Portugal confirm they will welcome British tourists again from May 17

Portugal have confirmed that they will re-welcome British tourists this summer, at the earliest possible date.

Travellers will be allowed to enter whether they have been vaccinated or not. However, they will be required to present either a vaccination certificate or a negative Covid-19 test result to enter from May 17, the country’s tourism minister announced.

This coincides with the earliest day that people in England will be allowed to travel recreationally, according to the government’s roadmap out of lockdown.

Rita Marques, the secretary of state for tourism, also said that vaccine passports should be an international solution, as opposed to just being utilised within Europe.

The UK vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said: “If other countries will require a vaccine certificate then I think it’s right that we facilitate it.”

Elsewhere in Europe, Greece and Cyprus have set dates of May 1 and May 14 respectively to welcome travel again. Iceland said it would accept vaccinated travellers from as early as March 18.

France eased its entry restrictions last week for Britons and Spain have signalled vaccinated tourists may be granted this summer, without giving definitive dates.