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When are European borders expected to be open for non-European tourists? I am planning to travel at the end of October.

phoog
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annoynmous
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    Thanks for posting. However this is impossible to know. Governments are not announcing expected opening dates, and even if they did circumstances can change. Also different countries can open their borders at different times. – DJClayworth Aug 27 '20 at 13:07
  • Which European country(ies) are you interested in? – Traveller Aug 27 '20 at 13:37
  • Your citizenship and residence, where you're coming from, and how long you've been there, will also be factors. – DavidRecallsMonica Aug 27 '20 at 13:49
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    Each country now practice their own regulations. It does not make sense to ask about 'European borders' as you do. Several European countries already allow Non-European tourists to enter, but you have to be more specific. But realisticly, even if you ask for specific countries, the answers won't help you anyway. There is no way for anyone to predict how the rules are to be in two months from now. – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Aug 27 '20 at 13:57
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    I disagree with the decision to close the question. It's perfectly reasonable to ask about European borders, both in a pragmatic sense (even beyond the EU) and because many European countries have a common (external) border policy. The fact that it's been effectively replaced with ad hoc constantly changing measures is in itself a non-trivial answer. – Relaxed Aug 28 '20 at 06:50
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    I don't get the nobody-can-predict throw-hands-in-the-air reaction we see so often. Everything we deal with here has some level of uncertainty and is liable to change (and that's equally true for transport timetables, fare structures, visa regulation, etc.). But we do know enough to guess what's likely or not likely. In that case, we can pretty much rule a return to the statu quo ante or the notion that there will be no restrictions whatsoever on non-European tourists in October. That's also an answer. – Relaxed Aug 28 '20 at 06:55
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    In any case, the question is clearly not opinion-based as defined in the help center and the message on the banner is unhelpful. The question is only asking for facts, nothing else. To the extent that it's difficult to answer conclusively it's because those facts are not fully knowable at this point, not because they are a matter of opinion or preference. – Relaxed Aug 28 '20 at 06:59
  • @Relaxed, I agree with most of your recent comments and voted to re-open but fail to see how a reliable prediction can be given. – Willeke Aug 28 '20 at 13:16
  • @Willeke Thanks! If we mean naming a specific date when travellers from a specific country will be welcome for tourism in a specific destination without test nor quarantine, I completely agree. But I think we can confidently predict there will still be some restrictions on travel to Europe in October. I think that's an answer to the question and something that might not be completely obvious to someone who isn't following the news in Europe, which makes it a reasonable Q&A. By contrast, if the question was about next summer, the uncertainty would be too large to say anything useful. – Relaxed Aug 28 '20 at 14:06
  • Even if the borders are technically open, consider that here in Germany, for example, visitors from high-risk areas are required to quarantine for 14 days. How do you feel about visiting Europe and then doing nothing (not even venturing outside the place you're staying) for two solid weeks? – Kyralessa Aug 28 '20 at 19:46

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What the last months revealed is how difficult that will be and how little coordination there is in this matter. Schengen countries (which include 7 of the top 10 tourism destinations in Europe by number of international visitors) worked out some agreement to try to resume some sort of common policy in this respect but individual countries still took a lot of ad hoc measures, some of which have been rolled back pretty quickly following an increase in Covid-19 cases.

Many governments (re)introduced measures like mandatory tests and quarantines for travellers going from (some part of) one European country to the next. Those are seldom enforced at the border but would still make cross-border movement more difficult. Planning a trip in October therefore seems very risky.

If you still choose to book a trip, Where can we find frequently updated details about travel/entry restrictions due to Coronavirus (nCoV-19)? list many useful ressources you could peruse to assess the situation before leaving. Always check your own country's foreign official travel advice, as it will often provide details on the rules that apply abroad to their citizens and/or residents and also inform you of any requirements that might apply when you come back.

Relaxed
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Border openings tend not to be planned that far ahead as governments typically have no clue on the evolution of the pandemic. Additionally, as DJClayworth notes, each European country had its own policy. E.g., Croatia is currently open to non-European tourists.

Franck Dernoncourt
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