Merkel will struggle to shift European travel policy

Headline EUROPE: Some countries unlikely to ban UK visitors

The Corporate Responsibility Paradox: A Multi-National Investigation of Business Traveller Attitudes and Their Sustainable Travel Behaviour

The implementation of sustainability practices in the tourism system requires the participation of a variety of actors. While much research has focused on supply-side issues associated with sustainable tourism, there has been less focus on supply-side issues associated with consumer behaviour and business-related travel. This paper addresses the behaviours of this significant market segment. As behavioural change is seen as a key mechanism for achieving emission reduction, this paper focuses on behaviours of business travels from four countries: Canada, Switzerland, Russia and the U.S., using values-attitudes-behaviour (VAB) theory. We employ Principal Components Analysis to reduce the variables down to four factors and related factor scores. Stepwise multiple linear regression was then used to measure causal associations. The findings show how national cultures, demographics and values influence (although at different levels) the sustainable attitudes and behaviour of business travellers. These results have implications for future corporate travel policy. The recent impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic is also addressed.

The Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Global Warming: A Call for Policy Review

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is probably the worst epidemic the world has experienced in recent times; it has led to drastic, lifesaving, and extraordinary decisions by governments of nations. Among such extraordinary measures is the closure of international borders leading to the cancellation of air travel by commercial airlines. The carbon emissions from air travel affect global warming. To this end, some authors ranked aircraft as if it were a country and compared the volume of carbon emissions generated by air travel to that generated by countries from other sources. Commercial air travel ranked seventh after Germany in terms of carbon emissions. This policy review, therefore, explored the impact of COVID-19 lockdown and travel restrictions on global warming. As a result of lockdown, there is a likelihood of a significant decrease in carbon emissions and global warming. Assuming the estimated global emissions remain constant annually, an estimated 9 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions would be avoided by the end of 2020 provided that the lockdown continues. To accurately measure the value of reduced carbon dioxide emissions during the global lockdown, it is recommended that scientific studies be conducted to estimate the carbon emissions generated by the few aircraft granted waivers to transport essential commodities during the global lockdown and deduct it from the 9 gigatonnes. After the global lockdown, through a travel policy review, governments and organizations are encouraged to restrict physical meetings or activities that involve air travel only to situations where a physical presence is unavoidable.

Sustainable Transport: An Efficient Transportation Network—Case Study

The article describes sustainable transport principles and guides that can lead cities towards a more efficient transportation network. The authors also show good practice used in different urban areas, such as London and Copenhagen. Furthermore, Vilnius was analyzed for its sustainable transport rules and mobility. The authors took into consideration components such as public transport indicators, car use and the number of trips made by bicycle and by pedestrians. Additionally, solutions such as shared space, developing cycle routes and public transportation networks, dividing different transport modes, reducing distance and the need to travel, policy shifts and technological innovation are proposed. Moreover, already taken actions are also verified. The article, additionally, shows guidance for Vilnius, so it could be possible to develop a sustainable traffic network in the city. All analyses and guidance were based on using geographic information system (GIS) tools which allowed the authors to obtain the most reliable results. The artefacts are presented by means of a combination of graph theory algorithms in order to obtain sustainable transport using the example of a part of Vilnius City.

The risk of introducing SARS-CoV-2 to the UK via international travel in August 2020

International travel poses substantial risks for continued introduction of SARS-CoV-2. As of the 17th August 2020, travellers from 12 of the top 25 countries flying into the UK are required to self-isolate for 14 days. We estimate that 895 (CI: 834-958) infectious travellers arrive in a single week, of which 87% (779, CI: 722-837) originate from countries on the UK quarantine list. We compare alternative measures to the 14 day self-isolation (78.0% effective CI: 74.4-81.6) which could be more feasible long-term. A single RT-PCR taken upon arrival at the airport is 39.6% (CI: 35.2-43.7) effective, or equivalently, it would only detect 2 in 5 infectious passengers. Alternatively, testing four days after arrival is 64.3% (CI: 60.0-68.3) effective whereas a test at the airport plus additional test four days later is 68.9% (CI: 64.9-73.0) effective. Rapidly implementing control measures for travellers from risky countries is vital to protect public health; this methodology can be quickly updated to assess the impact of any further changes to international travel policy or disease occurrence.

