UK budget airline Jet2 has seen bookings to Cyprus surge by 200% after the island declared that vaccinated British holidaymakers could visit this summer.
Jet2 has reported a spike in bookings to Cyprus and Greece, following the news that both countries aim to reopen their borders to vaccinated tourists in May.
Cypriot authorities have announced they will welcome UK holidaymakers who can prove they have had two doses of the vaccine.
Cyprus will allow British tourists who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 into the country without restrictions from 1 May.
British visitors are the largest market for the country’s tourism industry, which has suffered during the coronavirus pandemic.
Arrivals and earnings from the sector, representing about 15% of the Cypriot economy, plunged on average 85% in 2020.
Visitors would need to be inoculated with vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The second dose of a vaccine should be administered at the latest seven days before travel.
Authorities still reserve the right to carry out random tests on arrivals.
From 1 April, Cyprus will do away with quarantine rules for tourists who come from COVID-safe countries according to a new colour scheme that classifies countries.
Since the announcement, Jet2 and Jet2Holidays say there has been a surge in bookings for flights and holidays to Cyprus.
There has been a spike in families booking holidays to Larnaca and Paphos, the budget airline said, with all bookings to Cyprus up by 200% since the announcement.
Jet2 has suspended all flights until 16 May after the UK government announced that foreign travel would not be permitted until 17 May at the earliest.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: “The UK is the most advanced country in Europe when it comes to successfully rolling out a vaccine, so we applaud the Greek and Cypriot governments for their forward-thinking decisions.
“This, on the back of the recent announcement by the UK government, gives customers great confidence that they can get away to enjoy the sunshine this summer, and the numbers show that this confidence is increasing all the time.”
“We are very pleased that the government has shown a clear ambition to reopen international travel in the coming months, and we look forward to more detail in due course.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have done absolutely everything to look after our valued customers, and we have always said that the sun will shine for them once again.
“We know what an incredibly difficult time it has been for everyone, and we very much look forward to taking everyone from our rainy islands to their dream holiday choice this summer and beyond.”
