Politics
How likely your holiday is to go ahead to your favourite foreign country – depending on their vaccine rollout
WHILE the UK leads the vaccination programme, with more than 17m people being given the first dose, other countries are falling behind.
Many countries in Europe have cited problems with the vaccine ranging from distrust of the Oxford jab to limited supplies.
The vaccine is finally being rolled out, although some countries are lagging behind[/caption]
However, one in three adults in the UK have been given their first jab, working out to 26.9 per cent.
According to the latest data, the closest behind the UK is Malta, while other popular destinations are yet to hit five per cent of the population.
With experts warning that the vaccine rollout needs to be both in the UK and abroad for holidays to resume, some countries may struggle to open to the country unless they speed up their own vaccination rates.
Here are the latest travel rules for the popular holiday hotspots, including how well the vaccine rollout is going as well as how likely holidays are to return for Brits by the summer.
Greece
Greece is pushing for a vaccine passport agreement with the UK[/caption]
Greece hopes to have the most of the population vaccinated by summer, and is one of the leading countries in Europe behind the UK.
Five per cent of the country has been given a dose of the vaccine, with two per cent having both jabs.
But thoughts are already turning to vaccine certificates. Greece is one of the countries pushing for vaccine passports to help travel continue – aiming for ten weeks time.
The Greek tourism minister Haris Theocharis praised the British prime minister’s unveiling of a roadmap out of lockdown, saying it provided the clarity for travel plans to finally be made.
Spain
Spain is the most optimistic destination for Brits this summer[/caption]
Spain is one of the leading countries for administering two doses of vaccination with 2.4 per cent of the population, only behind Israel, the leading country, the US, Denmark, Romania and Serbia.
However, they are behind when it comes to how many people in the population have been vaccinated overall at just 4.4 per cent compared to the UK’s 26.9 per cent.
Spain is one of the countries backing vaccine passports for Brits as well with the Balearic and Canary Islands pushing to be the first to trial.
France
France is lagging behind its neighbours in Europe[/caption]
Nearly two million people in France have received their first jab, with more than 350,000 having their second shot.
However, France is lagging behind Spain, Greece and Italy for vaccinations with 3.9 per cent of the population overall, and is now facing a shortage.
The country has also begged citizens to get the Oxford Covid vaccine as the EU faces a massive shortfall in doses.
Scaremongering by European politicians in France and Germany has led to a low uptake in the countries as they lag behind the UK.
Portugal
Portugal is the only EU country on the UK’s red list[/caption]
While ahead of France and Spain, Portugal has vaccinated just 4.6 per cent of the population.
The country also remains on the UK’s red list, meaning anyone returning to Britain must pay £1,750 to quarantine for 10 days at a government-mandated hotel.
This means the return of Brits is likely to be low on the list for the summer.
Italy
Italy was one of the European destinations that was open to Brits last year[/caption]
Italy is one of the few destinations to have remained open to Brits last year during the pandemic.
The country has just vaccinated 4.1 per cent of the population, behind Spain and Greece, which is approximately 3.5m people.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s announced plans to speed up the vaccination program, taking inspiration from the UK by opening train stations and other places to be able to administer the jabs,
Malta
Malta is leading the way for vaccines in the EU[/caption]
Malta places behind just behind Israel, Seychelles and the US for the most people have both vaccine jabs, although is still falling behind when it comes to the overall population.
The island has given at least a single vaccine to just over 10 per cent of the country – the highest in Europe but still behind the UK’s 26.9 per cent.
Despite this, it could mean that holidays resume to the island sooner rather than later, with the island welcoming Brits back last summer after initially recording some of the lowest cases across Europe.
Their cases are also much lower than many other destinations with 21,532 total cases so may help it resume tourism especially with the UK.
Turkey
Turkey also hopes to welcome Brits back with a positive vaccine rollout[/caption]
Turkey is also leading the way for vaccinations compared to the rest of the EU countries.
In just the last 40 days, Turkey has to vaccinated nearly 7m people – 7.5 per cent of the population – with 1.1m getting their second jab.
Turkey remains a popular holiday destination for Brits with the country seeing holiday booking demand following the lockdown announcement on Monday.
The country initially lost its travel corridor with the UK due to contention with the way they were reporting their Covid cases.
Most read in News Travel
Holidays in the UK can start much sooner, with self-catered trips from April 12, followed by hotels from May 17.
While there are restrictions on how many people can go away – starting with one household, then going up to two, or rule or six for more than two households, holidays abroad are yet to be given a date.
The government will announce when foreign holidays can resume, with hopes from June 21.
