Portugal to avoid quarantine and tests with travel pass plan

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Portugal is to do everything in its power to welcome back British holidaymakers this summer without the need for quarantine or additional testing, its tourism minister has said. 

Rita Marques was speaking after the European Union agreed to push forward with plans for a bloc-wide coronavirus passport to kickstart Europe’s travel industry. 

She told an online conference Portugal would try “at all costs to avoid quarantines and additional Covid-19 tests” for international arrivals, adding that she believed the UK will remain its largest inbound market. More than 3million Britons visited Portugal in 2019, before the pandemic.

“The Portugal brand is strong, particularly among the British,” Marques said. 

The EU is set to discuss the introduction of its travel pass next month before the UK moves forward with the next stage of its roadmap, when overseas holidays could resume on May 17. 

Greece has already said it will permit entry to British visitors who have been vaccinated against coronavirus or can prove a negative test.

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