Maintaining the Balance Between Public & Economic Health

The reprieve from lock-down is starting to feel like a fleeting intermission from the pandemic rather than the stable economic recovery we all hoped we were experiencing.  Recent travel advisories and government policies issued by the likes of the UK Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) have have come under harsh criticism due to the rapid-fire nature of the decision making and associated outcomes for the global travel and tourism industry. 

It is worthwhile to note that normative travel advisories and policy decisions are very rarely destination-specific.  Under normal circumstances, this approach doesn't have such significant implications.  However, in the context of COVID-19, striking a balance between simultaneously safeguarding public and economic health is imperative.  Initiatives such as #savetravel spearheaded by TTG, and sentiments such as those expressed below serve to draw attention to the dire implications of such rigid decision making and the need to avoid upsetting the balance between these two fundamental aspects of resilience.  The implications of such policies also highlight the need for thinking outside of the box and adopting temporary policy alternatives to minimise the impacts on public and economic health over the coming weeks and months.   It appears that basing guidance and advisories on destination-level risk could be a viable solution.