At the just concluded WTTC Summit in Cancun, Mexico. There wasn’t any public discussion on the catastrophic situation in India, but CEO Gloria Guevara took the initative and interviewed Manuel Santos, a signer with 170 others to push US President Biden to open patent restrictions, allowing the vaccine to reach developing nations
- When WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara interviewed former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at the just concluded Tourism Summit in Cancun, they kept a secret they didn’t want to share with the world. “We are not safe until everyone is safe”
- The catastrophic spread of the virus and deadly consequences in India made US President Biden conclusion “We are not safe until everyone is safe” enormously relevant to the tourism world, and to the pharmaceutical industry. There was very little talk about India in Cancun, but the fact is this Virus travels fast and all the progress made so far in the world may become shaky.
- Will President Biden stand up to his words? What will WTTC and 170 former heads of state and Nobel Peace Prize winners do to make their open letter heard? There was no immediate answer by the White House.
“We are not safe until everyone is safe” was the conclusion in a one – on -one interview with former Colombian President and 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Juan Manuel Santos and the World Travel and Tourism Council CEO Gloria Guevara at the WTTC Summit in Cancun on Monday.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos treated their support for US President Biden’s words a secret, and made sure this entire session was cut off from livestreaming. Media, including eTurboNews was prevented from accessing the recording of this most important session at the summit.
Former heads of State and Nobel price receiverss call on President Biden to waive intellectual property rules for COVID vaccines is the key to open the opportunity for developing nations to produce or receive urgently needed vaccine. US President Biden was correct when he hinted understanding this interconnected world. Travel and Tourism makes this world interconnected and the world is simply not safe until every citizen of every country is safe.
WTTC represents the private sector in the travel and tourism world. Mr. Santos was a major player in the public sector. Perhaps this letter to the US president is not a message a private industry organization wants to get involved in?
Mr. Santos sharing this important message as one who signed the letter to US President Biden on April 14 with Gloria Guevara and delegated at the WTTC Summit in Cancun is significant and important.
The World Tourism Network (WTN) had applauded the letter a day after signing. “This letter is an important way for the international travel and tourism industry to take a stand, and a step forward for the world to become a safer place during this crisis. A global epedemic must not make the interests of a private pharma industry the sole factor.”
Read on and click on next to read the full letter to US President Biden, and watch the video of the first WTTC Summit day.
