Madeira will insist that the European Union determines a “uniform criteria” applicable to all member states concerning the control of Covid-19 for those travelling throughout the EU.
While attending the award presentation as part of the World Tourism Day celebrations, the Secretary for Tourism and Culture, Eduardo Jesus, stated, “we will continue to insist, despite the model we adopted in Madeira, that the European Union enforces laws that stipulate that all travellers must take a PCR test in their home country before travelling.”
The Madeiran official considered that the introduction of this control measure would be “extraordinarily important” for Madeira. “There is no doubt about it”, he said “that if “this decision” continues to be delayed the effects of the pandemic will continue to have a detrimental impact on the island despite the enormous efforts being made by the Regional Government to mitigate the negative effects of Covid-19.”
Eduardo Jesus pointed out that “Madeira has an advantage compared with other holiday destinations which has allowed the region to occupy a unique position in terms of security and safety. But, he added, “the sector is hostage to demand and demand is hostage to trust and trust has been affected by the fear that the pandemic has caused.”
When questioned about redundancies in the tourism sector and hotel closures, Eduardo Jesus stressed that all measures adopted by the Madeiran government have as a priority “the preservation of jobs.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
