Germany lifted a warning against travelling to four Turkish seaside provinces with low coronavirus infection rates as part of a deal to help revive tourism between the two countries, the foreign ministry in Berlin said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
It said it was dropping warnings against travel to Antalya, İzmir, Aydın and Muğla on the Mediterranean, where prevalence stood at only five new cases per 100,000 inhabitants per week.
Turkey would also require all travelers leaving for Germany to show a negative coronavirus test result obtained within the previous 48 hours, the ministry added.
“If the pandemic gets worse, travel warnings for the four provinces can be reintroduced,” it said.
Around 3 million of Germany’s 80 million inhabitants have a Turkish ethnic background, and last year Turkey was the second most popular tourist destination for Germans after Spain, according to German Travel Association DRV.
“One of Germans’ favorite tourist destinations is partially open again,” said DRV president Norbert Fiebig. “Good news not just for holiday makers but also for the travel business.”