Portugal to welcome British visitors from Monday in boost to tourism industry

Portugal has said it will welcome British tourists from Monday, removing some of the uncertainty hanging over the long-awaited reopening of international travel from the UK. The decision ends doubts for airlines and travel companies over whether Portugal would open its borders in time for holidaymakers to take advantage of decisions by the governments in England, Wales and Scotland to allow international travel to resume on Monday. Northern Ireland has yet to outline its plans. The London office of Portugal’s National Tourist Board said in a statement on Friday that the Portuguese foreign ministry was revoking travel restrictions for British visitors that had excluded tourists. The statement said all visitors to Portugal would have to show a negative PCR Covid-19 test made 72 hours before departure. The tourist board was also working to ensure that “testing capacity in Portugal will meet the demand from tourists”. Portugal is critical for the tourist industry as it is the only major European travel destination on England’s “green list” of 12 countries and territories for which a 10-day quarantine rule for returning visitors has been waived. Several of the others are barely inhabited, while hotspots including France and Spain are “amber”, meaning people returning must self-isolate at home for 10 days. Story has more details.<br/>