Will we be able to travel and go on vacation next summer? To get an answer, we need to look to Greece; not so much for the beaches, villages or cultural heritage that the country can make available to the visitor, but because of the model that the government of Athens is putting in place to save the tourist season. Greece, in addition to having launched a vaccination campaign aimed precisely at the holiday sector, has already declared that it will accept the entry of people with vaccination passports or able to demonstrate their immunity to Covid. The Hellenic example is dragging other governments (starting with the EU) behind it to try to allow the safe movement of as many people as possible. In its small way, in Italy, the example has already been followed by Sardinia.
Greece: open doors (to the vaccinated) from May
Speaking (remotely) at the recent Berlin Tourism Fair, Greek Minister of Industry Harry Theocharis clarified what his government’s strategy for the summer season. The goal is to reopen the borders (at least those with the EU) starting next May 14th. Anyone able to produce a vaccination certificate or a recent negative swab will be able to spend their holidays in the land of Plato. At the same time Athens is also acting on the domestic front: the vaccination campaign (which in Greece has already affected 11% of the population) has aimed straight at the islands – a privileged destination for tourism – and at operators in the holiday sector. The goal is to create as large a covid-free area as possible; symbolically, the goal has already been crossed on the island of Kastellorizo (the one where the Mediterranean film was shot): a few hundred inhabitants but all already protected from the attack of the virus.
Travel and Covid, from the vaccination passport to good practices, the extras:
China beats everyone on time with its vaccination passport
Much is also happening outside Europe: not so much to allow the arrival of travelers as the departure of their fellow citizens to other destinations. China beat everyone on time: the Beijing foreign ministry announced the launch of a vaccination passport to enable economic recovery and cross-border travel. Intent to give the green light to those immunized are also India, some Gulf states, Great Britain and the USA. Of course, it remains to be seen whether these travel documents will be accepted by the countries of destination: only in this case will the measure prove effective. Australia is more cautious as it foresees the reopening of its borders only in 2022.
March 10, 2021 (change March 10, 2021 | 15:19)
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