Cyprus to open up for vaccinated British travellers with no restrictions

Cyprus as of May 1st will allow vaccinated British tourists to arrive in Cyprus with no restrictions such as negative Covid-19 test and quarantine, Deputy Minister for Tourism Savvas Perdios announced yesterday in a move that would allow a normalisation in tourist flows with Cyprus’ biggest tourist market.

“We have informed the British government that as of May 1st we will facilitate the arrival of British citizens who have been immunised with EMA-licensed vaccines to arrive to Cyprus with no negative Covid-19 test and no quarantine,” Perdios told CNA, adding that this arrangement follows the respective arrangement concluded with Israel on February 14.

Perdios said that this arrangement applies for British citizens who have received the second dose of the vaccine at least seven days before travelling, adding however that Cyprus reserves the right to carry out sampling among passengers, including vaccinated persons, while all passengers should comply with health protocols, such as wearing a mask and social distancing.

The Deputy Minister also made clear that Cyprus opens up for vaccinated British citizens as of May 1 but traveling is subject to traveling advice issued by the British government on international traveling.

Under the Cyprus government decisions, the arrival of tourists has been permitted as of March 1 for EU citizens and as of April 1 for non-eu citizens on the basis of the ECDC country categorization which classifies countries into green, orange and red categories.

Replying to a question over the significance of this decision, given that the UK is traditionally Cyprus’ main tourist market, Perdios said that “this is a very important development for tourism and follows of the arrangement with Israel, as (the two countries) they are two of Cyprus’ main tourist markets.”

“We believe that this is an additional step to the right direction, creating the necessary stability and a sense of security for travellers so they could plan their holiday in the coming summer. It is another step which shows that Cyprus will be ready to welcome them in the summer,” the Deputy Minister concluded.