Cyprus open to fully vaccinated tourists

The Republic of Cyprus will open for fully vaccinated travelers without additional entry requirements starting May 10, a day after the end of a lockdown, with the tourism minister saying both EMA-approved vaccines as well as the Russian jab will be accepted.

Tourism Deputy Minister Savvas Perdios told the Cyprus News Agency on Monday that Cypriot authorities will mount an information campaign to notify foreign markets of the government’s decision, which is expected to “further facilitate stability in tourism planning” at the launch of the summer season.

“We will notify our partners in approximately 65 countries that as of May 10 we will ease the arrival of vaccinated travelers in Cyprus without the need of negative COVID tests or quarantine even if they are close contacts of a confirmed coronavirus case,” Perdios said.

CNA also reported that the travel protocol concerned the EU member-states, European Economic Area countries, as well as non-EU countries such as, Britain, Canada, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

“Apart from being allowed to travel to Cyprus with a negative test depending on the country color scheme, travelers who have been fully vaccinated - either having completed a two-dose vaccination or received the single dose jab from Johnson and Johnson - can arrive to Cyprus with no negative test,” Perdios added, noting the decision applies for all EMA-licensed jabs as well as Russia’s Sputnik V jab.

No waiting period after completing vaccination

The eligible date of entry for vaccinated travelers begins from the date of completion of the vaccination, Perdios said, adding that travelers will need to upload a copy of their vaccination certificate onto the Cyprus Flight Pass.

Travelers will also need to provide vaccination details such as the name of the vaccine and date of vaccination, with CNA reporting that vaccination certificate will be verified in both the country of departure as well as upon arrival in Cyprus.

The summer situation for the tourism industry is expected to remain clear in the coming weeks, as Cypriot authorities are waiting for their British counterparts to decide on international travel from that country.

Solos pale in comparison with charters

Uncertainty also remains with Russian routes as only scheduled flights to and from the Federation are taking place.

Visitors in any significant numbers from Russia typically will arrive on chartered flights, which are currently banned, while the United Kingdom is the other big market where tourist packages for Cyprus are popular.

“We believe chartered flights from Russia will be allowed when Cyprus’ epidemiological image is improved and this will be achieved as vaccination in Cyprus continues to go forward,” Perdios said, adding that current lockdown measures will help contain the spread of COVID.