Spain says it hopes to open up overseas travel from June, and welcome back tourists. The news comes as plans for an EU-wide digital certificate go before the European Parliament.
According to Tourism minister Fernando Valdés, a pilot test will take place in May to prepare Spain to receive travellers the following month.
The EU has worked on producing a digital pass in time for summer holidays. It will cover people who are vaccinated against Covid, have a negative test or recovered recently.
Digital and paper passes re already in use in several countries to help ease local lockdowns.
Mr Valdés says his country will be “ready in June to tell all travellers worldwide that you can visit us”. However, any scheme for non-European tourism would be dependent on the EU’s digital green certificate.
Vaccination passport systems
A QR code is key to the EU’s digital certificate. It contains personal data, but the EU’s Commission says it will be safe and secure. The EU are working with the World Health Organization to make sure the certificate is recognised outside Europe too.
The member states also want to include non-EU countries such as Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Officials said earlier this week that vaccinated travellers from the US may also be able to visit Europe this summer.
However, the European Commission says there has been no contact with the UK over the issue. UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that holidaymakers in England will be able to use the National Health Service (NHS) mobile app to show they had a vaccination or test.
Meanwhile, a number of countries have already started unveiling their own passport systems. In Denmark, they are using the Coronapas app to allow customers who are vaccinated or have recovered from an infection to enter public venues. A similar scheme in Israel allows users to access hotels, gyms and theatres. The “Green pass” also created travel opportunities for Israeli citizens, after deals with Greece and Cyprus.
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