Category: Europe

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) have decided to extend support to Ukraine’s tourism sector, in a bid to mitigate the losses suffered. “Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the tourism and hospitality industry across the world is expecting more than a billion tourists to cancel their holiday plans, leading to an 80% compared with 2019. In response, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) have teamed up to offer emergency support and recommendations for Ukraine’s tourism industry, which has also been badly affected by the ... Read more

“I believe I’ll never see her alive again.” Bettina Wintermark worries that her adopted country Norway’s pandemic travel ban means she won’t be able to make one last visit to her dying mother in France. The Scandinavian country, which was quick to bring the new coronavirus under control, has ignored calls to lift, or at least ease, its travel restrictions, making it probably the most closed nation in Europe, according to news agency AFP. Most non-residents are still not allowed to enter the country, and while foreign trips are not forbidden for Norwegians, the 10-day quarantine requirement upon return to ... Read more

Italy’s massive tourism industry has taken a hit from two months of total shutdown and an ongoing ban on visitors from outside Europe. Hence, in a bid to revive the sector, which makes up 13% of the country’s GDP and 15% of jobs, some parts of the country are offering incentives to holiday in Italy this summer, reports The Local.it. Here’s a guide to what’s on offer if you’re planning to travel to Italy this summer. Sicily The island’s government wants to give discounts on plane tickets, subsidise hotel stays and cover the cost of guided tours for visitors arriving in ... Read more

People travelling from outside of the EU and the Schengen area will be able to visit Spain from June 30. Transcontinental non-essential travel to Spain from outside of Europe has been given the green light by the Spanish government, following the EU’s recommendation for member states to gradually reopen their borders from June 15 onwards. Tourists from the USA and Canada, Latin America, Africa, Oceania and Asia will in theory be able to book their holidays to Spain from that day, although the announcement published in Spain’s daily government bulletin states that restrictions on holidaymakers from outside of the EU and Schengen ... Read more

European Union countries desperate to revive their economies and reopen borders to tourists may bar US citizens from entering because the country’s efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic has not shown any positive results, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. Drafts of lists of countries that would be blocked show that the US — which has had at least 2,312,302 confirmed cases and 120,402 deaths, the most in the world — is among those under consideration for the ban along with Brazil and Russia, the paper reported. EU nations are considering potential lists of visitors who would be acceptable based on how their ... Read more

Restrictions on travel, introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, are slowly being eased, allowing tourism to restart in a growing number of destinations, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) said on Tuesday. According to the UNWTO’s latest research, as of 15 June, 22% of all destinations worldwide (48 of them) have started to ease restrictions – up from just 3% (7 destinations) on May 18 – with Europe leading the way. Destinations that have eased travel restrictions for tourists include: – 37 destinations in Europe, including 24 of the 26 Schengen Member States– 6 destinations in the Americas, including 5 Small Island Developing States– 3 destinations in Asia and the ... Read more

Hundreds of thousands of people are now on the move in Central and Southeast Europe as travel restrictions imposed to contain the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are eased, according to a news report by Intellinews. Croatia More than 350,000 tourists are now in Croatia and the number is rising by the day, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said last week. Admittedly this is low compared to last year, when 20 million people visited the country, but it is positive news for the tourism-dependent country that is trying to save at least part of the summer season this year ... Read more

To overcome the revenue loss caused by the lack of foreign tourists during the coronavirus pandemic, Estonia’s Ida-Viru County has launched a campaign with the goal of attracting at least 100,000 tourists over the summer. Ida-Viru County, or Ida-Virumaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is the most north-eastern part of the country. The county contains large deposits of oil shale – the main mineral mined in Estonia. As oil shale is used in thermal power plants, Ida-Viru contains most of Estonia’s energy resources. Last year, a record year for tourism, saw 91,000 tourists stay in Ida-Virumaa from ... Read more

Lithuania is looking to attract tourists from Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Japan and China to boost revenues and is taking proactive steps to spread awareness. Keliauk Lietuvoje (Lithuania Travel), a national tourism promotion agency, has opened search for representatives in these countries for initiating tourism marketing services. The aim of tourism marketing services would be to raise the profile of Lithuania as a country attractive for tourists and to boost incoming tourist flows, the agency told news wire BNS. According to the Central Procurement Portal, the agency signed contracts with Milan-registered Aigo (257,100 euros, ex-VAT), Travel Link Market ... Read more

North Macedonia’s Minister of Economy Kreshnik Bekteshi has said the country has outlined a set of measures to support tourism amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Bekteshi declared that the support of local tourism, which is one of the most affected sectors by the coronavirus crisis, is the main priority for the Ministry of Economy. “Given that the hotel industry is most affected by the crisis, we will encourage activities related to training, conferences, and seminars in hotels. Events and conferences will be co-financed by 50% of the costs or up to 30,000 Macedonian Denar (about 549 US dollars) per applicant,” Bekteshi ... Read more

Georgia’s plan to reopen the country to tourists while safeguarding the relatively under-control coronavirus situation was centred on allowing only tourists from countries that had minimal coronavirus outbreaks. But those plans took a hit when Israel – the first country with which Georgia had signed an agreement – experienced a spike in COVID-19 infections. “Papers are ready to be signed, but after the epidemiological environment worsened in Israel we sat down and decided to delay this,” Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has said. Georgia is also in negotiations with Baltic countries, the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria over creating the green corridors, but nothing has ... Read more

Several organizations in Latvia’s tourism sector have sent an open letter to the European Commission (EC), drawing attention to the difficult situation in the sector, as well as the lack of government support. “In Latvia’s tourism sector, which accounts for almost 5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), there is currently no indication that the situation is likely to improve. On the contrary, it is deteriorating every day,” said the representatives of the various organizations. According to them, Latvian tourism and hospitality companies are currently in a worse situation than they were during the 1998 Russian financial crisis and the financial ... Read more

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has promised free vouchers for tourists for a one-night stay in the country. All citizens and workers from the border regions above 16 years of age can benefit from the deal. Soon, the 700,000 vouchers will be on their way. Each will be worth 50 euros. Their validity will be until the end of the year. The money cannot be spent on meals or activities but can be combined within one family or a couple – for example, two persons can combine and have 100 euros deducted on their accommodation invoice for one night. The ... Read more

Denmark will further open its borders to countries with an “acceptable level” of coronavirus infections, softening travel restrictions that were set until August 31. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that the government will set criteria that will allow travel to and from certain countries. There are however no details or explanation yet regarding what the “objective criteria” are. “It will make it easier to continuously open (borders) for entry and exit and still have control over the situation at home,” Frederiksen said. On June 15, Denmark began reopening its borders to tourists from Germany, Norway and Iceland. It also allows ... Read more

Monaco is slowly opening up its tourist points to travellers, after reopening its borders on June 15. Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state, country, and microstate on the French Riviera in Western Europe. The Tourist and Convention Authority’s information points, located on Boulevard des Moulins and at the train station, are once again welcoming visitors to the Principality. To respect social distancing measures implemented by the Prince’s Government, tourists will be able to consult digital brochures online and via QR Codes. The French Riviera, which includes the Principality of Monaco, Nice and the Alpes-Maritimes region, along ... Read more