Fully vaccinated tourists from 65 countries including the UAE will be allowed to holiday in Cyprus from May 10, without restrictions.
The island's tourist minister, Savvas Perdios, said on Monday that they will neither need to provide a negative Covid test nor quarantine.
So long as prospective tourists have received both doses of a Covid vaccine, they will be permitted to enter, regardless of when the second jab was administered, he said.
Armenia, Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, the United States and Switzerland are among the countries joining the UAE on Cyprus's green list.
Last month Israeli and British tourists were given permission to visit the east Mediterranean holiday destination without entry restrictions, and Cyprus hopes Monday's announcement will further revive its Covid-bedevilled tourism sector.
Tourism contributes around 15 per cent of the country's gross domestic product but earnings plunged 85 per cent in 2020 as coronavirus laid waste to the sector.
Britain is the island's largest market for tourists, making up a third of nearly four million arrivals in 2019. Nearby Israel is its third-biggest source.
Cypriot authorities are waiting for the UK government to announce when it will lift its ban on Britons taking holidays abroad. A decision is expected in early May but the traffic light system for travel under which UK tourists must operate has already been outlined.
Whether tourists will want to holiday in Cyprus is another matter.
The island went into a two-week lockdown on Monday following a record surge in cases, and its second-largest source for tourists, Russia, has put chartered flights on ice as a result.
"We are confident that once our epidemiological picture improves, charter flights will be allowed, something we expect to happen in the coming weeks as the vaccination rollout progresses," said Mr Perdios.
If tourists do holiday on the Mediterranean island, they will have to comply with health protocols such as mandatory mask wearing and social distancing.
Cyprus has recorded a total of 298 coronavirus deaths and 61,576 infections to date.
A new survey on Monday rating how EU member states responded to the pandemic gave it a score of +3.
This mark puts the island some way down the list headed by Denmark which received an exultant net satisfaction score of +37. Cyprus is still some way ahead of neighbour Greece, however, which languishes at the bottom of the list with a paltry score of -37.
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Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
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Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
RACE CARD
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
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Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
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Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
