translated from Spanish: “Protected Borders Plan”: tourism guild describes as “elitist” and “insufficient” new announcements of the Minsal

The Ministry of Health today announced new details of the “Protected Borders Plan,” which will go into effect on Monday, July 26, and are aimed at giving greater freedoms to travelers heading abroad and having their vaccination schedule complete.
With the adjustments, in addition to allowing the departure of Chileans and foreigners residing in Chile who have an exceptional permit issued in Virtual Commissioner and non-resident foreigners with passport of the country of origin, so can those who have a Mobility Pass. Minors who do not have the document are not included.
The tourism and trade unions expressed objections to the measures, arguing that they are “elitist” and “not enough.” In particular, they criticized the fact that foreigners already inoculated against Covid-19 are prevented from entering.
The president of the Federation of Tourism Companies of Chile (Fedetur), Ricardo Margulis, said that “although it is an advance that the borders of Chile are opened for those who want to leave the country and are with their complete scheme (two doses)”, it is “an elitist, insufficient and discriminatory measure, since it does not allow the entry of foreign tourists and mainly affects national tourism”, says Emol.
“We cannot understand what the criteria for this decision is, because if those who come from outside do so inoculated, it is incomprehensible that they are prevented from entering the country. Here we observe an inconsistency, which also causes profound damage to the generation of employment in the sector, considering that the measure encourages going abroad, when what should be taken care of is domestic tourism, “added Margulis.
In the same vein, the president of the tourism board of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism (CNC), Tomás Sahli, said that “these announcements are not enough to lift up again this industry so hit by the pandemic.”
Like Fedetur’s helmsman, Sahli said that the measures “do not benefit domestic tourism at all, since Chileans are allowed to leave the country, discouraging travel in the national territory. On the other hand, international tourists are also not allowed to enter.”
From the Chilean Association of Airlines (Achila) they emphasized the “fine print” of the ads, “with initiatives that are unique in the world and that are not based on international experience.”
Chile “has an advanced vaccination program that allows for a safe reopening. In that sense, we see it important to seek that the restrictions for Chileans and residents are not discriminatory and that not only Chileans, but also foreigners who are with their full vaccination schedule, have the freedom to travel to / from the country safely, “they said from Achila.

Original source in Spanish