ETOA resource: COVID-19 border protocols arriving into Europe   (version uploaded 22 July 2021)

 

23 July 2021 | Information on the ‘Pass Sanitaire’ (health pass) in France where vaccine certification or negative PCR/antigen test (within 48 hours) is required when visiting leisure and cultural places bringing together more than 50 people and extended to restaurants/cafes and long distance public transport from beginning of August. We are seeking clarity as to whether non-EU vaccine certificates without a readable QR code are being universally accepted (assuming the vaccine administered is the same as from the EMA approved list and certificate is in English). The Eiffel Tower is accepting US CDC certification. The US Embassy in France is awaiting an update. UK NHS certification is being accepted as contains a readable QR code. Further details here from UK Foreign Office.

23 July 2021 | Iceland has announced changes for fully vaccinated/recovered persons travelling to Iceland from Tuesday 27th July whereby a pre-arrival PCR/Antigen test will now be required. Fully vaccinated/recovered persons are still exempt (since 1st July) from the sampling process once at the Iceland border.

8 July 2021 | UK Government has announced that fully vaccinated travellers resident in the UK returning to England from amber list countries will be exempt from quarantine from 19th July (including children under 18). Testing requirements for UK fully vaccinated travellers from amber will also change from 19th July whereby 2 tests will be required (1 pre-arrival PCR/antigen and 1 PCR day 2 after arrival). Testing requirements remain the same for children (from age 11+ pre arrival and from age 5+ day 2 after arrival).

  • Further information on the policy being extended for international visitors is to be announced for implementation “later this summer”. To enable planning, list of vaccines being accepted in the trial are AstraZeneca/Oxford, Janssen, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and Sinopharm.
  • Fully vaccinated travellers are anticipated to be able to travel freely to Ireland from 19th July. Stays of at least 10 days in Ireland and then travelling on to all UK nations would exempt travellers from the UK traffic light system including post arrival testing.
  • For UK outbound travel, the UK Government will remove from 19th July the general guidance that people should not travel to amber countries (FCDO formal advice may still advise against travelling to some regions/countries designated amber as DfT and FCDO assess different criteria).
  • Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are currently following the traffic light country classification list but have yet to confirm if will follow the above policy change.
  • Next review of green/amber lists is due on Thursday 15th July. Second checkpoint review of the traffic light system is expected on or around 29th July where changes for testing requirements from green list countries may be considered.
  • Please note many EU/EFTA countries are currently only accepted travellers from the UK who are fully vaccinated. Some countries are also not permitting fully vaccinated travellers from the UK without quarantine requirements. We will publish a resource to help shortly. In the meantime, UK Foreign Office travel advice pages contain links to official information.

6 July 2021 | UK Government plan for England intended to take effect from 19th July (to be confirmed on 12th July). Includes removal of legal limit on group numbers such as the ‘rule of 6’ and social distancing in most tourism settings (except at border ports). Furthermore, the COVID-status certification review has concluded “that the use of certification will not be mandated in law as a condition of entry for visitors to any setting at the present time”.

25 June 2021 | Germany permits entry from 25 June for fully vaccinated travellers not on the EU white list except travelling from countries designated ‘virus variant areas’. Vaccines approved are from EMA list only and fully vaccinated travellers are not subject to pre-arrival testing or quarantine. Further information here.

18 June 2021 | European Council has updated their ‘white list‘ to include USA, Lebanon and some Balkan states. The white list recommends to member states (plus EFTA states) that entry restrictions on non-essential travel should be lifted from these non-EU countries. While fully vaccinated travellers have already been recommended, the white list applies to all travellers from these countries and may also affect testing requirements. For instance, France has moved USA from orange to green list whereby fully vaccinated travellers no longer require a pre-arrival test or health declaration form.

08 June 2021 | French Government strategy for international travel from 9th June. Updates to traffic light country classification will be published on foreign nationals travelling to France page.

05 June 2021 | Spanish government publish official decrees setting out new entry requirements for international visitors effective midnight 7th June. Documentation (Spanish only) available here: Health Ministry bulletin,  Interior Ministry bulletin and  statement from Secretary of State for Tourism.

28 May 2021 | Irish Government roadmap for international travel from 19 July

20 May 2021 | Travel to the EU and EFTA
 EU recommendation updated for member states and EFTA states on lifting travel restrictions for tourism from non-EU countries (further information in European Union section). The ‘White list’ criteria has been amended increasing the threshold from 25 to 75 for the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 in the last 14 days. In addition, fully vaccinated travellers from non-White list countries are also recommended to be allowed for tourism (except when a temporary emergency brake has been applied due to variants of concern). Please note, not all EU member states are adopting this recommendation in full and final decision on border entry remains a matter of national competence. Furthermore, in some member states fully vaccinated travellers may still be subject to testing requirements.

Please contact policy@etoa.org for questions and assistance navigating the content.

