You postponed your trip to Greece in 2020 and now you are ready to think about traveling again. Actually, you are ready to start planning again, since we have all been thinking about traveling even when we were focused on staying safe at home. Travel thoughts are never far from my mind, and like many of us, I search Google on a pretty regular basis for updates to travel restrictions as I track the pandemic peak and fall.
Needless to say I was thrilled to learn that the Greek Minister of Tourism has announced that Greece will reopen to tourists on May 14, 2021.
I was even happier to read this morning that the EU is planning on having a digital “green” certificate functioning by summer so that travelers can provide proof of vaccination. While the Greek government has said that those who cannot or will not be vaccinated can still travel with proof of a negative Covid test within 72 hours of arrival in Greece, I think that the vaccine certificate program will be embraced by the vast majority of travelers.
Vaccine certification trial run for travel
The digital “green” certificate for travelers vaccinated and ready to travel has been under discussion between Greece, Israel and Cypress for a few months already. Given the high vaccination rate amongst Israelis it is possible we’ll see these travelers heading to Greece and Cyprus as early as the beginning of May. A Greek government official said that could be as early as April, but I personally have my doubts about travel resuming so soon. Israel, in the meantime, has started using the digital certificates although as of March 18, 2021, only one country in the world was welcoming travelers from Israel who have been vaccinated.
