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You won't need a vaccination certificate to visit Turkey this summer - here's why it will still be safe

Blue Lagoon in Oludeniz, Mugla, Turkey (Getty)
Blue Lagoon in Oludeniz, Mugla, Turkey (Getty)

While the date we can travel overseas is pencilled in for 17 May (this should be confirmed on 12 April), Turkey has announced it’s ready and willing to welcome British travellers with open arms - no vaccine certificate needed.

Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the minister of culture and tourism in Turkey, said: “We are looking forward to welcoming British tourists with open arms, as we did safely last summer. We have world-class border processes in place for ensuring travel will be low-risk throughout Turkey.

“We are working with the British authorities to ensure these necessary processes are world-class and as up-to-date as possible. We will not require vaccination passports from international travellers when entering the country.”

Watch: China launches world's first vaccine passport scheme

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Despite vaccine certificates not being required, Turkish authorities assure that they are working to make a holiday abroad as safe as possible, announcing a priority vaccination program for employees at hotels and other tourist-heavy facilities across the country.

“After 15 April, we will look at the number of cases again, we will re-evaluate the situation and then decide if we will continue to require negative PCR test results from British citizens entering the country,” Ersoy added.

“I expect there will be no such requirement from British visitors as the UK Government is rapidly, and impressively, rolling out the vaccination program for the whole nation and a significant portion of the population will be vaccinated by early summer.”

(Getty)
Greece (pictured) has said it will welcome vaccinated British travellers from May (Getty)

Ersoy emphasised that Turkey will continue to invest in its “Safe Tourism Certification Program” that it launched in 2020. This sees all hotels certified under the scheme providing £25 testing facilities for visitors who need to be tested before returning to their home nation.

Tourists visiting Turkey will also be offered an insurance package for £12 that covers Covid 19-related treatment, like medication and emergency care cost should guests fall ill during the trip.

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“The Covid-19 Accommodation Support Insurance also guarantees to cover any extra accommodation expenses that may be necessary during the trip, following the issuance of a medical report requiring them to be kept under supervision in a hotel,” the tourism board said in a statement.

Ersoy adds that with the vaccination programs being carried out in the UK and Turkey (the latter has seen 10 million of its 82 million residents vaccinated so far), he is “confident” that this summer season will be “even safer” than last year.

Read more: These are the countries most likely to open for Brits this summer

Other countries keen to welcome British travellers in this summer include Greece, Spain and Cyprus - but these will require proof of vaccine.

Watch: Why Britons will get an extra bank holiday in 2022

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