Inside Story

Is it safe for the EU to ease COVID restrictions for tourism?

The EU has agreed to reopen the bloc to vaccinated travellers despite new virus strains causing concern.

With increasing numbers of people receiving COVID-19 vaccines, some countries are ready to welcome back tourists in time for the holiday season.

The European Union has agreed to reopen the bloc to vaccinated travellers. But it is up to the 27 member states to decide who can enter and whether they need to spend time in quarantine.

The pandemic has devastated tourism-dependent countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece.

So will the industry recover? And is it safe to reopen as new virus strains cause concern around the world?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Sharron Livingston – Founder of thetravelmagazine.net

Ulrich Brueckner – Political analyst, professor at Stanford University in Berlin

Richard Dawood – Director of Fleet Street Clinic and specialist in travel medicine