LONON / MADRID: The race to issue vaccine licenses is stimulating competition among travel agents and tourist destinations for the large number of Britons set to receive COVID-19 shots before the summer.
As a result of the rapid use of vaccines, Britain is the only major European country that is likely to include a large proportion of working – age adults in the summer. They are probably the first major regional test of digital health certifications in development.
Airlines such as easyJet saw out-of-Britain locations last week when the government raised plans to return to quarantine-free summer travel, and the EU agreed to develop vaccine licenses under pressure from southern countries that were dependent on tourism.
But interconnected consumer access plans run counter to fact studies – from invisible viral changes to EU international splits over vaccine licenses, with France leading the way from several states about political concerns and discrimination.
Britain’s uncertain move towards return travel “puts pressure on other countries to do the same, which is good for us,” said Grigoris Tasios of the Greek Federation of Hoteliers. Greece has eased a ban on vaccinating Israelis and is talking about a similar arrangement with the UK.
Tourism from Germany, another major travel market releasing the UK on vaccines, reduced Berlin’s release of quarantines for certified passengers, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said this week.
After Britain leaves the EU, disorganized tourists appear to be at the heart of the battle travel industry’s hopes for the peak season.
Spain, the British ‘s No. 1 destination, has been pushing hard for EU vaccine certification. Details about Mallorca Island’s closed hotels are of great concern, their spokeswoman Maria Duran said.
“We are paying close attention to the UK, the first country to design and share a roadmap for renewing mobility,” she said. Spain saw UK visitor numbers fall to 3.1 million last year from more than 18 million in 2019.
Athens is a direct attraction for British customers.
Those with shots, with or without an EU blessing, will be spared tests, Tourism Minister Harry Theocharis said in UK media interviews.
Tourism sustains a fifth of Greece’s workforce and economy, hit by a 76 percent drop in international entrants last year and € 14 billion ($ 17 billion) in revenue- lost entry in the department.
Greece’s position, and similar Spanish promises, are contrasted with the message from France, the second-place destination for Britons – not in a hurry to welcome them.
“Don’t come,” Nice mayor Christian Estrosi advised overseas visitors last month, as the Mediterranean city was embroiled in a COVID-19 reversal. faster spread and was first identified in Britain. “It’s not the time. ”
As a result, airlines and tourists are pushing “solar and sea” destinations to Spain, Greece and Portugal in a bid to bring in much-needed cash.
“The move is now towards what is likely to be open,” said Toby Kelly, CEO of UK travel agency Trailfinders, pointing to a “huge boost in demand” to Greek destinations.
“Greece has been a big story, with its government completely behind vaccine certification. ”
Without waiting for Brussels, Cyprus rushed in on Thursday, announcing that UK vaccinated tourists could enter from May 1 without a test or quarantine.
Andy Davies, director of a 43-year-old British company that kept Villa Mallorca for July after receiving the vaccine, said he was settled by Britain’s reopening plans and “noises coming from Europe” about the vaccine passport. ”