How Europeans May Be Able To Holiday With A COVID-19 Passport

While the possibility of holidays this summer for anyone is far from a certainty, European travelers may be able to count on a special passport to get into other EU countries.

As some European Union states start looking at ways of opening up their borders to tourism, one possibility being considered is that of a bloc-wide “Covid-19 passport”. A kind of EU-wide health travel document.

EU tourism ministers discussed the plan in a video conference on Monday, as a way of helping Europe’s embattled travel industry towards a summer recovery.

The idea is to give a green light to tourists from EU countries that already have the pandemic fairly under control. “We must allow the borders to be opened as much as we can,” said Croatia’s tourism minister, Gari Cappelli, who chaired the meeting. Yet with the safety net of a travel protocol in place, “which all of us must then respect.”

The “COVID-19 passport”, he said, could be used by all Europeans arriving and leaving on vacation by air, road, rail and water. Tourism is seen as crucial in saving economies such as Italy, Spain, France and Croatia who depend heavily on the sector. Tourism represents 10% of the EU’s GDP, accounts for 12% of jobs, and generates over €400 billion in revenue. More than three quarters of leisure and business trips made by EU citizens are to European neighbours, most of whom have closed their borders amid the coronavirus crisis. 

In early April, EU officials called on members to keep external borders shut until mid May. First introduced on March 17, the ban has ruled out all but essential travel to 30 EU and Schengen countries since–and kept tourists out. There has even been talk of the Schengen zone members shutting down on tourism until September, to stave off the threat of COVID-19 from U.S. and other travelers.

So When Will European Holidays Be Possible For All Foreigners?

Beyond May 15, there is a possibility of the EU border closure again being extended. That means for now the travel ban to 26 EU countries plus Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein stays firmly in place.

There is no talk of the proposed COVID-19 passport being extended to non-European travelers. Similarly in Greece, where authorities are mulling over the EU’s proposed “Health Passport”. The document would provide summer holiday “proof that travelers are not suffering from COVID-19”, tourism minister, Harry Theocharis, confirmed today. But there is no indication of Greece extending the laissez-passer to non-EU nationals over summer. Staycations are looking like a surer bet. And even then …