COVID-19 has spread throughout the world, forcing people far and wide to change how they live their daily lives.  The world came to a standstill at the first half of 2020 when cities and towns went into lock down. In June, countries began with soft reopening efforts in an attempt to jump start their struggling economies.

   Portugal is one such country that relies heavily on tourism and because of COVID -19, this economic lifeline shut-down, almost completely. The lack of international tourists led to many in the service industry losing their jobs and further pushing the economy downhill. To improve the economy and reassure interested tourists and investors, the government of Portugal has launched travel insurance for its tourists. This travel insurance initiative is being promoted by the RNA Seguros de Assistencia.

Benefit of the Travel Insurance to Tourists

The travel insurance will see international tourists be covered for medical emergencies, hospital visits or stays, surgical procedures, and pharmaceutical expenses. The government has ensured that this travel insurance will be effective country wide, giving much needed assurance to tourists who travel around the country. You can find information concerning the details of the travel insurance on the ShengenVisainfo.com reports.

     The travel insurance initiative is a push to revive the tourism industry in Portugal. Other countries have also come up with various initiatives to attract international tourists back into their countries for example Spain’s Canary Islands signed an insurance policy that targets travelers going to the archipelago in the Atlantic, with all expenses paid should they get infected with COVID -19 during their stay.

      Spain’s Canary Islands was the first of the 17 autonomous communities in Spain to provide a travel insurance policy providing medical cover, quarantine cover, and repatriation costs included. Many countries are working hard to revive their tourism sectors as they are a substantial source of income. The measures put in place by governments are to ensure that international visitors feel safe enough to travel in their countries due to the coronavirus pandemic. The European Commission, their member states, and all European Union Institutions working together in support of finding a European recovery plan.

Portugal announced new air traffic rules that are to be observed for the foreseeable future. The government of Portugal will remain open to the European Union member states with the Schengen zone and the United Kingdom.

    Undoubtedly, not all countries will allow their citizens to travel to Portugal, as it is important to ensure that only people without COVID-19 should have access to entry in the country to avoid a situation where tourism leads to more infections. COVID-19 is invisible and people could be asymptomatic even while carrying the virus within their bodies. This makes it hard to spot and isolate people infected with COVID-19. However, screening and removing infected people reduces the chance of a surge in positive cases. No country wants to go through the scare of having to shut down again due to a sudden increase in cases. The additional travel insurance is Portugal’s measure against the coronavirus and economic depression. Time will tell whether this is a good move or not.

Written by contributor Victor Kanake. Source: Schengen Visa Info

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