Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Republic of Turkey has launched its
Healthy Tourism Certification Program. The program, which will be applicable as
of the summer season of 2020 includes a broad range of measures for
transportation, accommodation, health condition of employees for facilities and
passengers.
Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of
Culture and Tourism of Republic of Turkey, has made the following statement
concerning the certification program that will be obtained from international
certification institutions:
“Turkey has been a role model for the world during
COVID-19 with its well-established health system and treatment methods that
have been taken. This certificate program demonstrates that Turkey will take a
pioneering role in terms of setting the direction for the normalization of
tourism.
Global quarantine measures, which have been taken due
to COVID-19, causing unique developments all around the world, and today these
measures are getting more flexible. The tourism sector itself has a vital role
in terms of returning to normal processes. The importance of caring for our
guests in our culture, leads us to be ready for the transition to healthy
tourism before everyone. Our certification program shall ensure that our guests
in Turkey are going to make
their holidays safely and hygienicly and feel
comfortable during their visit. Our
program covers preventive and protective steps including air, marine and land
transportation, arrival ports, all facilities providing a holiday experience,
health condition of employees in the industry, and tourists themselves. We will
encourage all of our transportation and accommodation facilities to take all precautions
for a healthy holiday through obtaining the certificate.”
Healthy Tourism Certification
program consists of 4 main pillars.
The certification program of Turkey consists of 4 main pillars which are
“Health and Safety of the Passenger”, “Health and Safety of the Employee”,
“Precautions taken at Facilities” and “Precautions taken in terms of
Transportation”.
“Health and Safety of the
Passenger”; covers the precautions which are required to be implemented in terms
of passengers from the time of check-in until their check-out. It
includes; not allowing passengers without a mask to enter respective
terminals, providing free of charge masks to passengers, application of thermal
camera and body temperature measurement at the entrance of terminal buildings,
preparing disinfection carpets and disinfection cabins, if required, apply the
required protocols for the passengers that are diagnosed as a risk group in
terms of traveling.
“Health and Safety of the
Employee”; covers precautions with respect to ensuring physically and mentally
healthy personnel at transportation, accommodation, and food & beverage
facilities. Procedures such as hygiene and sanitation trainings of the
personnel, psychological support, providing required hygiene/health equipment,
controlling of the personnel both with thermal cameras are required standards
and also thermometers and planning shifts, holding meetings and regular health
checks of personnel, etc. comprise other articles included under this title.
“Precautions taken at Facilities”, covers steps
which required to be taken in order to prevent the spreading of the outbreak.
In case of preventing such cases, processes that need to be implemented by the
accommodation, food & beverage facilities have been defined under the scope
of the certificate. Certification ensures implementation and controlling of
measures such as social
distance, contact, isolation which are required to control the spread of
pandemic within the personnel working at such facilities.
“Precautions taken in terms of
Transportation vehicles”, include certain measures and regulations for air,
land, and marine transportation. Training of personnel of transportation
vehicles, immunity certificate of the personnel, sterilization of transportation
vehicles, and arrangement of passenger transportation system according to safe
distance standards have been defined under the scope of the certificate.
Minister Ersoy emphasized the sensitivity and importance demonstrated in
this subject through making the following statement regarding the certificate
program and dates in terms of normalizing process subsequent to COVID-19:
“We have completed pandemic protocols and
certification protocols issued separately in terms of airports, domestic airlines,
highways, and tourism facilities as of May 4, 2020. We are also planning to
start the implementation of the certification process for hotels as of May. We
will start listing the facilities, obtaining such certificate, as of June 1,
2020 through all channels including the website of our Ministry.
We, as Republic of Turkey, are acting with a sense of
responsibility in order to ensure both our citizens and our guests, arriving to
our country, to feel comfortable during their visit. There is a proverb stating
the hospitality of Turkish people: “Latch string is always out!” (You are more
than welcome). We have always taken this as the leading principle and we will
continue to take necessary actions based on this principle’’.
