UNWTO condemns US travel ban

The United Nations Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has condemned the travel ban imposed by the US on some countries.

President Donald Trump of the US, last Friday January 27, 2017 signed an Executive Order barring citizens from these countries from entering the US for at least 90 days.The countries are; Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

In a statement copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, the UNWTO expressed its deep concern and strong condemnation over the ban.

The organization pointed out that the travel ban, based on nationality, is contrary to the principles of freedom of travel and travel facilitation promoted by the international tourism community and will hinder the immense benefits of the tourism sector brings in terms of economic growth and job creation to many countries, including the USA.

“Global challenges demand global solutions and the security challenges that we face today should not prompt us to build new walls; on the contrary, isolationism and blind discriminatory actions will not lead to increased security but rather to growing tensions and threats.

“Besides the direct  impact, the image of a country which imposes travel bans in such a hostile way will surely be affected among visitors from all over the world and risk dumping travel demand to the USA” said Taleb Rifai, the UNWTO Secretary-General.

By Emmanuel K Dogbevi