Which international destinations are reopening to tourists? – CNN

(CNN) Although most governments are still advising against "nonessential" international travel, a host of popular destinations are beginning to ease their Covid-19 lockdown measures and border restrictions and are moving toward welcoming tourists back.

Back in May, the European Union unveiled an action plan to reopen its internal borders in time for summer, while countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have formed "travel bubbles," lifting restrictions for each other's citizens.

Some Caribbean islands are already beginning to open their doors to foreign visitors again, while destinations such as Mexico and Thailand are planning to reopen region by region in the coming weeks.

If you're one of many travelers eagerly awaiting news on where you can travel to this year, here's a guide to the top destinations making plans to reopen, as well as some of those that are keeping their borders firmly closed for now.

Aruba

Aruba has issued "tentative" reopening dates, which fall between June 15 and July 1.

LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images

However, the visitor's bureau for the Caribbean island, which has reported just over 100 confirmed coronavirus cases, says this "tentative" date may change if Aruba opts to "consider additional precautionary measures as needed."

Although there's no mention of any Covid-19 testing requirements for arrivals, tourists will be required to undergo temperature checks on arrival.

While nonessential businesses including shopping malls, cinemas, beauty salons and outdoor restaurants were allowed to reopen on May 25, the island country's 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew remains in place.

This means such establishments are required to close by 10 p.m. every day.

Bali

At least 6.3 million people visited Bali in 2019.

SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP via Getty Images

Bali has also been successful in containing its coronavirus outbreak, with less than 350 confirmed cases and, at the time of writing, a total of four deaths.

The Indonesian island now hopes to welcome tourists back by October, provided its infection rates stay low.

Bali's economy is hugely dependent on tourism and visitor numbers have been rising in recent years, with around 6.3 million people visiting in 2019.

All foreign nationals, except for diplomats, permanent residents and humanitarian workers, are currently banned from Indonesia, and anyone entering the island must undergo a swab test and provide a letter stating they are free of Covid-19.

It's unclear what the entry requirements will be if restrictions are lifted later this year, or whether Bali will accept travelers from regions badly affected by the pandemic.

Cyprus

Cyprus has pledged to cover holiday costs for Covid-19-positive tourists and their families.

Courtesy Cyprus Tourism Organisation

Cyprus is so keen to get its tourism industry back on track, officials are offering to cover the costs of any travelers who test positive for Covid-19 while on vacation in the Mediterranean island nation.

According to a letter shared with CNN, the Cypriot government will pay for lodging, as well as food, drink and medication for tourists who are taken ill with coronavirus during their visit.

The detailed plan was set out in a five-page letter issued to governments, airlines and tour operators on May 26.

Officials have also earmarked a 100-bed hospital for foreign travelers who test positive, while a 500-room "quarantine hotel" will be available to patients' family and "close contacts."

"The traveler will only need to bear the cost of their airport transfer and repatriation flight, in collaboration with their agent and/or airline," states the letter.

The country's hotels began to reopen on June 1, while international air travel restarted on June 9.

Once the destination reopens, visitors from only chosen countries will be allowed to enter.

Incoming flights from Greece, Malta, Bulgaria, Norway, Austria, Finland, Slovenia, Hungary, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia and Lithuania will be authorized first.

From June 20, Cyprus will also permit incoming flights from Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Estonia and the Czech Republic.

However, the list is to be expanded to include furthe23r countries in the coming months.

Travelers heading to Cyprus will need to provide a valid certificate proving they've tested negative for Covid-19, while they'll be subject to temperature checks on arrival as well as testing at random during the course of their trip.

The destination has already put measures in place to protect travelers and residents, such as ensuring hotel staff wear masks and gloves, regularly disinfecting sunbeds and keeping tables at restaurants, bars, cafs,and pubs at least two meters (6.5 feet) apart.

Egypt

International flights to Egypt are likely to recommence during June and July.

MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images

The government suspended passenger flights back in March, while all hotels, restaurants and cafes were closed and a night curfew imposed.

These measures are currently being relaxed, with hotels that meet certain requirements, such as having a clinic with a resident doctor on site, being granted permission to reopen for domestic visitors at a reduced capacity.

"A number of global carriers have expressed willingness to resume flights to Egypt in July, and as a result we are considering a gradual resumption of international flights beginning towards the end of this month and in the first half of July."

France

Residents of France will be allowed to take holidays within the country during July and August.

DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images

France was the most visited country in the world before the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, like the rest of the EU, restrictions are currently in place on all nonessential travel from outside the Schengen Zone (a grouping of 26 countries which normally have open borders).

Travelers who do enter the country, with the exception of EU citizens or arrivals from the UK, will be subject to a compulsory 14-day quarantine until at least July 24.

"Since the start of the crisis, the closure of the borders is the rule, and the authorization to cross a border is the exception.

