The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) agreed to take immediate action to facilitate the recovery of tourism in a number of countries, including Egypt, Ahram Online reported on Friday. Some of the other countries include Albania, Armenia, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Jordan, Lebanon, Montenegro, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, the EBRD announced on Friday. The bank said the immediate response was designed under the three pillars of the UNWTO's Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package, which includes measurement of the coronavirus, recovery plans with incentives to revive the tourism sector, protocols to ensure the enhanced safety, hygiene and security of tourists and employees, marketing of measures that can boost tourism demand, capacity-building for tourism officials, and training for tourism sector enterprises on adopting the new protocols. A key element is to preserve human capital as well as to adapt and strengthen inclusion, according to the bank. The EBRD said also it is committing all of its activity in 2020-2021 to helping its regions counter the economic impact of the pandemic, with investment expected to reach up to €21 billion. The bank said such investments will target all sectors of the economy, including tourism and hospitality, which were particularly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The EBRD and UNWTO are longstanding partners and signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in 2015, which they renewed in 2019.
