THE Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey has initiated Healthy Tourism Certification program, which will be enforced as of summer season of 2020.
Healthy Tourism Certification will be issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and with the participation of Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs covers a broad range of measures which will be taken towards transportation, accommodation, health condition of employees of the facilities and passengers.
Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism of Republic of Turkeys
The certificate, which shall be granted by international certification institutions, will document the completion of the high level of health and hygiene requirements at airline companies, airports and other transportation, accommodation and food & beverage facilities.
Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism of Republic of Turkeys said: “Turkey has been role model for the world during Covid 19 with its well-established health system and treatment methods that have been taken. This certificate program to demonstrates that Turkey will take a pioneering role in terms of setting the direction for the normalisation of tourism…
“Our certification program shall ensure that our guests in Turkey are going to make their holidays in a safe and hygienic manner 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.”
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”. this will need to be applied and carried out for the certificate to be approved.
1.“Health and Safety of the Passenger”
This 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 mask to enter respective terminals, passengers will be provided masks free of charge, application of thermal camera and body temperature measurement at the entrance of terminal buildings, preparing disinfection surfaces such as carpets and disinfection cabins, if required, apply the required protocols for the passengers that are diagnosed as a risk group in terms of travelling.
2. “Health and Safety of the Employee”
This covers precautions with respect to ensuring physically and mentally healthy personnel at transportation, accommodation and food & beverage facilities. Procedures such as hygiene and sanitation training 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.
3.“Precautions taken at Facilities”,
This is the steps required to be taken in order to prevent 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.
4.“Precautions taken in terms of Transportation vehicles”
This includes 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 saying: “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 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 our Ministry website.”