"What is good for tourism is often good for France, what strikes tourism strikes France," he said during a news conference.

The country's hotels, bars, restaurants and cafs were granted permission to reopen on June 2.

Meanwhile Paris was downgraded from a "red zone" to a "green zone" in mid-June

It was announced on May 29 that the country's most visited museum, the Louvre, will reopen July 6.

"Tourism is facing what is probably its worst challenge in modern history," added Philippe. "Because this is one of the crown jewels of the French economy, rescuing it is a national priority."

He went on to state that residents can take holidays within France during July and August.

The country's hotels will be reliant on domestic tourism once they do reopen, as all signs suggest international travelers will not be able to enter for the foreseeable future.

"When the lockdown measures soften, French tourists are likely to want to stay close to home in the short term," a spokesperson for French hotel chain Accor told CNN Travel earlier this month.

"It will be the moment for them to rediscover their own country and we will be there to welcome them."

Georgia

Georgia aims to welcome back international travelers from July 1.

VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images

But the country was forced to close its winter resorts and place a ban on all foreign visitors back in March because of the crisis.

Eager to revive its tourism sector, the country's government says it plans to reopen to international travelers on July 1.

The next stage will allow for domestic travel in special "safe" tourism zones, while the final stage involves reopening borders and resuming some flights.

"[The] tourism sector will be first to which emergency relief measures will apply."

Germany

Restrictions in Germany are being gently relaxed as the country prepares to revive its tourism industry.

JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images

Although nonessential travel to Germany is prohibited at present, the land of poets and thinkers lifted restrictions for EU countries on June 15.

Officials are also considering allowing entry to visitors from Turkey, the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, although a final decision is yet to be made.

"The revitalization of tourism is important both for travelers and the German travel industry, as well as for the economic stability of the respective target countries," it reads.

The Austria/Germany land border is also reopening -- travel between Austria and Germany is possible as of June 15 -- and restrictions around the country are being relaxed.

Greece

Officials in Greece are hoping to reopen the country on June 15.

cunfek/Getty Images

Tourism accounts for almost 20% of Greece's gross domestic product, as well as one in five jobs, so it's perhaps no surprise the Mediterranean nation is angling to reopen to tourists as soon as it possibly can.

The European country, which managed to keep its coronavirus case numbers low by implementing a strict lockdown early on, has already begun to allow some travelers back in.

"The tourism period begins on June 15, when seasonal hotels can reopen," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on May 20.

"Let us make this summer the epilogue of the [Covid-19] crisis," he added.

However, Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis has indicated health officials will conduct spot tests when necessary.

"Maybe no bars may be open, or no tight crowds, but you can still get a fantastic experience in Greece -- provided that the global epidemic is on a downward path."

The 29 countries are Albania, Australia, Austria, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, Israel, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, New Zealand, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, South Korea, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Finland.

Bars and restaurants have also been allowed to take up business again, while city hotels were scheduled to reopen on June 1, followed by seasonal hotels in July.

All international passengers had previously been required to take a Covid-19 test upon arrival or go into quarantine for 14 days.

Mitsotakis had suggested tourists would be required to undergo testing before their visit as a further precaution in the future, but it seems this is only the case for travelers from countries that aren't on the list, which is based on a document from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency of airports worldwide "located in affected areas with high risk of transmission of the Covid-19 infection."

Iceland

Iceland has already begun to welcome back visitors.

LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images

Iceland reopened it borders to tourists on June 15 after recording just under 2,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

The move came weeks after the Nordic country banned all foreign nationals, except for nationals of the EU and associated European countries.

Up until recently, everyone arriving from outside the country was required to go into quarantine for 14 days.

However, travelers now have the option to either submit to a Covid-19 test on arrival, provide proof of a recently taken test with a negative result, or agree to a two-week quarantine.

"When travelers return to Iceland we want to have all mechanisms in place to safeguard them and the progress made in controlling the pandemic," Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Innovation said in an official statement last month.

"Iceland's strategy of large-scale testing, tracing and isolating have proven effective so far.

" We want to build on that experience of creating a safe place for those who want a change of scenery after what has been a tough spring for all of us."

Italy

Italy is dropping its compulsory quarantine for arrivals in a "calculated risk" to entice tourists back.

PIERO CRUCIATTI/AFP via Getty Images

Italy has been one of the destinations worst hit by the pandemic, but the hugely popular European country is keen to get its tourism industry up and running now that infection rates have slowed down.

Travelers from the EU, along with the UK and the microstates and principalities of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican, were allowed to enter without having to go into quarantine starting June 3, in a move the government has described as a "calculated risk."

"We have to accept it; otherwise, we will never be able to start up again."

Visitors were previously required to undergo a two-week quarantine before being allowed entry.

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Which international destinations are reopening to tourists? - CNN

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