Tourism is one of the economic branches that suffers huge losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why the European Union, through the project “#EUzaTebe – for cultural heritage and tourism”, has allocated one million euros to eliminate the consequences of the crisis.
The voluntary certification scheme “Clean and Safe” aims to develop health and safety protocols as well as train tourism workers for their application, in order to minimize the risks of spreading the virus. The trainings are the second part of this program organized by HORES, with the support of the project “#EUzaTebe – for cultural heritage and tourism”, funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ, and implemented by the German organization for international cooperation GIZ.
“Today we are starting the second phase of the” Clean and Safe “project, whose main goal is the transfer of knowledge. We hope that with these activities we will significantly help to make tourists feel safe in large numbers in tourist destinations in Serbia, “said the leader of the project” #EUzaTebe – for cultural heritage and tourism “Alexander Beetz, recalling that through the same project at the beginning of the year in cooperation with HORES, medical supplies and disinfection equipment worth 660,000 euros were distributed.
At the conference dedicated to the training of employees in the tourism sector, Renata Pindžo, Assistant Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications, addressed: “Restoring tourists’ trust in travel and accommodation security is one of the basic preconditions for tourism recovery. That is why we are pleased to support the HORES initiative for the development and implementation of the voluntary certification scheme “Clean and Safe” as a strategically important project necessary for the recovery of the tourism industry. I would like to thank once again the EU Delegation to Serbia, which recognized and supported the importance of this project, through the donation of equipment, disinfectants and now, through the financing of trainings for employees in the tourism and catering sector. “
“HORES as a partner of the project” #EUzaTebe – for cultural heritage and tourism “, is the implementer of the certification scheme” Clean and safe “, within which the plan is to certify about 300 hotels, 500 restaurants, private accommodation providers and other tourist services, such as museums, galleries, tourist attractions. By June 2022, training is planned for more than 10,000 employees in the tourism and catering sector, in order to train them for the challenges posed by COVID–19. Our goal is for our priority tourist destinations to be fully prepared for tourists from the country and abroad, and to provide them with a safe stay, “said Dr. Georgi Genov, Director of HORES.
Nada Gogić, head of the tourist offer development service at the Tourist Organization of Serbia, stated that the Tourist Organization of Serbia has institutionally supported the certification scheme “Clean and Safe”, promoting Serbia and its tourist destinations as safer and safer zones for domestic and foreign tourists. Our next step is to encourage local tourism organizations to invite private accommodation service providers to join the certification process and training to improve knowledge and skills related to the implementation of health and hygiene measures against the spread of COVID–19“.
