The COVID-19 pandemic, which has been prevailing for more than a year now, has affected several business sectors severely.
The tourism industry, whose basic requirement is the movement of people from one place to another, has not been spared either thanks to lockdown restrictions, cancellation of flights for domestic and international travel, closure of resorts and other tourist attractions.
However, with inoculations for COVID-19 underway worldwide, more and more nations are opening their borders for vaccinated travelers. As long as people have been administered two doses of their country’s respective vaccine and can produce documentary evidence to prove that they have been inoculated, some countries are welcoming them.
So, for all you travelers out there who can’t wait to get back and explore the world, here’s a list of countries you can visit after getting vaccinated:
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Iceland
The European country issued its first COVID-19 vaccination certificates on January 26 to ease travel for all those people who have been inoculated against the disease. The country’s health ministry said that this step was taken with an aim to facilitate movement of people between countries and individuals who could produce vaccination certificates would be exempt from border restrictions. However, the ministry pointed out that the certificates are yet to be recognized internationally.
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Seychelles
According to an official statement on January 17, the government opened the East African country Seychelles for tourism for those people who have been administered vaccine doses and also have a negative report from the RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) test 72 hours before the journey.
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Phuket
The resort island of Thailand is formulating a plan to fully reopen to vaccinated visitors by October this year with an aim to revive the tourism industry which has been hard hit by the pandemic. The plan which will need permits from the government also seeks to waive a mandatory 14-day quarantine requirement for travelers.
“This will allow thousands of vaccinated Europeans who usually spend their winter months in Phuket to visit,” Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, president of the Phuket tourist association said.
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Georgia
Georgia, which is situated at the intersection of eastern Europe and West Asia, is the first country to remove entry restrictions for all vaccinated passengers. This means that there is no quarantine, no testing on arrival or pre-departure.
Also, since February 1 all international tourists have been allowed to enter the country as long as they have been administered both doses of their respective coronavirus vaccines and can also present requisite proof.
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Cyprus
The Middle Eastern country Cyprus recently announced that all incoming travelers, who have been undergoing vaccination for COVID-19 will be allowed to skip the process of COVID testing and quarantine March 2021. Referring to this, Cyprus Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos stated that Cyprus is planning to reopen for all vaccinated travelers from March 1, 2021, without any restriction.
The Minister also added that this latest plan of action will likely boost the interest of airline companies to carry out additional flights to Cyprus, which will further help in improving connectivity, as well as passenger traffic.
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Lebanon
Lebanon has also announced that travelers, who are able to present proof of a vaccination certificate, will no longer be required to undergo a quarantine process upon arrival. Travelers from all nations will be allowed to visit Lebanon now under regular visa requirements.
However, vaccinated travelers will still be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test report, which has been taken prior to 96 hours of boarding their flight to Lebanon. Further, a second PCR test will be done upon arrival at the airport.
And if you are not vaccinated yet, no worries just pick your choice from these dreamy destinations and start planning so that you can zoom off into them once you are protected against COVID-19.
