Holiday island Cyprus has announced it will continue to welcome fully-vaccinated British visitors - even though the UK remains on the Mediterranean destination's own red list.
The resort is hoping to be upgraded to green status in the UK Government's traffic light system following this week's review because of its successful vaccination roll-out. It is currently classified as 'amber'.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office no longer advises against all but essential travel to Cyprus, based on the current assessment of Covid-19 risks.
But non-vaccinated holidaymakers must take a PCR test within 72 hours of departure and provide proof of a negative result when entering Cyprus.
Visitors must take another PCR test on arrival in Cyprus and remain in self-isolation until the result is issued, which should be online within three hours.
Travellers with proof of two Covid vaccinations are not required to take a PCR test before departure while children under 12 are also exempt from the testing requirements.
Savvas Perdios, deputy tourism minister, claimed holidaymakers, and the travel industry “needed clarity” and forecast it would take up to four years for the travel industry to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
Cyprus, is a popular holiday spot for UK visitors and is well-known for its excellent healthcare system. Recent data shows the island is vaccinating 5,510 people daily, with a total amount of vaccinations already reaching 777,935.3.
It welcomed 3.93 million tourists in 2018, with the UK topping the list of arrivals with 1,327,805 visitors.
Clare Tobin, UK managing director of new operator Biblio Travel, said it is looking forward to carrying 95,000 passengers to Cyprus with flights from Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham. The first flights will take off on July 31.
