Bureau Veritas and FIHR signed a protocol to support Romanian hoteliers to practice responsible tourism

Bureau Veritas and the Federation of the Romanian Hotels Industry (FIHR) launched a standard based on sanitary measures to support the hotel and restaurant industry to show compliance with best practices for preventing the spread of the new Coronavirus. Certification for this standard, as well as labeling as a “Safe Site”, is now available to all FIHR members, based on the protocol signed by the Federation and Bureau Veritas.

FIHR, the promoter of high-quality hotel services, and Bureau Veritas, the world leader in testing, inspection and certification, have joined forces to develop a standard designed to certify that safety procedures and proper cleaning and disinfection protocols have been respected, thus offering the possibility for hotels and restaurants to reopen in safer conditions. The “Safe Site” label will be awarded after an audit that will verify compliance with legal regulations as well as the implementation of best practices in the prevention of Covid-19.

Alexandru Vidu, Country Chief Executive Bureau of Veritas Romania, said: “For almost 200 years, Bureau Veritas has had the mission to shape a world of trust. With this standard, today, we have the ability to meet the new expectations of people in terms of health and safety in tourism. The standard, developed together with FIHR, will contribute to increasing confidence in the services of hotels and restaurants in Romania. We are proud to work with the Federation because each member company can choose to be certified by Bureau Veritas and labeled a “Safe Site”.

The Romanian Hotel Industry Federation is the first employer organization in Romanian tourism and the most representative in the hotel industry, by turnover and number of employees, bringing together 4 of the top 5 hotel companies in Romania by turnover, being present nationally in 31 of cities and accumulating about 10,000 rooms in member hotel properties. FIHR is an observer member of HOTREC, a founding member of APT (Alliance for Tourism) and a member of the Concordia Employers’ Confederation.

Calin Ile, President of FIHR, stressed: “through this initiative, we want to provide answers to what our industry must do to comply with the rules necessary for safe tourism, but also to implement new solutions, adapted to the new conditions in which the units operate. All this, in order to reduce the risks of infection in our industry and, especially, to make tourists aware of what we do to gain their trust, namely that we practice safe tourism, responsible tourism!

The standard will cover both accommodation and catering and will establish the health standards voluntarily applicable to all FIHR member hotels. The result of this effort is an operational guide made available to all stakeholders in the hotel industry, allowing them to rigorously implement the recommendations of the authorities (WHO, Ministry of Health, etc.), both in guest service areas and in facilities, offices and catering.