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  • For an overview of domestic and cross-border travel allowed/restricted and services open in destination:
    Re-Open EU for EU27 and EFTA countries
    United Kingdom
    UNWTO/IATA Destination Tracker for countries worldwide
    Sherpa for countries worldwide
    Government webpages should also be monitored as the final decision on border entry and issuing travel advisories/warnings remain matters of national competence (EEA, Switzerland, UK and some long haul source markets for Europe can be found below).
  • Information on the Package Travel Directive can be found in the European Union section.
  • Trade association and business operational guidelines to take into account specific circumstances can be found in our Operational Guidelines page (links to overall government health guidelines below) 
  • ETOA’s webinar programme can be found in our Coronavirus Hub.
  • For opinion and research please see our Insight hub.

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ETOA is working hard to ensure European tourism receives the attention it needs during the crisis, to support our members day-to-day, to share information and resources, and to work towards a strong recovery. This page is updated as destinations and government bodies issue new information.

We recognise that the immediate priority is commercial survival so that travel and tourism can play a vital part in the recovery, adding jobs to the economy faster than any other sector. That requires urgent and continued government help. Next, business needs information so it can plan and prioritise effectively.

Tourism in Europe will survive and thrive, and it may be very different. Recovery will take place with renewed respect for how interdependent our world has become. How we look after and share what we most value – communities, cities, countryside and culture – will drive policy, and stimulate new products and services.

Policy makers and the private sector must collaborate to build a resilient and sustainable future for the industry. ETOA and its members will be at the heart of it.

What are we doing?

PR and Lobbying at EU and national level for urgent financial support

      • Cash-flow is King: flexibility needed to help business cope
      • Crisis support must be simple to access and delivered quickly
      • Initiatives to stimulate recovery must be well-targeted to deliver maximum impact
      • ETOA is regularly asked for comment and expert insight

Industry engagement

      • We hold frequent meetings via video-conference with representative groups of members in various destinations and contact members direct.
      • We maintain dialogue with policy makers, DMOs and key attractions, including those holding large pre-payments.
      • We aggregate actual business impact and current priorities per market to support targeted lobbying activity.
      • We stay in close touch with our network in origin markets, monitoring for signs of recovery and consumer trends.

Information and resources

      • We are available for guidance and support. If we don’t have the answer we may know someone who does. Please email coronavirus@etoa.org to request a call-back.
      • We have a programme of webinars focusing on crisis impact, support and recovery plans for origin markets and destinations.
      • We contribute member insight and market intelligence to a range of webinars and policy meetings with industry stakeholders and other institutions.
      • We monitor official information and resources and publish links to government financial support, travel restrictions and health information (see below).

Multinational Bodies and Associations

European Union

European Council and European Commission homepages on travel during the COVID-19 pandemic

Travel information 

  • Re-Open EU map for the latest information on domestic and cross-border travel allowed/restricted, services open in destination (e.g. attractions, hospitality) and health and safety guidance provided by EU27 and EFTA member states:
    • Schengen area:
      • EU – Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia,  Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden
      • Non-EU – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
    • EU non-Schengen:
      •  Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania (apply Schengen rules at their external border for non-EU nationals but time in these countries does not count towards time in Schengen area)
      •  Ireland
  • Travel to the EU from non-EU countries 
    • Since 1 July 2020 the European Council has recommended to member states (and EFTA states) that travel restrictions should be lifted for tourism purposes from some non-EU countries. The recommended (‘White’) list is reviewed fortnightly and can be found on the European Council’s travel and transport page and on the Re-Open EU map.
    • The EU recommend that fully vaccinated travellers from non-White list countries should also be allowed (including their children who are excluded from vaccination due to age) except when a temporary emergency break has been applied due to a variant of concern. Travel for essential reasons, non-EU nationals long term resident in the EU and passengers in transit should also be permitted (full exemptions).
    • Please note, not all EU member states are adopting this recommendation in full and final decision on border entry remains a matter of national competence. Please see Re-Open EU map for guidance on border entry requirements and also check national government webpages.


Health credentials

  • European Commission proposal on “Digital Green Certificate” for use and acceptance by EU member states for travellers to display a vaccination certificate, a test certificate or certificate of recovery should it be required by a member state (implementation date anticipated in June 2021).
  • Where member states accept proof of vaccination to waive certain public health restrictions such as testing or quarantine, they would be required to accept, under the same conditions, vaccination certificates issued under the Digital Green Certificate system. This obligation would be limited to vaccines that have received EU-wide marketing authorisation, but member states can decide to accept other vaccines in addition.


Package Travel and Passenger rights


European Commission strategy and guidelines


European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

OECD

United Nations

International Air Transport Association (IATA)

Border restrictions map (Destination Tracker) per country and which persons are permitted to enter.

NECSTouR

Homepage on COVID-19 including examples of good practice by tourism boards

Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO)

European destinations and source markets

Austria

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Belgium

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Bulgaria

Croatia

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Cyprus

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Denmark

Tourism Boards and Agencies on COVID-19

Finland

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

France

National

Regional

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Greece

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Hungary

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Iceland

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Ireland

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Italy

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

ETOA referral

  • ETOA’s Italian lawyer can support member companies if they have queries:  Avv. Dino Costanza

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Malta

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Norway

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Poland

Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Romania

Slovakia

Sweden

United Kingdom


Business Support 

Business Financial Support


Tourism Boards on COVID-19

Long-haul source markets for Europe

India

USA

Disclaimer: While best efforts have been made to verify the accuracy of the information, the information displayed on this page should be used as guidance only.

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