Why travel cannot return without vaccine equity
One of my favourite things about travel is that it reminds me how connected we all are. We’re part of a global community, not just a local one.
I’m lucky enough to be fully vaccinated and I can’t wait to get out there again, but I’m fully aware that not everyone is in the same position. As wealthier nations relax restrictions thanks to successful vaccine rollouts, people elsewhere in the world are desperately trying to get their hands on doses. The staggering fact is that less than 1 per cent of Covid-19 vaccines worldwide have been delivered to low-income countries.
This number must be addressed if travel is to restart in any meaningful way. If we don’t urgently address vaccine inequality around the world, the brutal reality is that our holiday poses a risk to unvaccinated communities.
Vaccinations only for the privileged won’t cut it. For travel to return, we need vaccine equity, and the travel industry must be part of the solution. As a global tour operator, I feel we have a responsibility to step up for tourism workers around the world and do whatever we can to promote fair and equal access to vaccination. It’s more important than ever to think beyond our own customers and consider the destination and the communities we’re visiting.
World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 25 August 2021 Egypt’s Ibrahim Elhusseiny Hamadtou in action during his Men’s Singles Class 6 Group E Table Tennis match at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA World news in pictures 24 August 2021 People take pictures of fireworks outside the stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 23 August 2021 Staff members spraying disinfectant at a school ahead of the new semester in Bozhou, China’s eastern Anhui province AFP/Getty World news in pictures 22 August 2021 A Taliban fighter stands guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan area in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan AP World news in pictures 21 August 2021 Mexican firefighters known as “Topos” work in the early morning hours in a search and rescue mission, amid the rubble from last week’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake, in Les Cayes, Haiti AP World news in pictures 20 August 2021 Bangladeshi vendor sells a religious item during a Muharram event at the premises of Hussaini Dalan in Dhaka, Bangladesh EPA World news in pictures 19 August 2021 Law enforcement officers with rifles take position near the US Capitol building in Washington DC as police investigate a possible explosive device in a truck near the heart of American government AP World news in pictures 18 August 2021 A Taliban fighter patrols in Wazir Akbar Khan in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan AP World news in pictures 17 August 2021 Art students paint messages of solidarity with people at risk in Afghanistan’s crisis outside an art school in Mumbai AFP/Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2021 Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport AFP via Getty World news in pictures 15 August 2021 Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Kandahar province in southwest Afghanistan AP World news in pictures 14 August 2021 A collapsed building is seen in Les Cayes, Haiti following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which left at least 29 people dead Reuters World news in pictures 13 August 2021 Perseids are seen next to Milky Way during the annual Perseid meteor shower at Tres Mares peak, in Cantabria, northern Spain EPA World news in pictures 12 August 2021 A woman sits along the broken steps of a partially-collapsed building destroyed by bombardment during the May 2021 conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City AFP via Getty World news in pictures 11 August 2021 People stranded at the Pakistani-Afghan border wait for its reopening after it was closed by the Talibans, who have taken over the control of the Afghan side of the border at Chaman, Pakistan EPA World news in pictures 10 August 2021 Supporters cheer outside French football club Paris Saint-Germain’s Parc des Princes stadium in Paris after Argentinian football player Lionel Messi landed in Le Bourget airport to sign for the club AFP/Getty World news in pictures 9 August 2021 People perform a folk dance to traditional music as they celebrate the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples in Mumbai, India EPA World news in pictures 8 August 2021 Thank you messages is displayed inside the stadium during the Olympic closing ceremony in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 7 August 2021 Pro-democracy protesters clash with police during a demonstration demanding Thai prime minister Prayut Chan-Ochas and King Maha Vajiralongkorn be held accountable for the governments failure to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, in Bangkok AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 August 2021 Members of local NPO release paper lanterns on Motoyasu River in front of beside the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, as it was known before 1945, and now called the Atomic Bomb Dome, as the city marks the 76th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bomb attack AFP/Getty World news in pictures 5 August 2021 The Men’s Decathletes pose for a photo following their competition on day thirteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan Getty World news in pictures 4 August 2021 Maronite clergymen pray near damaged grain silos at the port of Lebanon’s capital on the first anniversary of the blast that ravaged the port and the city AFP/Getty World news in pictures 3 August 2021 An underwater view shows France’s Charlotte and Laura Tremble during the women’s duet technical routine artistic swimming event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games AFP/Getty World news in pictures 2 August 2021 Germany compete in the women’s team pursuit qualifying event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Izu Velodrome AFP/Getty World news in pictures 1 August 2021 enezuela’s Yulimar Rojas competes in the women’s triple jump final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Rojas took gold and broke the Olympic and World Record in the process AFP/Getty World news in pictures 31 July 2021 Elaine Thompson-Herah celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win the gold medal ahead of Jamaican teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the women’s 100m final at the Tokyo Olympic Games Reuters World news in pictures 30 July 2021 Athletes compete during the men’s 3000m Steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics Reuters World news in pictures 29 July 2021 Athletes compete in the BMX men’s Olympic quarter-finals run at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo AFP/Getty World news in pictures 28 July 2021 A picture taken with a drone shows researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht University investigating a dead fin whale found in the harbor of Terneuzen, The Netherlands EPA World news in pictures 27 July 2021 People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus walk past extra papers reporting on Japanese gold medalists at Tokyo Olympics AP World news in