TORONTO — Italy’s prime minister Mario Draghi says the country is getting ready to reopen to international tourism this summer, potentially as early as mid-May.

While the EU is preparing its Digital Green Pass of vaccination and testing certification for travel within the 27-country EU bloc, and has indicated a potential reopening for fully vaccinated American travellers, Italy has signalled that it wants to take things a step further and reopen to global markets.

In media reports from The Guardian and others, Prime Minister Draghi said Italy is “ready to welcome back the *****.”

Italy’s tourism ministry has indicated that visitors will be required to present proof of vaccination with an EU-approved ******** vaccine, or proof that they have recovered from ********, or a 48-hour negative test result.

Italy was the first major European destination to shut down amid the early weeks of the ******** ******** in March 2020. 

In January 2021 Italy was the first country in the EU to surpass 1 million vaccinations.

Currently about 26% of Italy’s 60 million population has received one vaccine dose and 11% are fully vaccinated. 

Another popular destination for Canadian travellers, ******, is also having great success with its vaccination program. About 60% of ****** residents have received one vaccine dose and 56% are full vaccinated.

Reports in The Times of ****** and others say that starting May 23 ****** will reopen to tour groups, from 14 approved countries: the U.S., France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Iceland, Malta, Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. 

While Canada is not yet on ******’s list, our own vaccination program is showing progress, with 35% of Canadians having received at least one dose of ******** vaccine, and millions more doses from Pfizer and Moderna arriving in the coming weeks.