Filenews 28 June 2021 -by Theano Thiopoulou
The end of June in two days marks the end of the first half and the start of the second, but there is little room for optimism about the next day's tourist traffic. Any prediction is still foggy today while the Delta mutation prevails and shows... her teeth on the old continent. With England and Russia still out of the game, there are no expectations of high pay or tourist traffic better than last year. In closing the first half it is obvious that this season is proving unstable and the great unknown in the equation for tourism remains the English tourist, i.e. when he will be able to travel without being quarantined when he returns home.
London presented the revised list of destinations that British tourists can visit without having to remain quarantined on their return, which does not include Cyprus.
Mutation and political reasons
The data on the table have to do with the epidemiological picture of the states, the mutation of the virus, but they enter into the tourist puzzle and political criteria.
In epidemiological data, the country most affected by the Delta variant is Britain, where the variant has dominated in a few weeks, replacing the previous dominant Alpha strain first detected in Kent in the South East of England. The Delta variant also dominates Portugal and Russia. At the same time in Israel, cases have reached their highest level since 5 May, with the country reintroducing the mandatory use of the mask in enclosed public places. It should be noted that in Israel, a country that is very much ahead of vaccinations like Britain, about half of adults infected with the new strain were fully vaccinated.
Russia is under pressure
With the British market for at least three more weeks apart for tourism, the problem with travel from Russia is getting more acute. Moscow does not yet allow a significant increase in flights to and from EU countries Diplomatic sources explain that the pandemic is merely a pretext and in fact the Russian president is using the tourist spending of his citizens – which exceeds €11 billion – to help the economy. As a bargaining chip to lift sanctions imposed on it.
Franco-German concerns
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have expressed concern about the fact EU countries allow vaccinated travellers to enter with preparations not approved by the European Union, such as the Russian and Chinese vaccines.
It is typical that – as Politico reports – the Chancellor has accused the Portuguese government of being on the 'green' British list, opened the doors for British tourists, resulting in an increase in cases of the so-called 'Indian' mutation and preparing for new restrictive measures. In this context, the British "green list" for tourism is becoming an intractable puzzle with political and economic dimensions, at a time when Germany and France are calling for coordinated moves by the EU to close its borders to British tourists following the outbreak of the Indian mutation. Merkel and Macron fought a "battle" at the Summit to keep British tourists out of the EU, while countries such as Cyprus are betting on supporting their tourism industry to the thousands of British tourists who are a "strong card" for tourism.
