Covid-19.


Martin Banks has been a journalist for over 40 years, working in Brussels since 2001 where he has covered EU politics, initially for European Voice and more recently for The Parliament Magazine plus a raft of other titles. He also writes about other topics including culture and travel. Prior to coming to Belgium he had worked in regional (including a 6 year stint as Chief Reporter for the 2nd biggest selling regional in the UK) and national journalism in the UK since 1980.

6 July 2020

Controversy arises after UK announces “travel corridor” list

People arriving in England from dozens of nations will no longer need to quarantine from July 10th. The full list of countries which will be exempt […]
6 July 2020

The US-to-Europe travel ban in a nutshell

The ban on entering the 30 European and Schengen countries as of July 1st applies to most arrivals from the United State but not all. The […]
2 July 2020

Restarting Tourism With Responsibility

The restart of tourism is seen as the return of hope and opportunity for many millions of people around the world. This week has Europe been […]
2 July 2020

Spain-Portugal border reopens after three-month closure

The border between Portugal and Spain was reopened on June 2nd in an official ceremony led by Spain’s King Felipe VI and the president of Portugal, […]
1 July 2020

Member states agree to lift travel restrictions for 14 countries

EU member states have given the green light to the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU. The Council of the […]
1 July 2020

Top 10 most-booked European cities for the first half of June

Lisbon has risen to the top of the list of the most reserved European cities during the first half of June, followed by Paris and Amsterdam. […]
1 July 2020

Lisbon is the most-booked European city for this summer

Travel activity had been restricted for several months due to the health measures imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19. Many travelers saw their plans derailed […]
30 June 2020

Testing, contact tracing and health certificates may become the new norm

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has laid out the ‘Safe & Seamless Travel’ guidelines which include testing and tracing. The guidelines follow medical evidence […]
29 June 2020

China begins trials of Covid-19 vaccine

The Chinese army has authorized the use of a vaccine against Covid-19 among its soldiers. The vaccine prototype has been developed by a military research institute […]
29 June 2020
Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan to pay $3,000 to tourists who test positive for Covid-19

Uzbekistan will offer $3,000 (2,670 euros) to every tourist who contracts the coronavirus on its territory. In a country of more than 30 million people, severe […]
25 June 2020

Moving to Malta during the Covid-19 pandemic

I had decided to move to Malta in December, planning to move in April. I had co-founded an education consultancy company, Boom Malta, in July 2019 […]
24 June 2020
Plane cabin

Europe leads cautious restart of tourism

Restrictions on travel, introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, are slowly being eased, allowing tourism to restart in a growing number of destinations. The latest […]
24 June 2020

26 passengers test positive for Covid-19 on Emirates flight

So far 26 passengers from Emirates flight EK380 have tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in Hong Kong. On June 20th, the plane left Pakistan bound […]
24 June 2020
train platform

New Rights of Redress for EU Travellers

Some Member States had been blocking an agreement because they wanted to exclude air and train passenger rights from the scope of the law and wanted […]
23 June 2020
mask

Confinement imposed on 350,000 people due to Covid-19 outbreak in Germany

Guetersloh county in Germany’s most populous state has been put into lock-down after a Covid-19 outbreak at a slaughterhouse. More than 1,500 people from the Toennies […]
23 June 2020

‘Safe Travels’ protocol launched for attractions, car hire and short-term rental

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has unveiled its third phase of measures designed to rebuild global consumer confidence, reduce risk and encourage the return […]