pictures 26 July 2021 The ball hits Thailand’s Orawan Paranang’s face as she competes against Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa during her women’s singles round 3 table tennis match at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games AFP via Getty Images World news in pictures 25 July 2021 A woman walks in the rubble after flooding due to heavy rains in Dinant, Belgium, a week after more than 30 people were killed in floods in the country EPA World news in pictures 24 July 2021 A firefighter uses a drip torch to light a backfire in an effort to stop the spread of the Dixie fire in Prattville, California AFP/Getty World news in pictures 23 July 2021 An overview shows Japan’s tennis player Naomi Osaka lighting the flame of hope in the Olympic Cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, at the Olympic Stadium, in Tokyo AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 July 2021 People wade through a flooded street following a heavy rain in Zhengzhou, in China’s Henan province AFP/Getty World news in pictures 21 July 2021 People celebrate in Brisbane, Australia, following an announcement by the International Olympic Committee that the city was picked to host the 2032 Olympics AAP Image via AP World news in pictures 20 July 2021 Muslims attending the Eid Al-Adha prayer at Skenderbej Square in Tirana AFP/Getty World news in pictures 19 July 2021 Muslim pilgrims gather on Mount Mercy on the plains of Arafat during the annual Haj pilgrimage outside the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia Reuters World news in pictures 18 July 2021 People protest against the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan Reuters World news in pictures 17 July 2021 A long exposure photograph shows Muslim pilgrims circumambulating around the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, at the Grand mosque in the holy Saudi city of Mecca during the annual hajj pilgrimage AFP/Getty World news in pictures 16 July 2021 A van crushed by the torrents is pressed against a tree after the floods caused major damage in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, western Germany AFP/Getty World news in pictures 15 July 2021 A staff member sits at an interactive digital installation “Fire / Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps in the Forest” during a media preview of “teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live” at the lobby of Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel, Takeo Hot Springs in Saga prefecture AFP/Getty World news in pictures 14 July 2021 Pupils of the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr march during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris AFP/Getty World news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rescuers look for bodies after a catastrophic blaze erupted Monday at a coronavirus hospital ward in the al-Hussein Teaching Hospital, in Nasiriyah, Iraq AP World news in pictures 12 July 2021 People try to recover a car damaged during flash floods after heavy monsoon rains in Bhagsunag, a popular tourist town in Himachal Pradesh, India AP World news in pictures 11 July 2021 Police cars are seen overturned in the street in the framework of a demonstration against Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana AFP via Getty Images World news in pictures 10 July 2021 Tanya and Evance Chanda from Mechanicsville look on as a statue of Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson is removed after years of a legal battle over the contentious monument, in Charlottesville, Virginia Reuters World news in pictures 9 July 2021 Hundreds of Haitians gather in front of the US embassy in the hope that they will be granted a visa to leave their country, due the uncertainty of what may happen after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti EPA World news in pictures 8 July 2021 NGOs fly huge rainbow balloon at Hungary’s parliament protesting against anti-LGBT law in Budapest Reuters World news in pictures 7 July 2021 The Ever Given leaves the Suez Canal after its Japanese owners reached a settlement following more than three months and a court standoff over compensation for it blocking the crucial east-west waterway for nearly a week earlier this year Getty
That’s why Intrepid has launched a global vaccine equity campaign, which focuses on three key actions: a commitment to raise AU$100,000 (£53,000) via the Intrepid Foundation to support Unicef’s global delivery of Covid-19 vaccines; improving vaccine access and education by using our on-the-ground networks; and the introduction of a mandatory vaccine policy on our trips.
Our vaccination policy will require all of our travellers and tour leaders to be fully vaccinated from 1 September. We’re taking this step because it’s important to us that we make sure the communities we visit, our leaders and our customers are safe and that we minimise, as much as possible, anyone’s chances of travelling with and passing on coronavirus.
Of course, it’s easy to say vaccinations are required, but it’s another thing to ensure people can actually access vaccines. Our fundraising and advocacy campaign aims to support just that – fair and equal access to vaccines.
Vaccinations only for the privileged won’t cut it
Where we can, we’re mobilising our teams and resources in the destinations we visit to remove barriers to vaccination. For example, in Peru, our team has been advocating for vaccine equality for remote communities, and offering free transport using our own vehicles to people living in the remote Sacred Valley, to help them access a major vaccination hub in Ollantaytambo.
Our team has also worked with local government to advocate for a vaccination hub in Calca, where most of our Inca Trail porters live. At the start of July 2021, none of the porters that Intrepid contracts on treks had been vaccinated. By the end of July, 80 per cent had received at least one dose. And with the memories of our Machu Picchu trip still fresh in my mind, I’m grateful that we’ve been able to assist our people in Peru in some small way in their battle against the virus.
Access to a vaccine is not the only issue – negative beliefs and attitudes towards vaccination can also be a barrier. In our Colombo office in Sri Lanka, Intrepid hosted a Q&A session with Professor Neelika Malavige, a member of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) technical advisory committee. Neelika educated staff on vaccines and the critical role they play in ending the Covid pandemic, and spent time answering questions.
As difficult as the last year and a half has been, I believe the global community has demonstrated kindness on a massive scale. We stayed (and, in some cases, are still staying) indoors for weeks or months at a time to protect the vulnerable. We have been wearing masks, checking on our neighbours, supporting local businesses and creating new ways of working and living.
Now, as the global vaccine rollout picks up pace, we have an opportunity to do it again. We’re all eager to explore and forge these much-missed human connections with people around the world. But as travellers, we must do our part to protect the communities we visit.
You can donate to the ‘Give the World a Shot’ campaign via the Intrepid Foundation.
