Portugal’s tourism authority has launched a new website that allows customers to review a business based on its Clean&Safe status – in other words, the aim is to establish whether businesses are following the latest Covid-19 health and safety recommendations.
The list of businesses that can be reviewed includes hotels and resorts, travel agencies, restaurants, casinos, car rental companies, motorhome parks, golf courses, tourist offices, museums, monuments and archaeological sites.
The Clean&Safe “seal of approval” was created by Turismo de Portugal two months ago and serves as a boost for companies that have vowed to follow all health and safety recommendations, according to health authority (DGS) guidelines.
Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques, has hailed the creation of the ‘Clean&Safe’ seal, saying it has helped Portugal become the first European country to receive the ‘Safe Travels’ badge from the World Travel & Tourism Council.
“At the moment, over 20,000 people have received training on these sanitary safety protocols. It has been a success,” she told Lusa news agency.
Turismo de Portugal is now carrying out random inspections to establish whether businesses are complying. Three establishments have already seen the ‘Clean&Safe’ seal being removed as “they weren’t following the recommendations”.
Reviews left on the new website will help the tourism authority decide which businesses to inspect next.
Clients can rate their experience green, yellow or red. Three “red” reviews will see tourism authorities paying the business a visit. The same will apply if there are too many “yellow” reviews, while “green” basically means the business is complying and deserves the ‘Clean&Safe’ status.
The website is available in Portuguese and English.
