The assessment should take into account the development of the infection numbers, the performance of the health systems, test capacities, hygiene rules, return travel options and security measures for tourists. The cabinet made a decision on Wednesday in Berlin. The tourism industry called for differentiated travel advice instead of a general extension.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that the travel warning will be checked again and again before September. "There – and only there – where the overall package of positive pandemic development, a stable health system, coherent security measures for tourism and reliable outbound and inbound travel options allows us to go back earlier from a travel warning to travel advice."
On March 17, Maas issued a travel warning for tourists for all around 200 countries in the world – thus allowing travel to be canceled free of charge.
Travel warning for 31 European countries removed
Last week, the federal cabinet decided to lift the travel warning for 31 European countries. These include Germany's 26 partner countries in the European Union, Great Britain, which has just left the EU, and the four countries of the Schengen area that are not subject to border controls, which are not members of the EU: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. For 29 countries, the cancellation will take place on June 15, for Spain and Norway later, because entry restrictions still apply there.
In future there will only be so-called travel information for these countries. It then provides information about the country-specific risks. This can also mean that tourist trips are not recommended. For example, in the UK this should be the case as long as there is still a 14-day quarantine requirement for all travelers.
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Turkey, Egypt, Thailand: For 160 countries, the travel warning is valid until August 31
For the other more than 160 countries, the travel warning is initially valid until August 31. This also includes the main travel countries of the Germans, above all Turkey as the third most popular holiday country. The federal government justified this step by saying that travel restrictions and quarantine regulations could be reintroduced in countries outside the EU "without any prior notice and with immediate effect".
Because of such sudden measures, tens of thousands of German tourists were stranded abroad in March. 240,000 were brought back to Germany in a week-long campaign. The Federal Government absolutely wants to avoid repetition.
Cruises: Government strongly advises against this
The Federal Government continues to strongly advise against cruises. Several cruise ships had difficulty finding a port to enter in March due to infections on board.
The travel association DRV described the decision as "not proportionate" because it sheared around 160 countries across a comb. "The pandemic is subsiding in many countries around the world. Accordingly, the level of infection in the approximately 160 countries to which the travel warning relates is very different," argued DRV President Norbert Fiebig. Many states implement hygiene and security protocols. "This also applies to cruises that implement safety concepts at the highest level," said Fiebig. At the same time, he pointed out that in the event of a crisis, the organizers brought package tourists back.
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The managing director of the FTI Group, Ralph Schiller, criticized the Federal Government's decision "to continue to deprive tour operators and travel agencies in Germany of a large part of the economic basis and is also a major setback for many affected destinations."
DER Touristik Manager Ingo Burmester welcomed the Foreign Minister's announcement that individual evaluations would be carried out based on a catalog of criteria. "We are convinced that some travel destinations, including Turkey, can receive holidaymakers safely in a timely manner," said the head of Central Europe.