Italy will reopen to foreign tourists from mid-May, says PM

Italy will allow tourists to enter quarantine-free as soon as this month, the prime minister, Mario Draghi, has announced, saying the country is “ready to welcome back the world”.

Visitors who have had an EU-approved Covid-19 vaccine, recovered from the disease or tested negative 48 hours prior to travelling will be allowed entry without restrictions, a tourism ministry source said.

The new rules will apply to all countries apart from those on Italy’s travel restrictions blacklist, including Brazil and India.

Italy’s government is racing to save its summer tourism season to benefit an industry badly damaged by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Few countries are intertwined with tourism as Italy. The world longs to travel here,” Draghi, who was appointed prime minister in February, said after a meeting of G20 tourism ministers in Rome on Tuesday. “Our mountains, our beaches, our cities and our countryside are reopening. And this process will speed up in the coming weeks and months.”

The new rules will form part of Italy’s “green pass” while it waits for the EU’s equivalent, which is expected to begin in the second half of June. “From mid-May tourists can have the Italian pass … so the time has come to book your holidays to Italy,” Draghi said.

With Italy and Rome opening up to tourists there's never been a better time to start booking your tours with us!