ETIAS and Covid’s Impact on Foreign Nationals Traveling to Europe

Entrepreneurs have also expressed an interest in traveling to European countries. This is to attend conferences and keep up with the latest global trends. Often taking advantage of travel opportunities to see new places.

Businesses must immediately adjust to a new business manner due to the coronavirus epidemic. Traveling abroad for conferences is not an option as numerous flights have been postponed. The decrease in business travel might be advantageous to the company.

The epidemic and working remotely will impact internal European business travel significantly.

Businesses realized the benefits when obliged to take the travel limit on overseas visits in the previous year. for example, HSBC alone noted that it would conserve $300 million on travel costs in 2020.

Environmentally friendly strategies are becoming increasingly crucial for businesses. According to calculations by The Financial Times, cutting travel by half would reduce CO2 emissions. 120,000 tons across the US’s four most prominent universities have been reduced.

It’s easy to see why boarding a plane for an hour-long lunchtime discussion in a foreign nation no longer makes sense for individuals.

Traveling to Europe for business: The facts and figures

According to statistics, business travel is critical for the EU and the world economy. Professional and business travel accounted for around 15% of all international tourist traveling to the EU.

• 7 million foreign tourists traveled to Europe for professional or business reasons (77.1 million in the EU 28)
• Global business travel totaled 176 million dollars (out of 1 239 million)

According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) research, corporate spending is particularly significant in several European countries. The following were the top beneficiaries in 2017 (in US dollars):

• Germany has 72 million people; the United Kingdom has 50 million, and France has 40 million people.
• The United Kingdom has 50 million people; France has a population of 40 million people.

Professional travel benefits countries more directly involved in summer vacations. In 2017, Spain set aside around 22 billion US dollars for business travel.

Because of the pandemic, corporate travel to Europe was disrupted in 2020. Predictions suggest that by 2021, business travel to Europe will increase to 52%. Then, by 2022 and 2023, they’ve predicted to grow to almost 83%.

Following COVID-19, EU alternatives for business travel have been developed.

Because of the present coronavirus outbreak, tourism and business trips are becoming more visible. States that rely on overseas travel and expenditure have seen large revenue sources vanish. This may lead to millions of people losing their jobs and slowing economic growth.

Yet, excellent vaccine coverage in European countries are projected to boost business travel in Europe.

This EU Digital vaccination certification serves as a COVID passport. It allows travel across EU member states to be made more convenient. It enables the safe digital storage of COVID immunization certificates and test results. On July 1st, 2021, it was implemented throughout Europe’s Schengen Area.

The QR codes are then given to border agents the mobile phones. It allows tourists to avoid being confined upon arriving in Europe. It’s worth mentioning that the IATA has created a similar smartphone app. It is called the IATA Travel Pass. It was created to assist travelers with coronavirus-related limitations when traveling.

On the other side, the EASA and ECDC requested that persons traveling for 72 hours be excused from the quarantine restriction.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has endorsed the idea. They claim that it has the potential to revitalize the corporate tourism industry. Which increases the economy significantly in international locations.

WTTC President and Executive Director Gloria Guevara said:

“The return of business travel is critical to driving the global economic recovery, as it was last year. Inbound business travel to Europe totaled USD 111.3 billion, with a total of USD 272 billion.”

COVID testing before departure rather than upon arrival is an alternative approach. It will remove barriers and promotes mobility.

These recommendations consider the lower risk of becoming ill. Travelers can encounter flu when traveling for a short length of time. Especially on business trips where contact with the public is limited.