Iceland to welcome vaccinated tourists

Inoculated travellers aren’t subject to testing or quarantine

The Blue Lagoon near Reykjavik (REUTERS)

Iceland has announced it will welcome back visitors who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

In a bid to boost tourism, the government confirmed that from this week, those who’ve had both doses of a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency can enter the country without needing to get tested for coronavirus or undergo quarantine.

“The Icelandic government has announced that all those who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will be allowed to travel to Iceland without being subject to border measures, such as testing and quarantine,” the government said in a statement on 16 March, reports Reuters.

Previously, this exemption only applied to vaccinated travellers from EU countries.

But now, all visitors who’ve been jabbed will be welcome, including those from the UK.

“From 18 March this exemption will apply to citizens outside the Schengen area, including the UK and USA,” said the statement.

It’s the latest country to open its borders to inoculated travellers, as destinations worldwide attempt to pave the way for the travel industry to restart.

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Georgia, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Madeira and the Seychelles are all currently letting in vaccinated visitors.

Meanwhile, other countries have pledged to reopen borders minus quarantine restrictions this spring and summer.

Cyprus has given the green light to those who’ve had both jabs from 1 May; Spain could start using vaccine passports from May; from 14 May, tourists may enter Greece without any quarantine requirement as long as they provide proof of full vaccination, Covid-19 antibodies, or a negative test; and Portugal has also given a date of May for unrestricted travel.

And Turkey is the latest country to give tourists a reason to be hopeful: the tourism minister has said he expects to welcome visitors this summer without requiring evidence of vaccination.

In addition, British travellers are unlikely to need to take PCR tests before arrival due to the success of the UK’s vaccine programme.