Green light for boating vacations with “covid free” corridors

At last, tourism is reopening to the world: last night the ordinance signed by Health Minister Roberto Speranza–already today it is then published in the Official Gazette thus having immediate effect–that kicks off outbound tourism from Italy to non-European destinations. For the time being, there are 6 countries that Italian tourists will be able to vacation in: the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Aruba, Dominican Republic, and Egypt (only in the seaside resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Marsa Alam). This is a measure that had been advocated for many months by the entire tourism industry, nautical and otherwise, which thus hopes to finally be able to restart the foreign travel sector as well, after two summers of vacations, and boating vacations, made almost only in Italy and the Mediterranean.

The protocol in detail

Of course, the ministry’s order is based on precise regulations and stringent safety protocols. InArticle 1 for example, it states that corridors are considered to be “all itineraries departing and arriving in the national territory aimed at enabling controlled tourist travel, including the stay at selected accommodation facilities, according to specific health security measures suitable to ensure that the services enjoyed are rendered in compliance with the standards and precautions for the prevention of the risk of Covid-19 infection,” as established by the protocol integrated in the ordinance. And still thenArticle 3 instructs tour operators to “ensure compliance with the security measures” stipulated in the protocol. Obligations include the adoption of Covid policies by tourists that provide for possible protected medical repatriation and health care at the vacation site.

No re-entry quarantine

But the most important news is then about the post-holiday quarantine, that is, his absence. According to Article 2 of the new ordinance, in fact, in order to travel to the 6 destinations, these are the rules that must be strictly followed: you must be equipped with green pass or equivalent certification; a negative antihygienic or molecular swab taken within 48 hours prior to departure must be shown at boarding; then repeat the swab on site if the vacation lasts more than seven days. And finally precisely upon return there will be no quarantine if, upon boarding the flight back to Italy, one presents a negative result of an additional test done 48 hours before the trip and then again if one undergoes, upon arrival at the airport, a new, final swab.

And where can I go by boat? Having established that from now on non-European vacations can finally be taken, the question remains as to which charter operators have fleets of sailboats for hire in those countries. Certainly among them is Dream Yacht Charter, which has been in business for years with nautical bases in both the Seychelles and the Maldives. Navalia has also specialized inIndian Ocean destinations for years, having bases in Mauritius, the Maldives, and the Seychelles. And still companies like Globesailor and Sailogy both offer charter boats on their sites located on bases in both the Seychelles and Maldives