Portugal’s Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said on Friday that the country’s doors are open to tourists as it becomes one of the first European states to welcome back visitors from elsewhere in the continent.
“Tourists are welcome in Portugal,” Santos Silva told Observador newspaper, explaining that some health checks will be introduced at airports but there will be no compulsory quarantine for those flying in.
Portugal, which has so far recorded 30,200 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 1,289 deaths, is slowly easing restrictions in place since mid-March, Reuters said. Many shops have already reopened under strict restrictions as part of an effort to revive the country’s tourism-dependent economy.
Flights to and from outside the European Union are still temporarily suspended until June 15, with some exceptions, including some routes to and from Portuguese-speaking nations like Brazil.