As pandemic restrictions wane, hopes rise for Europe travel

SWANSEA, Wales (AP) — When Sierra Schade booked a trip from Atlanta to Greece, she hoped more European countries would follow Greece’s lead and open to U.S. travelers.

She's now been able to add Italy and France to the itinerary for her trip next month after the 27-nation European Union recommended last week that restrictions be lifted for American tourists.

As pandemic restrictions start to ease, travelers and the businesses in Europe that rely on them are eager for a return to something resembling normal.

In 2019, before the pandemic, tourism and related activities accounted for 10% of the EU's GDP, meaning the return of international travel is key to economic recovery, particularly for countries like Greece and Italy that rely more heavily on it. That figure was cut nearly in half in 2020, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

There is guarded optimism about tourists returning this year, though the EU doesn't expect growth in the industry to return to 2019 levels until at least 2023.

Schade has flexibility because she works for an airline, but a confusing patchwork of restrictions has made booking trips trickier for average travelers. And European travelers still aren't welcome in the U.S.

Within Europe, governments use a traffic light system where countries in green are deemed safe and countries in red unsafe, but they don't all use the same criteria, befuddling those who want to take a trip.

And while the EU agreed that member countries should gradually remove restrictions on travelers from the U.S. and a handful of other countries, it's ultimately up to each individual country to decide how and when it wants to open its borders. Different countries may also have different requirements about vaccinations and COVID testing.

Things could get a bit...