in-cyprus 4 June 2020 -Bouli Hadjioannou
Arrivals from the UK may be permitted within weeks, even with the requirement of a coronavirus-free certificate, deputy tourism minister Savvas Perdios told Sky News on Thursday, the Cyprus News Agency reports.
Cyprus’s airports reopen in two stages on June 9 and June 20 with a current list of 19 ‘source countries’, divided into two groups. The UK is not currently in either group on the list. This means that only Cypriots and legal residents are allowed to travel to Cyprus from the UK, effectively closing off Cyprus’ biggest tourism market.
Perdios told Sky News that the exclusion of the UK from the list of countries from which visitors are allowed was not tourism related but based exclusively on epidemiological and scientific data.
He said he expected this to change in the next few weeks, as the situation is reassessed every week. With improvement in the UK’s epidemiological picture there was every possibility that arrivals will be included in one of the two groups of countries, he said.
Perdios said that the government had looked at the epidemiological situation of each country with the aim of avoiding quarantining visitors.
And he reiterated that the Cyprus government would take care of all travelers who test positive during their stay, as well as their families and close contacts, covering the cost of lodging, food, drink, and medication.
He said the aim is to assuage concerns of potential visitors hesitating to book holidays out of fear as to what would happen should they fall ill while in Cyprus.
The move will reassure visitors since if someone falls ill, the hotel will not close but the guest and family will be taken to a dedicated quarantine hotel, he said.
Asked about a mandatory 14 day quarantine rule that will into force for arrivals to the UK from Monday, Perdios expressed the hope that the measure will be reassessed in the next weeks so that in conjunction with Cyprus preparations, UK visitors would be able to come to Cyprus from some time in July onwards.
