Italian prime minister Mario Draghi invited tourists to book summer holidays in the country as he announced it would introduce a national vaccine pass system from mid-May to boost its struggling tourism industry.
"In mid-May tourists can have the Italian pass . . . so the time has come to book your holidays in Italy, " Mr Draghi said. "Our mountains, our beaches, our cities are reopening."
He announced that his country would introduce a national vaccine pass from mid-May, ahead of a pan-European Union system expected to be up and running the following month, in order to speed the resumption of tourism.
No quarantine
The Italian pass would allow tourists to travel to Italy without the obligation to quarantine, “as long as they can prove that they have recovered from Covid, [been] vaccinated or tested negative” the prime minister said.
Italy and other countries with large tourism industries are among the strongest backers of the EU digital pass, which is designed to ease travel in the bloc as vaccination campaigns ramp up.
EU system
The EU system is due to be trialled this month and should be operational in mid-June, Mr Draghi said, and Italy has pushed for it to be ready as soon as possible. However, the legislation is still under negotiation and has not been finalised, with some northern states more cautious about introducing it.
Mr Draghi spoke at the end of an online meeting of tourism ministers from the Group of 20 wealthy nations, in which the countries indicated their backing for plans for international vaccine certificates to help the tourism industry recovery from the pandemic.