LONDON, U.K. — “Blanket travel bans cannot be the answer,” says Gloria Guevara.

The President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) addresses governments and the Travel & Tourism sector in an official statement, saying that travel bans “have not worked in the past and they will not work now.”

Her comments come on the heels of several countries, including Canada, banning flights from the United Kingdom as it struggles to mitigate the spread of a contagious new strain of COVID-19.

Guevara believes the answer lies in comprehensive and quick turnaround testing at airports to test all travellers before they depart. This, she says, would ensure only those infected with COVID-19 are isolated and are prevented from travelling, and would eliminate the need for countries to introduce “damaging and counterproductive” wholesale bans on U.K. travellers.

“People should not be deterred from travelling because they simply can’t find or arrange to get tested at a local testing centre or lab. We need to make it much easier for travellers to get a test prior to their journey,” she says. “Travellers pose no higher risk than other members of the community if they follow all the internationally recognized health safety protocols, including the mandatory wearing of masks and regular testing.”

Guevara adds that though the spread of COVID-19 is of concern, the growing number of blunt travel bans are incredibly disruptive and economically damaging, and that the social impact of increasing isolation and its effect on mental health should not be underestimated.

“Every sector of the economy, not just Travel & Tourism, will suffer, as will those countries imposing the ban as their own economies feel the impact of border closures and the loss of business,” she says. “The Travel & Tourism sector will be critical to powering the economic recovery, which is why it is absolutely crucial that action must be taken now to save it. If not, it will collapse and millions of people will lose their jobs.”

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently reported a 70%-75% decline in international arrivals for the whole of 2020, which sets back global tourism to 1990 levels. This massive drop due to the pandemic could result in an economic loss of US$2 trillion in world GDP.