From May 10, Cyprus will be open for tourists who have completed their vaccination program without any restrictions, Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios told KYPE, adding that the Cypriot authorities will inform the markets today about this development, which is expected to further facilitate the tourist planning in view of the summer season.
"We will inform our partners abroad that from May 10, it will be facilitated for those who have been vaccinated from the 65 countries we recently opened to come to Cyprus without a test and without being quarantined even if they are in close contact with a coronavirus case." said Mr. Perdios in his statements to KYPE.
As he said, the countries are the member states of the EU, the Common Economic Space including Norway and Iceland, but also countries such as Switzerland, Armenia, Bahrain, Belarus, Canada, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the United States.
"Of these approximately 65 countries, in addition to those who have been vaccinated with both doses or have completed their vaccination (after the Johnson vaccine) will be eligible for a negative test (depending on their classification in green, orange red) "& Johnson is unique) they will be able to come to Cyprus without a test", said Mr. Perdios, adding that this also applies to the Russian vaccine.
Asked about this, Mr. Perdios explained that the fact that Sputnik V is not licensed by the European Medicines Agency does not play a role, as consultations at EU level give any country the right to approve or accept for travel purposes and other vaccines from third countries.
"This is the agreement that EU countries have regarding the green certificate that is expected to be implemented in June 2021," he said, adding that Greece has also used this regulation.
Mr. Perdios also clarified that Cyprus will accept the vaccination certificate without performing a negative coronavirus test from the day of completion of the vaccination. "That is, if today someone received the second dose, or completed his vaccination, he will be able to travel to Cyprus without a test," he said.
As Mr. Perdios explained, the visitor will need to post the vaccination certificate on the Cyprus Flight Pass and fill in some information such as the vaccine he received, when he received it, in order to receive the approval to travel to Cyprus electronically. This will be checked during his departure from abroad but also upon his arrival in Cyprus, as is done with the negative tests, he added.
Clear picture for the season until the end of May
Asked about the picture regarding the reservations, Mr. Perdios said that for Britain the decisions of the British Authorities regarding the start date of trips abroad are expected, while from Russia, the second largest tourist market of Cyprus, scheduled flights are allowed. and not the charterers.
"We believe that as soon as our epidemiological picture improves that chartered flights will be allowed, something we expect in the coming weeks with the progress of the vaccination program and I believe that Lock down will also help," he added.
As for the airlines from the EU countries or the Gulf countries, Mr. Perdios said that there were no cancellations in the flight program from June onwards. At this point he clarified that these flights concern individual travelers mostly, since the travel packages mainly concern the main markets of Cyprus, such as Britain and Russia.
"Therefore, I believe that with this announcement that will be made today, the flight programs will be further strengthened and the booking rate will start more intensively", added Mr. Perdios.
"By the end of May, I believe we will have a clear picture of how the year will go," said Mr Perdios, adding that "these moves are very important, as we can enter the markets with positive news in one difficult time for Cyprus due to the new lock down ".
Moreover, Mr. Perdios said that in these 65 countries Cyprus has guaranteed that their flight program will never be interrupted and will always be in categories that will be able to fly with negative tests without the need for quarantine, something that showed that the airport operates normally despite restrictive measures.