E.U. Says Americans Can Come, but Europeans Wonder How

https://miro.medium.com/max/2000/0*ByHvOY5JutL6pQ3V.jpg

Depending on one's viewpoint. Drawing 3 dimensions upon two dimensions , or ones outlook, within.

As always , perspective .

Interestingly, the majority of Europeans quoted in the article wanted vaccinated tourists--including Americans--to be allowed to travel to their countries.

How? Vaccines.

Anyone know what the EU thinking is on admitting Chinese tourists?

“American tweeters celebrating their upcoming Tuscan summer holidays
completely oblivious to what’s going on here. Me me me me me,” one
Italy-based travel writer posted on Twitter, in response to Ms. von de
Leyen’s announcement.

I suppose it is all about perspective and who you talk to. Most of my Dutch friends - those who are not in the travel industry - could care less if foreigners are allowed to visit the NL. They just want their lives to return to some form of normalcy.

This week, the government finally dropped the curfew, allowed retail stores to open (albeit with limited #'s of guests), and now you can eat OUTSIDE at a restaurant (no more than 50 diners, with two persons per table - unless you're from the same household). Given the COVID-exhaustion from four plus months of restrictions, these were welcome modifications. Unfortunately, the COVID infection numbers have actually increased the last two months of the lockdown... and we're about at the same place we were in January.

Here in The Hague (and today I was in Dordrecht), the streets are packed. It's almost like a Christmas shopping holiday as folks welcome the first weekend with reduced restrictions. In stores, you have to wear a mask, but in the streets, less than 20% of the populace is wearing masks. Doctors and Health Officials fear that hospitals - already full and deferring elective surgeries - will be overwhelmed with a SURGE in new cases.

And herein lies the problem. A largely unvaccinated local populace - already will COVID cases at high levels - has to deal with a possible increase in cases due to the relaxed restrictions. Thus, the thought of external visitors entering the mix is concerning for my Dutch friends. So yes, it's all about perspective.

RnR I completely agree with you. With the exception of those involved in the tourist industry I don't imagine that anyone is keen on welcoming foreign tourists. I don't know anyone in the UK who is expressing a desire to see the return of foreign tourists, people are too preoccupied in counting down the days when Covid restrictions can be lifted for the local populace and some semblance of normality can return. As it is, significant numbers of Brits are looking to spend their holidays in the UK this year and the resultant rise in prices has come as no suprise, the last thing we need is increased competition for bookings from foreign tourists.

twoffspring, "Within You, Without You"? That's a George Harrison song. Well played, sir!

“American tweeters celebrating their upcoming Tuscan summer holidays
completely oblivious to what’s going on here. Me me me me me,” one
Italy-based travel writer posted on Twitter

So the Italy-based writer is a tweeter, too! Takes one to know one? What’s that person currently writing about, if not travel?

How many of the people here with plans have actual flight tickets and hotel bookings?

I'm hopeful of being able to travel this year but in the past year, we've seen the pandemic take many unexpected turns. I remember about a year ago, we were coming out of lock downs and NY rates had eased. Europe was also recovering well and making plans to open up tourism.

But by the end of May and into June, case rates in the US took off, with high infection rates in FL, TX and AZ, which led to the EU excluding the US among the list of third countries allowed to send tourists to EU and Schengen countries.

Macron said they plan to ease restrictions in France this month, with plans to open to tourism around 9 June if things go well. But France currently has high new case numbers so how much improvement will there be over the next month if they relax restrictions?

I'm fully vaccinated though I won't be 14 days past the second Pfier shot for another week and a half or so. But I've so far held off on booking anything other than a couple of hotels and a rental car booking that I had in 2020 which I rolled into this year, because the vendors wouldn't just give me a straight refund.

Keep this forum about travel, please. I've removed several posts that were making this discussion more about covid than travel.

The EU hasn’t approved or recognized Russian or Chinese vaccines so they don’t qualify to enter as of now.

I plan on Departing Labor Day weekend, Paris-London-Amsterdam-Berlin/Munich-Gimmelwald for 3 weeks in September then for October move South of the Alps where it will be warmer- Spain Portugal Italy Greece maybe Istanbul.

There are so many little details I’m unsure of what If cases spike while there? How much of a notice do I have to leave to another country or fly back home? Since im winging it I only would have one way ticket so I’ll probably have to bring along my bank statements showing I have funds to support myself for 90/180 days.

Cases in the US haven’t spiked since we started mass vaccinations so fingers crossed same happens in Europe but they have a much lower tolerance for cases.

The EU hasn’t approved or recognized Russian or Chinese vaccines so
they don’t qualify to enter as of now.

So how complex is it? One EU country has been using them and a few others have them on order.