New rules ‘an enemy of tourism’, says Portugal

PORTUGAL yesterday branded Downing Street’s travel quarantine plans ‘an enemy of tourism’ and said it wanted an agreement on relaxing restrictions ‘as soon as possible’.

Foreign minister Augusto Santos Silva said talks were underway on an ‘air bridge’ that would allow British and Portuguese tourists to enjoy holidays in each other’s countries this summer.

It came as Home Secretary Priti Patel presented the quarantine measures to Parliament. They will require everyone arriving in the UK – including returning British tourists – to self-isolate for 14 days. But boosting the foreign summer holiday hopes of Britons, Mr Silva said: ‘During these weeks our diplomats will work together in order to guarantee that British tourists coming to Portugal would not be subjected on their return to England to any kind of quarantine.’

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Quarantine is an enemy of tourism.’

Separately, a Portuguese government spokesman said Lisbon had been hoping a deal could be struck by this weekend but it may now be the end of the month. They said: ‘Portugal is very willing to welcome our

British friends this summer, confident that border travel restrictions between the countries may be lifted as soon as possible.’

Portugal shut its borders and introduced a 14-day quarantine at the start of the epidemic but is dropping it for countries it believes have the epidemic under control.

It came as Italy reopened to tourists yesterday by scrapping its 14-day quarantine after three months in lockdown. Gondolas reappeared on Venice’s canals and Rome’s Colosseum welcomed its first new visitors.

But the launch has been marred by other European countries warning their tourists not to visit. France, Austria, Germany and Switzerland have excluded Italy from an agreement to reopen common borders on June 15. Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio accused them yesterday of treating his country ‘like a leper colony’.

Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by Covid-19 and has the secondhighest death toll – 33,530 – after the UK. In one of the loosest reopenings, it is allowing tourists from all EU countries.

Others, however, are being more cautious. Greece is only allowing quarantine-free travel from June 15 from countries where new infection rates remain low.

Spain is looking to open up to tourists from late June but is unlikely to start welcoming Britons until July or August.