The Portuguese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs announced today that British Tourists will be allowed to enter Portugal as of the 00:00 of 17th of May, next Monday.
This decision, will revoke the essential travel restrictions, that are in place until the 16th of May.
Any person entering Portugal will have to provide a negative result RT-PCR Covid test, done 72h before the departure.
The Portuguese National Tourist Office has been also ensuring that testing capacity in Portugal will meet the demand from tourists.
The expansion and renewal of the Clean & Safe seal for 2021-22 (www.portugalcleanandsafe.com) now includes the whole tourism chain, with over 22,400 businesses registered and more than 23,000 professionals trained is another layer of the trust and transparency strategy which Portugal has been implementing to manage the pandemic.
With an air capacity from at least 21 airports in the United Kingdom into Portugal, reinforced due to the high demand from this market, the options are wide for the British Tourists to visit Portugal, from any point after May 16th.
People from the United Kingdom have visited Portugal and celebrated our culture, traditions, landmarks, history, and enjoyed our warm hospitality for decades. We look forward to welcome all travellers coming from the UK!
Comments
You may need to read my comment again, as I challenged your assertion regarding revenue, and I quote:
The chase for which seems to occupy the country 90% of the time.
Here is a Fact for you,
There is over 10 million people living in Portugal and according to 2018 census there was less than a half million people living in Algarve region, yes there is nine and half million people living in the rest of the country.
The people who live north of the Algarve, see the Algarve as a strictly holidays destination and they have very little interest in it apart from a vacation.
So, to suggest that 90% of the country" is concerned about what happens in the Algarve is fantasy and anyone who has travelled throughout Portugal will know that beyond Algarve and Alentejo, Portugal has excellent infrastructure for Internet, with fiber, in even the tiniest of villages. There is great road and motorway networks that criss-cross the country and it is Green in all aspects of the word.
Just a quick math check though, 2019 tourism revenue accounted for ~20% of Portugals GDP… so your 5% (chuckle) may be off a bit!
Responsible tourism - GOOD, over tourism - BAD. Portugal is over reliant as demonstrated during the pandemic. If you would like to take your head out of the beach sand and take off your rose tinted sunglasses, here’s an article that gives a balanced view. https://tourismteacher.com/economic-impacts-of-tourism/
I will also be sure to mention to the crowd in the Barbearia next time I visit, that Portugal (the country) is really nothing more than a glorified Disney World. Should generate some interesting discussion!!
No harm in being pedantic, if you are right, Chip. I consider myself “pedanted!”.
They are not called Sporting Lisbon - they are Sporting Clube de Portugal.
I know I'm a pedant
You have to love the Portuguese and their football.
Stuart,
The Algarve is a tourist region, it is set up to receive holidays maker's ... thats it's business.
It has the same concept as Disney World, people=profit, its not a big secret, its business.
Suggesting, That Portugal is occupied 90% of the time thinking about tourism, well I have to say, this was very amusing, I chuckled for ages.
To Portuguese people, the Algarve is generally regarded as a place to go for 2 or 3 weeks during the month of August to spend time in their vila or apartment which they own and rent out to people from Britain and other parts of Western and Northern Europe.
They will not be financially ruined if their vila or apartment is not rented, as they are financially independent of the property.
But hotels are different, they are a business that need tourists, their purpose is to provide accommodation for tourists.
However, you need to rethink the 90% to a more likely 5% of the population of the Algarve and not the country.
As always, Portugal is a very welcoming country and the business community are very genuine and accommodating and I wish them well.
I have noticed though, that anyone that comes to Portugal for a holiday, always return, ... and who would blame them ... is it the weather, is it the food and wine, is it the people ... or maybe it's a combination of all.
Personally, I will be delighted to see the return of tourists, they have been missed.
Tourism equals revenue, Margaridaana, the chase for which seems to occupy the country 90% of the time (outside of Sporting Lisbon winning the Primeira Liga!). I am sure the Venetians thought certain areas of their City were sacrosanct at one time, until the cruise ships rolled in. Unfortunately, these days, social media means that these “secret” places don’t stay secret too long!
Unfortunately, the “virus” seems to have spread (pre lockdown) to Vilamoura, Quarteira and even Tavira, which a few years ago was somewhat off the beaten track. Given the pent up demand let’s hope that some degree of respect is maintained and we don’t go down the US “Spring Break” path.
But, there are so many other places where this is not the case, and I’m keeping mine secret! Quality tourism?
That's Albufeira Stuart, not the rest of the Algarve. Similarly not all of Spain is like Benidorm.