Tourism in Europe put to the test in the fight against Covid-19

Audio 04:29

Tourists arrive at the airport in Malaga, Spain on May 24, 2021. © REUTERS - JON NAZCA

By: Dominique Baillard Follow

9 mins

Europeans are gradually reopening their borders this week.

Their bet: make a success of the tourist season by containing the coronavirus.

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The big day will of course be July 1, when the European “health pass” officially comes into force. Some countries already apply it. Like Greece, Croatia or Bulgaria. The other major tourist countries around the Mediterranean which are not yet ready for its implementation have, however, lifted quite a few entry restrictions to their territory to attract visitors. Spain appears to be the most liberal. No need for a PCR test for Schengen nationals and even more quarantine for nationals of countries at risk, the vaccination certificate will serve as a key to the peninsula. Spain, one of the countries most dependent on tourism, and the one that makes the most of it, since it holds the record for the number of nights spent there,hopes to achieve this summer 70% of the figure for the years preceding the appearance of Covid-19. Greece is also quite permissive for non-Europeans: the PCR test, the vaccine or the post-Covid-19 immunity certificate are sufficient for nationals with well-lined pockets, Canadians, Americans, Chinese, Russians, Israelis or the Saudis.

Italy, Portugal, France maintain stricter barriers

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With different risk assessments from one country to another. In Italy, quarantine remains essential for Americans and Canadians among others. While in Portugal, South Africans, Brazilians and Indians are subject to it. Both Italy and Portugal still require negative PCR, including for Europeans or the British. In France, a color code has been applied since Wednesday, green for most Europeans allows circulation with the health pass, the orange color implies the test or the vaccine but exempts the visitor from quarantine, finally red for those who stay unwanted. Note that the Americans who were classified red have returned to the orange group. These tourists are popular because they spend a lot. Thelast year the revenue generated by foreign tourists fell by half in France, a loss of 28 billion euros.

Will tourists find their way around this regulatory anthill?

The journey will sometimes turn into an obstacle course. Especially since these rules are fluid, they can change depending on the evolution of the coronavirus. Which is understandable. The economy is not yet taking precedence over health, because new waves of pandemic could very quickly reduce to zero all efforts to end the health crisis. Sometimes the problem with these rules is being overzealous. Travelers from the Schengen area landing in France have borne the brunt in recent days. Undergoing random tests on their arrival decided by the prefecture. A precautionary measure never explained and not always well understood by travelers. They lost time, sometimes missed their correspondence. Measures which also risk paralyzing theairport activity.

Paris airports boss calls for systematic police checks to be lifted

Augustin de Romanet has been warning about a “

waiting time apocalypse

” for several weeks 

 .

The last straw would actually be to dissuade travelers from taking the plane.

For some airlines, the urgency is also to restore flights.

US and UK company executives are begging President Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson to give the green light in their talks scheduled today.

Heathrow airport, which saw 21 million travelers from the United States in 2019, is desperately awaiting the reopening of transatlantic lines to resume its activity.

In short

► For the first time in twenty years, child labor is on the rise again.

This is the alarming observation of the United Nations.

160 million working children were counted in 2020. This is 8 million more than four years ago, at the last count.

The Covid-19 has been there.

Another worrying trend: they are increasingly younger, half of them between 5 and 11 years old.

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