Germany greenlights summer holidays in Turkey

BERLIN

Germany on Tuesday partially lifted its coronavirus travel warning for Turkey, greenlighting summer holidays in popular destinations such as Antalya, Izmir, Fethiye, and Aydin.

Following consultations between German and Turkish officials, the German Foreign Ministry updated its advisory against “all but essential” travel to Turkey, saying destinations with low rates of infection such as coastal Antalya, Izmir, Mugla, and Aydin are now exempt.

As a precaution, travellers returning to Germany will be asked to show a negative PRC (virus antigen) test taken no more than 48 hours before arrival.

In March, Berlin issued a global travel warning for its citizens to avoid non-essential travel abroad due to the COVID-19 outbreak and restrictions on international air travel.

Three months later it lifted its travel warning only for EU and Schengen states, but extended it for all the other countries until the end of August.

Germany’s blanket travel warning was widely criticized by the tourism industry.

Turkey is one of the most popular travel destinations for German holidaymakers. Nearly 5 million German tourists traveled to Turkey last year.