Germany set to lift travel warning for 31 countries
The German government wants to lift the worldwide travel warning for tourists for 31 European countries from June 15th, if the coronavirus situation continues to improve within Europe.
In addition to Germany's 26 partner countries in the European Union, these include the UK, and the four states of the border-free Schengen area, which are not members of the EU: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
These are the findings of a draft policy paper entitled "Criteria for Enabling Intra-European Tourism", which is to be adopted by Germany's Cabinet as early as Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) had issued the worldwide travel warning on March 17th - a step that is unprecedented to date - and extended it on April 29th.
READ ALSO: Germany extends worldwide travel tourist warning until mid-June
Until now, Germany has only issued travel warnings to areas which posed life danger, especially in war zones such as Syria or Afghanistan.
The lifting of the travel warning should give a starting signal for cross-border summer trips in Europe just in time for the holiday season.
"The revival of tourism is important both for travellers and the German travel industry and for economic stability in the respective destination countries", says the draft from the Federal Foreign Office.
The travel warning is to be replaced by individual travel advice, which will point out the risks for each individual country.
Staying safe while travelling
In order to ensure the best possible protection of tourists against a coronavirus infection, the Federal Government intends to lobby the EU to adopt a number of common criteria.
Among other things, it proposes that the upper limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days be adopted by the other European countries.
In Germany, exceeding this limit will lead to the reintroduction of anti-corona measures which have already been scraped.
READ ALSO: State by state: Where and when can I travel within Germany?
The paper also implores individual countries to develop "sustainable concepts" for the observance of distance rules and hand hygiene, the wearing of masks, and the ventilation and disinfection of rooms.
The ideas should also include plans for holidaymakers who fall ill and provide evidence of sufficient test capacities, quarantine and treatment options.
In addition, the paper recommends that safety measures for passengers and personnel, for example on airplanes, be implemented.
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In addition to Germany's 26 partner countries in the European Union, these include the UK, and the four states of the border-free Schengen area, which are not members of the EU: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
These are the findings of a draft policy paper entitled "Criteria for Enabling Intra-European Tourism", which is to be adopted by Germany's Cabinet as early as Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) had issued the worldwide travel warning on March 17th - a step that is unprecedented to date - and extended it on April 29th.
READ ALSO: Germany extends worldwide travel tourist warning until mid-June
Until now, Germany has only issued travel warnings to areas which posed life danger, especially in war zones such as Syria or Afghanistan.
The lifting of the travel warning should give a starting signal for cross-border summer trips in Europe just in time for the holiday season.
"The revival of tourism is important both for travellers and the German travel industry and for economic stability in the respective destination countries", says the draft from the Federal Foreign Office.
The travel warning is to be replaced by individual travel advice, which will point out the risks for each individual country.
Staying safe while travelling
In order to ensure the best possible protection of tourists against a coronavirus infection, the Federal Government intends to lobby the EU to adopt a number of common criteria.
Among other things, it proposes that the upper limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days be adopted by the other European countries.
In Germany, exceeding this limit will lead to the reintroduction of anti-corona measures which have already been scraped.
READ ALSO: State by state: Where and when can I travel within Germany?
The paper also implores individual countries to develop "sustainable concepts" for the observance of distance rules and hand hygiene, the wearing of masks, and the ventilation and disinfection of rooms.
The ideas should also include plans for holidaymakers who fall ill and provide evidence of sufficient test capacities, quarantine and treatment options.
In addition, the paper recommends that safety measures for passengers and personnel, for example on airplanes, be implemented.
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