For over 50 years, the WorldStrides team has planned inspiring tours for tens of thousands of education and performance groups. Our travel experts are innovating and evolving to ensure your next student trip is safe, fun, and engaging. We remain committed to health, safety, and flexibility in these unprecedented times.
The COVID-19 protocols detailed below are reviewed regularly in conjunction with our Medical Director. Our current processes remain in place as long as they are helpful in mitigating the risk of contacting COVID-19 while on tour.
WorldStrides’ in-house Health & Safety Team, led by our Chief Academic, Health & Safety Officer and Head of Health & Safety, leverages decades of experience to continually assess the safety of the destinations where we travel and the activities in which our students participate. Our WorldAssist by WorldStrides Team serves as our emergency response command center, staffed 24/7 by WorldStrides employees who are specially trained to handle any on program situation — no matter how big or how small.
WorldStrides relies on a deep network of partnerships. Through our exclusive relationship with the George Washington Department of Emergency Medicine, Dr. Neal Sikka serves as WorldStrides’ Medical Director and manages our 24/7 Doctors on Call program. We work with outside partners, like the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), following their TOURCARE Guidelines, a set of health, safety, and sanitation guidelines specifically developed for their tour operator members. We are one of only several organizations to be a Certified Student Travel Organization (CSTO) by the Student Youth Travel Association (SYTA), a designation awarded to companies meeting a rigorous set of safety standards. We maintain an ongoing relationship with ExLog, a global risk management company providing intelligence, insight, and in-depth assessments of our program destinations, up-to-date reporting on breaking situations and evolving threats worldwide, and emergency response services.
We continue to rely on our deep network of safety and security resources, including WorldStrides' exclusive Doctors on Call program, our 24/7 On Call center, and adult supervision to adapt in this changing environment. Protocols detailed below will continue to evolve, and they'll likely differ slightly from group to group and city to city because we're committed to getting it right.
If you are flying to your destination, each airline we work with has slightly different processes and protocols to respond to COVID-19, and we recommend you check the website of your airline for the most up-to-date information. Airlines are deep cleaning and may require face coverings while on board. Additionally, food service on the plane may be reduced, so we recommend packing a meal and snacks, particularly if you are flying around a meal time.
You can read more from some of our top partners here:
Yes. WorldStrides requires masks when indoors and on the motor coach, regardless of vaccination status. You will need to follow any additional local, state, or national guidelines, and any site-specific requirements for face coverings, including on the airplane and inside any cultural site or venue. KN95 masks (or equivalent such as FFP2 or KF94) are highly recommended. While we acknowledge that our masking policy may be stricter than local requirements, we feel it is an effective mitigation strategy on program to keep participants healthy and reduce the risk of isolation away from home.
We may make adjustments to reduce each individual's daily exposure to other people and allow more flexibility in meeting COVID-19-related requirements. This could include changes to keep groups from mixing if you are traveling with other schools or communities, or adjusting the size of a group. These changes will be made on a case-by-case basis and communicated in advance.
If a participant feels ill with symptoms of COVID-19 (which include fever, chills/aches, shortness of breath, coughing), our team will immediately facilitate movement of the participant to a location where they can safely be separated from others, while simultaneously engaging our Doctors on Call or a local medical facility to consult on the next steps, testing, and treatment. We would then, as required:
WorldStrides will provide the resources necessary to facilitate the recommended treatment, including an isolated, chaperoned location for the participant to recover and arrangements for a new itinerary to return home.
As part of WorldStrides, we have access to an exclusive partnership with The George Washington University Department of Emergency Medicine. We leverage this unique program to connect travelers to doctors for phone consultations or treatment recommendations.
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