When Will Italy Be Ready For Us (U.S.)?

So... when will Italy be ready for US travelers? This question has been all the buzz on social media lately. There has been some conflicting information but a general consensus has emerged. The short answer: it depends. Now for some, a little later in the summer for most. At the moment, tourists must arrive on a "Covid-test flight." And there are not a ton of those yet. 

Back in May of last year (that was good ol' 2020 for those in the future reading the digital archives about the apocalypse), I created a survey regarding travel to Italy, post-Covid. Happily, almost 500 people were kind enough to give me their feedback.

At the time, I was struggling with the difficult decision of whether or not to cancel my end of September 2020 tour. In retrospect, it should have been an easy decision. But I had been getting so much positive response (8 of the 12 spots were already spoken for by then), that my heart didn’t want to do what my brain knew was necessary—and even inevitable.

There were really only two questions at the core of this survey: WHEN will you feel comfortable travelling; and HOW will that trip look?

Regarding the “how,” I wanted to know what type of experience people would be looking for amid the new normal. Would they still be comfortable with crowded spaces, for example? A big, busy hotel? “Cozy” (read: tightly-packed) restaurants? Shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of strangers in front of Trevi Fountain? Probably not, but I wanted to hear it from you/them.

The first thing you notice is that … well, the total responses are more than one hundred percent. But that’s obviously because many people chose more than one answer, as the question allowed. Which makes sense.

But the important thing for me is that I got a real sense of HOW people prefer to travel these days. My survey wasn’t detailed enough to determine if these sentiments were driven primarily by the persistence of the coronavirus, but I think we can safely assume that it remains a major influencing factor for most travelers.

The responses to the second question—regarding WHEN—were even more interesting, in my opinion. Note again that this survey was conducted in the middle of May, 2020, at which time Italy was tentatively emerging from its first lockdown, while the US was just about to explode big time, for its first of several surges.

Anyway, this is how people felt back in May 2020. Only one response was allowed for this question.

It seems that folks were optimistic about travel returning to something close to normal in relatively short order. Again, that has all changed now, as government regulations play as big, if not bigger, role than personal health concerns when booking an international trip.

Now the question is not so much  “When will WE be ready for Italy?” but rather, “When will Italy be ready for US Travelers?"

Prime Minister Mario Draghi recently (sort of) answered this question:

"Come visit Italy," Draghi says after G20 tourism meeting.

"How" to Travel to Italy, Post-Covid

Returning to my initial survey, many are looking for a “small group tour ‘off the beaten path,’ which would include few, if any, famous sites.” This seems to be what people consider the "slow road back," as I mentioned in a previous post about the future of Italy travel.

Some of the comments from my survey confirmed these sentiments, too. This one was typical:

“I was lucky enough to enjoy my first trip to Italy with a Globus Tour in Sept 2019. I loved it. I'm less concerned about traveling with a group, but the sites we went to were so crowded. I'd probably be more comfortable doing an off the beaten path or outdoorsy type tour next year.”

This very much appeals to me, as well: a week at a country villa spent relaxing, cooking, eating, drinking, chatting, strolling, and appreciating slow country living, Italian style. Arguably, the “best” of Italy. And social distancing is already built-in by design.

For further reading on this general topic, check out this article from The New York Times last summer:

Longer, Slower, Farther: Savoring the Prospects of Future Travels
In the travel lull induced by the pandemic, many people are planning ambitious, once-in-a-lifetime trips. 

When Will Italy Be Ready For US Travelers in 2021?

So now here we are, as vaccine distribution ramps up, the number of cases goes down, and the tentative promise of a "normal life" sometime mid-year. In fact, as of this writing, there is now an opportunity for Americans to travel to Italy for tourism on one of the approved "Covid-tested" flights. The rules and restrictions are currently pretty heavy, however there's a sense that these will relax over the next few weeks/months.

But to give myself a little buffer, I plan to travel in the fall, I just haven't quite decided "how" or "where" yet.  I'm hoping you all will help me decide... and perhaps join me! OK, here are a few of the options I'm considering...

If you have your "Green Pass" (Covid Passport), and are FINALLY ready to travel to Italy, check out Vita Bella Travel, for the best tours of Italy and the Mediterranean. 

Ciao!