European Vacation Spots Remain Open to Americans Despite EU Recommendation

Despite new rules from the European Union to stop nonessential travel from the U.S., the region isn’t rushing to block tourism from America, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

While the EU’s recommendations are not binding, the major tourist destinations in places like Spain and Greece have announced their intention not to close their doors to American tourists, according to the report. Others, like France and Italy, haven’t changed their plans related to American tourism thus far either.

In a lot of cases, European nations have let American tourists enter without quarantining if they can prove a COVID-19 vaccination, recovery from the virus or a negative test result close to the time they departed, the report stated. Europe puts the choices of how to deal with restrictions on travel with national governments instead of with the EU institution.

As a result, many countries have been putting their needs for tourism, with the absence of American visitors sorely felt, over pandemic concerns, according to the repot.

But the more contagious delta variant’s spread has seen the EU remove the U.S. from the list of safe countries for travel, given the exponential rise of the variant in the U.S. and the lagging vaccination rates at the same time, the report stated.

Interestingly, the U.S. remains closed for nonessential travel from Europe, according to the report.

Prior to delta’s arrival, consumers had been optimistic, with low COVID-19 case counts and people venturing out more at the start of the summer. But there could be tougher months in the future. The shift has already become apparent as restaurant customers move away from shared public devices.

Read more: With Delta Variant, Restaurant Customers Shift to Own-Device Ordering

The pandemic increased consumers’ use of digital devices, creating a tangle of new web applications, loyalty programs and third-party marketplaces as consumers had to avoid dining out. But as dining out has returned more robustly, restaurants have an opportunity to perfect their omnichannel operations.