Update, August 12: For the latest developments regarding the UK’s coronavirus travel restrictions, please follow this article, which is being regularly updated.
July the 30th, 2020 – When it comes to Croatia’s most important tourist markets, Western European nations such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany are of enormous significance. Nationals of these rich European countries have been coming to spend their holidays in Croatia in their droves for many years and often have deep pockets. Coronavirus, however, has flipped all of that on its head.
The appearance of the new coronavirus has wreaked havoc in the travel and tourism industry across the globe. For countries like Croatia, which relies heavily on tourism as it makes up as much as 20 percent of the country’s GDP, 2020 has been somewhat of an economic disaster so far, with some fearing that the worst is yet to come. With lockdown over and with travel restrictions easing all the time, the disease has begun to take hold again, and now the United Kingdom, one of the most powerful countries in Europe, is looking at the possibility of reintroducing mandatory self-isolation measures for British tourists returning to the UK from Croatia.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of July, 2020, there is now a possibility that mandatory quarantine measures could be reintroduced for travellers returning to the United Kingdom from nearby Belgium, Luxembourg and the Republic of Croatia. It is a decision that will be made over the next two days by the British authorities, according to a report from The Guardian.
As stated, British authorities are currently keeping a very close eye on the jump in the number of infected people in Belgium, Luxembourg and Croatia, which is an extremely popular destination for British tourists. This could deliver a major shock to the Croatian economy which was hanging onto making up for as much losses as possible during August, and with the British market being among the most important in all of Europe.
Knowing its level of significance, the Croatian National Tourist Board threw itself at the British market, but for Croatia, the biggest problem is still the decisions of other European countries.
A mandatory fourteen-day quarantine was rapidly introduced last weekend for British tourists returning to the United Kingdom from Spain, which is perhaps traditionally the most popular destination for British tourists on the hunt for some summer sunshine, and which, much like the UK, was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
A decision on whether the British will need quarantine upon return from Croatia could be made on Thursday the 30th of July when a government committee dealing with issues surrounding the new coronavirus is due to meet.
For more on travel to, from and within Croatia during the coronavirus pandemic, follow our travel section.
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