More and more governments in Europe are moving to drop Covid tests for entry.
Greece is the latest country in Europe to allow tourists with an
European vaccination certificate to enter the country without having to
show a negative test for Covid-19 from 7 February.
The move was made in anticipation of the arrival of summer tourists
to the country from 1 March, Reuters reported the Tourism Minister
Vassilis Kikilias as saying.
Portugal also announced that it will scrap arrival testing
requirements for air passengers with a valid EU Digital Covid
Certificate. Further details have not been released yet.
Fully vaccinated travellers entering the UK and Scotland from 11 February will also be exempted from any Covid tests.
The easing of travel restrictions in Europe has spurred dozens of
airlines and trade groups in the US to lobby the White House to remove
Covid tests for fully vaccinated inbound arrivals to the country.
Zane Kerby, president and CEO of the American Society of Travel
Advisors (ASTA), who sent the letter on behalf of the association’s
17,000 travel advisor members, said ASTA’s proposed modification would
help remove “a number of practical challenges to our members and their
clients".
While moves to axe Covid tests for international vaccinated arrivals
have not been observed in Asia, governments in the region have been
taking steady steps to ease travel.
In Vietnam, passengers are no longer required to take Covid tests for domestic flights.
Singapore, meanwhile, now only requires international vaccinated
travellers on the country's vaccinated travel lanes to do
self-administered antigen rapid tests.