The earliest the European Commission is considering allowing nonessential travel into the European Union from outside member states is
June 15, 2020. Since
Italy went into lockdownin the second week of March, travel into the country and between its regions has been strictly limited. Airports and railway stations remained open only to allow those with proven work needs or other urgent or health-related reasons to travel with a
form verifying their purpose. Italian citizens were also allowed to return home from abroad and foreign tourists could leave the country.
Per the Italian government’s decree, between June 3 and 15, travel to and from countries other than those listed above is still prohibited, except for “determined work needs, of absolute urgency or for health reasons.”
To dispel
rumors, Giorgio Palmucci, President of ENIT-Italian National Tourist Board
issued a statementdenying that Italy was closing its borders to tourists until 2021.
“Tourism in Italy will start again, with all precautions and in maximum safety,” Palmucci said. “Those who love Italy must be allowed to return to enjoy it, in compliance with governmental and regional guidelines. It is a delicate phase in which it is essential to defend Italy also through correct communication.”
However, the tourist board told AFAR that there is no specific date available yet for when travelers from the United States will be allowed to enter Italy.
What else is reopening in Italy?
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Phase 2 of Italy’s lockdown began on May 4, as Italians were allowed to return to parks within their cities and many were able to go back to work. Other lockdown restrictions will start to be loosened before the June 3 border reopening. Restaurants, bars, and shops were allowed to reopen, and travel within regions to visit friends and family is once again permitted as of
May 18. Gyms and swimming pools can reopen as of
May 25, and the government will allow cinemas and theaters to reopen on June 15.
Just because the borders will open, doesn’t mean tourists will come
In an evening address on Saturday May 16,
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said easing travel restrictions within the EU would “create the conditions for tourism recovery” but also referred to the decision as a “
calculated risk.”
With hotel occupancy down 99 percent for foreigners, the Associated Press reported that Italy’s national hotel federation said it has already lost 106,000 jobs as of April and another 500,000 are at risk if travel doesn’t return this summer. Between the months of March and May, the national statistics agency ISTAT estimates Italy lost 10 billion euros (US$10.8 billion) from foreign travelers based on numbers from 2019.
But even though Italy is eager to recoup financial losses during its busy summer tourism season, its European neighbors are wary of Italy jumping the gun in reopening.
Germany is advising its citizens to not travel for nonessential reasons until at least June 15, while French officials reiterated that they were hoping for a coordinated effort within the EU to reopen borders, the Associated Press reports. In 2019, Germany contributed to 13.6 million overnight stays while French overnight stays came to 14 million, according to Eurostat figures from the Associated Press.
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It’s also unclear if hotels will be willing and ready to reopen on June 3, in order to comply with new government regulations, like
requiring guests to always wear face masks.
“We don’t understand why a tourist would have to stay on the terrace or in the garden of a hotel with a mask,’’ Francesco Bechi, the head of the hotel federation in Florence, told the Associated Press. “We are very attentive to health and prevention. Clear and precise rules can guarantee services to guests.’’
There also the question of whether or not airlines will restore flight service by then. While Alitalia is still operating flights to Milan and Rome from New York and Los Angeles, American Airlines doesn’t plan on bringing back its New York–Milan and Miami–Milan routes until
October 25.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article.
>> Next: Europe’s Plan for Reopening Borders and Travel Within the EU
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