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“SAFE TOURISM PROGRAM” IS A SMART WAY OF ATTRACTING TOURISTS 
DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 
Navruz-zoda Sh.B.
BuxDU “Mehmonxona xo’jaligi” kafedrasi o’qituvchisi 
 
Is safe tourism possible during a global pandemic? This question is bothering lots of countries 
who are trying to save their tourism during quarantine time. While most of tourist cities are losing 
their nerves and renters are in a dilemma whether to open their apartments to foreign guests, Turkey 
has introduced a “Safe Tourism Certificate Program”
1
. The introduction of this program began in early 
May, two months before the country opened to tourism.
The certificate of safe tourism is a sort of HACCP for the prevention of the spread of 
coronavirus, it is based on 132 health and hygiene criteria and it also includes employee education.
The program embraces all facilities that provide accommodation and transportation, as well as 
archeological parks, museums and entertainment venues.
Thus, a special part of the program refers to airport, airlines, highways, tourist facilities and 
occasional transport companies that provide transfer and transport services for tourist tours. 
Passengers encounter the new protocol upon arrival at the airport where their temperature is measured 
by thermal cameras, and if it is higher than 37.8 C or there are some other symptoms, they undergo a 
free of charge coronavirus test.
If the test result is negative, passengers continue their journey. In case of a positive result, 
guests are sent to the hospital where, depending on the severity of the disease, they stay for treatment 
or are accommodated in a hotel. All hotels are required to provide a special section of the facility for 
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https://www.total-croatia-news.com/travel/44643-safe-tourism-certificate-program
 

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guests infected with coronavirus and for those in quarantine. They are also required to allow sick 
guests to stay at the hotel’s expense until complete recovery.
Treatment of foreign guests is free of charge and the costs are covered by the state of Turkey. 
From July 1
st
, 2020 Turkey introduced the “COVID-19 tourist protection insurance” which will be 
available for purchase online, at travel agencies and airports. There will be three packages at the price 
of 15, 19 and 23 euros, which cover treatment costs in the amount of 3.000, 5.000, and 7.000 euros. 
According to Turkish statistics, the cost of treating a seriously ill patient with coronavirus averages 
4.000 euros.
In order to reduce the number of visitors, only those presenting an airline ticket and with mask 
on their face can enter the airport. Special attention is paid to the physical distance of 1.5 m and the 
signs with the direction of movement are places everywhere, both on the escalators and in the 
elevators. Also, sitting in the waiting rooms, except for the disabled, is forbidden. Disinfectant kiosks 
cam be found at every turn, and passengers are constantly warned about the rules. Upon entering the 
aircraft, packages with personal protective equipment (PPE) are distributed, and similar is done in the 
hotels too. Thermal cameras are also located at the hotel’s entrances while guests on arrival fill out a 
form with questions about their health and movement in the last14 days.
Self-service in the hotel restaurants is no longer available, and the food counters and servers 
are separated by strips from the guests. Masks are mandatory, and even beach guards wear them. 
Rooms must be disinfected daily and 12 hours must elapse between the departure and arrival of guests. 
Tourist buses are filled with 50% of the capacity, in every other seat, and before entering the vehicle 
the body temperature is measured, as well as at the entrance to the archeological parks, shopping malls 
and pedestrian zones. 
For the development of tourism in the context of coronavirus pandemic Uzbekistan is also 
trying to establish a number of measures providing a comfortable and safe stay of tourists.
On June 19, 2020, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a 
Decree “On additional measures for the development of the tourism sector with strict observance of 
the requirements of the enhanced sanitary and epidemiological safety regime
1
”. 
In order to create a safe environment for tourists, Uzbekistan has launched the 
project