UPDATE: It may be time to restart your plans for a summer Eurotrip. The European Commission has confirmed that member states will reopen to fully vaccinated travelers this summer, with formal approval expected next week. However, we’re still waiting on the exact timing of when the borders will be reopened.
Following an earlier announcement that teased this news, searches on KAYAK spiked +26% on Sunday (4/25), compared to the same day a week prior (4/18), showing that travelers are ready to exercise their passports. To help you start planning your summer trip, here’s what you need to know about this announcement.
What travelers are impacted?
The recommendation would allow US citizens to travel in the EU upon providing a valid passport and completed vaccination certificate. The vaccine certificate must state that you’ve been immunized using one of the European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines (currently, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson). All EU Member states have agreed to this plan and are expected to adopt the same entry requirements.
Not vaccinated? You may still be able to take that Eurotrip but it’s likely that you’ll need a negative COVID-19 test and to quarantine.
What destinations are seeing the biggest increase in demand?
The following destinations saw the biggest spikes in searches following the preliminary announcement (4/25), when compared to the previous Sunday (4/19).
- Paris- searches up 75%
- Madrid – searches up 55%
- Rome – searches up 43%
- Milan – searches up 38%
- Barcelona – searches up 25%
- London – searches up 23%
- Frankfurt – searches up 22%
- Reykjavik – searches up 13%
- Athens – searches up 11%
- Istanbul – searches up 11%
How is airfare to Europe looking?
It appears that all this pent up demand may be causing flight prices to go up, as well. We’ve already seen airfare to Barcelona and London (two historically popular destinations for American travelers) increase up to 10% on April 25, when compared to the week prior.
This blog was originally published on April 27, 2021.
Methodology
KAYAK considered searches on Sunday, April 25 for travel from the U.S. to Europe anytime in the future.
