Italy is the first country in the European Union to have surpassed 1 million vaccinations, with a total of nearly 2 percent of its population having now received the vaccine, according to its National Tourist Board (ENIT). The destination currently ranks sixth in the world for the number of vaccinations and second in all of Europe.
Italy began rolling out phase one of its vaccination program on December 27, 2020 and has already vaccinated all National Health Staff. As part of Phase One, Italy is hoping to have all over-80s and homecare residents vaccinated by the end of January, bringing the total number of vaccinated persons to 2 million.
As part of Phase Two of the vaccination program, which will be rolled out from February to June, Italy is aiming to vaccinate a further 21 million people, including those with underlying health conditions, teachers and over-60s. Phase Three will offer vaccinations to all essential service workers, while Phase Four will see the rest of the population hopefully vaccinated by the end of December 2021.
Caterina Orlando, ENIT manager for U.S.A. and Mexico said in a press announcement: “Tourism is one of our most important industries and we are taking every measure possible to ensure Italy is a safe destination to travel to. With the continuation of the vaccine rollout, we hope to establish consumer confidence in visiting Italy once again when it is safe to do so. It is certainly a positive milestone for the destination and is seen as a step forward in our recovery for the travel industry.”
With an abundance of rural towns to explore, art cities and a host of anniversaries and celebrations planned for this year, Italy, ENIT says, makes for the ideal destination to visit when it is safe to do so.
For more information, visit www.italia.it.
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