy leisure activities like sports events and concerts as well.

Israel is also moving ahead with the passport, which it calls the green booklet.

The document would reflect that people have had both doses of a vaccine where applicable.

Tech companies like IBM, which has developed the IBM Digital Health Pass, are working with governments and the private sector.

“IBM Digital Health Pass is designed to provide organisations with a smart way to bring people back to a physical location, such as a workplace, school, stadium or airline flight,” the company says on its website.

 The World Health Organisation (WHO) does not recommend countries issuing “immunity passports” for those who have recovered from Covid-19, but is looking at prospects of deploying e-vaccination certificates like those it is developing with Estonia.

In October, Estonia and the United Nations health agency started a pilot project for a digital vaccine certificate — a “smart yellow card” — for eventual use in interoperable health care data tracking and to strengthen the WHO-backed COVAX initiative to boost vaccinations in developing countries.

Siddhartha Datta, Europe’s WHO programme manager for vaccine-preventable diseases, cautioned in December that any technology initiative must not overwhelm countries in the midst of pandemic responses, must conform to varying laws and ensure seamless border-crossing service.

But another WHO official, Catherine Smallwood, said rapid antigen tests, in use by some airlines to test passengers boarding or getting off flights, may be less appropriate for enabling international travel.

The antigen tests are less accurate than molecular tests, so some people might slip through the cracks.

It is unlikely that a Covid passport will be seen in SA any time soon.

While case numbers have come down considerably in the past few weeks, the country is still on the front lines of the war against the virus.

Foreign nations are also apprehensive. The Australian cricket team this week postponed its tour of SA that had been scheduled for March.

And on January 26 the department of foreign affairs said the Irish government had introduced additional, short-term travel restrictions, which would remain in place until March 5.

These include the suspension of visa-free travel to Ireland for SA nationals. — Additional reporting by Reuters

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