Malta Will Allow Fully Vaccinated Travelers To Enter The Country

July 14, 2021 Tokyo

Slowly but surely, member states of the EU have opened their doors to more and more countries, allowing travelers to visit once more for vacation purposes and kickstarting tourism across the continent after more than a year of closed borders and heavy restrictions.

However, the threat of the Delta variant of Covid-19 looms heavy on the minds of European politicians. As a result, Malta has changed their entry requirements to allow only fully-vaccinated travelers entry into the country, and there could be more European nations set to follow suit. Here’s everything you need to know about this story.

Malta’s New Travel Restrictions – Information For Travelers

A sunny archipelago in the Mediterranean situated between the coasts of Sicily and Northern Africa, Malta is a popular destination for travelers coming from EU countries and from the UK due to its historic sites, imposing fortresses and gorgeous beaches. However, recent updates to their entry requirements could either see their popularity wane or increase, depending on how they are viewed by travelers this summer.

Where once travelers needed just a negative PCR test in order to enter Malta, the country has moved the goalposts and now requires all incoming travelers above the age of 12 to have had both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine in order to enter. Coming into effect from Wednesday 14^th July, the move has been harshly criticized by travelers and labeled as a ban on children, with vaccines for those between the ages of 12 to 18 hard to come by for many.

Having reduced the daily number of cases to single digits last month, Malta has a seen a relative spike in new Covid-19 cases as of late, with yesterday seeing more than 100 new cases reported for the first time since March. However, the vaccination statistics of the country paint a far more positive picture, with 69% of the population fully vaccinated.

The health minister for Malta, Chris Fearne, branded the decision as a “selling point” for travelers who wanted to feel safe, but it remains to be seen whether travelers will be attracted to the island from a safety perspective, or put off due to the restrictive effect it could have on families traveling for a vacation. Should this type of decision spread to other European countries, it would be a hammer blow to hopes of restarting tourism on the continent, and to those dreaming of traveling once more this summer.