The Effect of GDP and Distance on Timing of COVID-19 Spread in Chinese Provinces in 2020

The geographical spread of COVID-19 across China's provinces provides the opportunity for retrospective analysis on contributors to the timing of the spread. Highly contagious diseases need to be seeded into populations and we hypothesized that greater distance from the epicenter in Wuhan, as well as higher province-level GDP per capita, would delay the time until a province detected COVID-19 cases. To test this hypothesis, we used province-level socioeconomic data such as GDP per capita and percentage of the population aged over 65, distance from the Wuhan epicenter, and health systems capacity in a Cox proportional hazards analysis of the determinants of each province's time until epidemic start. The start was defined by the number of days it took for each province to reach thresholds of 3, 5, 10, or 100 cases. We controlled for the number of hospital beds and physicians as these could influence the speed of case detection. Surprisingly, none of the explanatory variables had a statistically significant effect on the time it took for each province to get its first cases; the timing of COVID-19 spread appears to have been random with respect to distance, GDP, demography, and the strength of the health system. Looking to other factors, such as travel, policy, and lockdown measures, could provide additional insights on realizing most critical factors in the timing of spread.

How Does Globalisation Affect COVID-19 Responses?

Purpose This paper examines the effects of globalisation on the pace of governments implementing international travel restrictions during the recent coronavirus pandemic. Results We find that more globalised countries experienced a longer delay in implementing international travel restriction policies with respect to the date of the first confirmed COVID-19 case. We also find that informational (a subcomponent of social globalisation) and political globalisation have the strongest effects on the observed delays in implementing international travel restriction policies in more globalised countries. Lastly, we do not find evidence that more globalised countries are more likely to adopt a more restrictive international travel policy as the first response to the pandemic. Conclusions The findings highlight the dynamic relationship between globalisation and protectionism when governments respond to significant global events such as a public health crisis.

No Right to Leave the Nation: The Politics of Passport Denial and the Rise of the National Security State

This article provides an institutional and legal history of passport denial in the United States from World War I to the early Cold War. Identifying the Passport Division as a central institution of the national security state, the article shows that the state was deeply invested in regulating the international movement of people and in monopolizing international connections in a globalizing age. It also analyzes the rise of the Passport Division as an authoritative and autonomous bureaucracy to provide new insight into the institutional development of the national security state. It emphasizes particularly the ways that the executive branch, the Congress, and the Passport Division mutually constituted travel policy as a field of state action in a decades-long process stretching from World War I to the Cold War. It explores the centrality of the reputation of the Passport Division, as personified by its head, Ruth Shipley, in facilitating its rise as an authoritative institution in the field of travel policy. And by analyzing the ways that the Passport Division was able to survive civil libertarian challenges in the 1950s, it explores the surprising longevity of national security bureaucracies.

Evaluating a Mobility Service Application for Business Travel: Lessons Learnt from a Demonstration Project

Business travel contributes to significant greenhouse gas emissions, and there is a need for measures that reduce the demand for trips made with energy-intensive means of transport. In this study, a mobility service application (MSA) introduced in 13 Swedish organisations was tested and evaluated to facilitate booking and handling of business trips, in particular public transport. A before and after study consisting of surveys and interviews with employees at the organisations were conducted. The results show that the MSA was mostly used for regional and local public transport trips, and the users stated that the MSA made it easier to travel by public transport, although this particular result should be seen as tentative due to the small sample size. Three factors that influence the success of a new MSA as a means to increase sustainable business trips were identified: management control and proactiveness; perceived improvement of intervention; functions and technical sufficiency. The results also highlight the need to establish organisational conditions that facilitate sustainable business travel, such as coherent travel policy, accessibility to sustainable modes of transport, and a culture that encourages environmentally friendly behaviour. The study suggests improvements that can be made to similar interventions and strategies that can be introduced to promote sustainable business travel.