Tourism boost for EU as Germans get set to travel

Germany is preparing to give its citizens the right to travel across Europe on holiday from the middle of June under a plan that will help efforts to revive tourism on the Continent.

Reports today said a blueprint to be put to the German cabinet tomorrow will recommend the removal of a travel warning introduced to stop trips to other countries in the EU.

If approved, the change will give Germans the green light to visit any of the countries, as well as Britain and the four nations that are part of the Schengen passport-free zone — so long as the national policies in each of the countries permits entry.

The move came as the Czech Republic today opened its border crossings into Germany and Austria and follows an earlier easing of checks on borders connecting Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It also follows an admission last week by Germany’s foreign minister Heiko Maas that the country wants to ease its continent-wide travel warning from June 15.

However, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is planning to extend the application of social-distancing rules within Germany until June 29 to ensure its success in containing coronavirus is not jeopardised.

Today’s disclosure will give a further lift to Europe’s tourism industry which has been helped by announcements from Spain and Italy that they will be welcoming foreign visitors this summer.

In a further boost today, Spain’s foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez urged EU members to agree a common approach to re-establishing freedom of travel in the Schengen Area.

She told Spanish radio that restarting cross-border travel should be decided collectively, even if countries in the EU are phasing out lockdowns at different dates, and that Spain is eager to welcome tourists.

Her comments came a day after she announced the 14-day quarantine for travellers arriving in Spain would end in July.

Meanwhile, the Greek islands have begun reopening this week by allowing domestic tourists ahead of the admission of international tourists from July.

Regular ferry services have restarted and cafes and restaurants are back in business as the country’s low infection rate prompted the government to start the holiday season three weeks earlier than the expected June 15 date.

Social-distancing regulations and passenger limits will apply on ferries and at restaurants to prevent new infections. State-run health services to tackle coronavirus are also being expanded to the islands, with intensive care units being set up on Lesbos, Samos, Rhodes, Zakynthos, and Corfu. There are similar facilities on Crete.

In other developments, the French prime minister Edouard Philippe has promised that its health workers will receive large pay increases as part of an overhaul of its hospital system prompted by the coronavirus crisis.

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