Gibraltar was one of the few countries to be put on (and to have stayed on) the UK Green Travel List from the outset. In a typical year, 88% of visitors to Gibraltar are UK nationals, but that figure has gone up even further this year!
1. Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory
Gibraltar is one of 14 British Overseas Territories that retain constitutional links with the UK. Citizens of Gibraltar who are resident in Gibraltar have a British National (Overseas) Passport. Gibraltar’s currency is the Pound (not euro). And you’ll even see the occasional red telephone box!
2. A ‘sunshine staycation’ for British visitors
There is only one air corridor into Gibraltar and that’s direct from the UK. The only scheduled airlines that land here in Gibraltar are British Airways, EasyJet, Eastern Airways and Wizz Air. No other scheduled flights from any other countries operate to Gibraltar.
As a result, the only passengers flying into Gibraltar on a scheduled flight, board their flight in the UK. That’s why we see Gibraltar as a safe and secure sunshine staycation
3. Gibraltar’s vaccination programme is complete.
We completed our vaccination programme in early Spring this year and were one of the first countries in the world to ease lockdown restrictions, such as mask wearing. As well as Gibraltarians, the Gibraltar government also arranged for vaccinations to be made available to our nearly 14,000 cross boarder workers (workers who live in Spain but work in Gibraltar) too. Since mid February there have been no deaths from Covid-19 in Gibraltar.
4. Gibraltar meets the four Green List key criteria set by the UK government.
Having completed our vaccination programme we’ve had very few cases of Covid since February and therefore few variants of concern. There have been zero deaths from Covid for 4 months. Unlike other destinations Gibraltar is fully equipped to carry out genomic sequencing to identify variants. Since the end of April, genomic sequencing has been taking place in Gibraltar at the Gibraltar Health Authority’s COVID Laboratory at the University of Gibraltar.
5. Brexit transition support
Despite voting 98% to stay in the EU, the outcome of the Brexit vote has meant Gibraltar, like the UK, has left the EU. A short-term agreement was put in place earlier this year to ensure that the land border between Gibraltar and Spain remained operational to support the interdependent communities who live and work on either side of the border until a longer term solution can be agreed. The UK government is currently working hard alongside the Gibraltar government and EU to secure a deal that will define Gibraltar’s future. The UK government is keen to support Gibraltar’s tourism industry and keep the economy buoyant during the transition.