Dutch Campaign for Unified European Colour Code Travel Advice
DUTCH CAMPAIGN FOR UNIFIED EUROPEAN COLOUR CODE TRAVEL ADVICE
Dutch travel industry fights for the uniformity of travel advice in Europe
On Friday 11 September a petition was presented to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which calls for the uniformity of travel advice for every country in Europe. Two Dutch travel trade magazines, TravelPro and TravMagazine, have initiated the petition and it has been signed by more than 10,000 people within 48 hours.
To underline the petition, a demonstration was held on Friday in the city centre of The Hague. More than 250 employees from the travel industry were dressed in orange, the colour of the travel advice used to lock down popular holiday destinations. Participants walked through the shopping streets with a trolley to draw attention. Of course, the two-hour event was organised with 1.5 metre distance.
The idea for the petition and the event started on Tuesday 8 September when the Greek islands were set to colour code orange for Dutch citizens, where only essential trips are possible for travellers from the Netherlands. The petition calls for more unified travel advice issued by European Union, as for example Dutch citizens are not allowed to travel to Greek islands but German citizens are allowed to go there. The fact that the petition has been signed by so many travel industry employees shows that the need in travel sector is high.
Dirk Jan Nieuwenhuis, the director of consular department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who is resposible for issuing the travel color code advice, received the petition on Friday morning from the initiator Tom van Apeldoorn, the owner of both travel trade magazines. Nieuwenhuis stated that he understands the frustration about the different travel advices within Europe. Although there is a lot of coordination between the various countries, it remains a national consideration of every government what they advise to their citizens.
Marcel Baltus and Agnes van Duffelen from Baltus Communications joined the unique action to show their interest in the uniformity of travel advice in Europe.
