Portugal To Reopen To Vaccinated US Travelers Soon
As the European Union prepares to reopen to international visitors, Portugal is joining those countries ready to welcome US travelers. Economy Minister Pedro Siza Vieira spoke about loosening travel restrictions on a Portuguese radio station on Tuesday. He announced that they are in a position to approve the reopening of non-essential travel and flights from the US, as long as travelers can prove they are fully vaccinated with approved vaccines.
Portugal reopening to vaccinated US visitors
Portugal is trying to salvage its summer vacation season that has been badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The tourism industry accounted for almost 15 percent of Portugal’s GDP prior to the pandemic and had its worst results since the mid-1980s in 2020, with the number of international visitors slumping 76 percent to just under 4 million. This came after the country experienced a record 2019.
Portugal’s Economy Minister Pedro Siza Vieira made a statement on a Portuguese radio station on Tuesday announcing that the country is reopening to non-essential travel and flights from the US, provided visitors have been fully vaccinated.
Reuters quotes Vieira as saying, “We are in a position to approve the opening of non-essential travel and flights to people from the US to Portugal as long as they have a vaccination certificate.”
Visitors will need to have received their second vaccination dose, or single-dose vaccine, at least two weeks prior to arriving in Portugal. All vaccines must be approved by the European Medicines Agency.
“I believe that next week we will be able to have this up and running,” Vieira said on a trip to the Algarve region of Portugal. However, he did not mention an exact date on which US visitors would be allowed to enter the country.
Europe reopening to international travelers
Though details are still scarce, it is clear that Portugal is joining the growing list of European bloc countries that are reopening to fully vaccinated American travelers. So far, Croatia, Denmark, Italy, Norway and Spain are on the welcome list.
This couldn’t come too soon for Portugal, after the UK recently reintroduced quarantine restrictions on travelers returning from Portugal. According to Reuters, this will be a huge blow to the country’s tourism sector, as the UK is one of Portugal’s biggest foreign tourism markets. Without British tourists, popular regions like the Algarve, famous for its beaches and golf courses, will continue to struggle even as they prepare to welcome US visitors.
Portugal was forced to impose a strict lockdown in January 2021 in order to tackle what was then one of the world’s worst COVID-19 surges. However, the country has since lifted most of its restrictions and the number of cases has, reportedly, increased in recent weeks.
While vaccinated US travelers will be welcome soon, Portugal is already open to visitors from European Union countries with low infection rates as well as from Britain. However, currently all travelers must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test on arrival in the country.
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