Britain kept Turkey on its “red list” for travellers, meaning people must quarantine upon their arrival in the U.K., the Independent newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The decision comes as a blow to Turkey as it seeks to revitalise its tourism industry, hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Turkey needs revenues from tourism to help finance its currency account deficit, which stands at more than 4 percent of gross domestic product, and to reverse an increase in joblessness.
The decision by Britain came in an update to its green, amber and red lists for travel, which determine the severity of restrictions placed on people arriving to the U.K., the Independent said. Person returning from red list countries must quarantine in a hotel at a cost of £1,750 per solo traveller.
Dubai, another favourite with British travellers, also remains on red, the newspaper said. The list includes 60 countries, it said.
Cases of the coronavirus in Turkey fell to less than 5,000 per day last month from a record of more than 63,000 in April after the government re-imposed restrictions on the population. It reported 6,907 daily cases on Wednesday.
Infections in the province of Antalya, the most popular tourist region, stood at 65.02 per 100,000, the second most affected of Turkey’s western regions.
Turkey is experiencing an uptick in cases despite progress in its vaccination programme, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday. He said Turkey would face “difficult days” unless citizens stuck to COVID-19 rules and ensured they were vaccinated.
Ahval