Dutch largely confused by travel advice; Many to stay home this summer

Two-thirds of Dutch people said they the requirements to travel abroad are not clear, like which documents are required for their trip. A large part of them may not go on a holiday this year for that reason, Hart van Nederland's survey among 2,600 participants showed.

As of right now, the Dutch government issues a travel warning for each individual country according to the level of risk. Countries are divided into four color-coded groups to designate their risk level, which determines whether travelers are subject to testing and quarantine obligations. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that they have recently been approached more often by travelers seeking clarity over traveling conditions. "Information has been changing for more than a year, which causes confusion," said one of the survey participants. 

Since more countries were cleared for holidays over the past two weeks, the ministry noticed a surge of inquiries. Where they normally receive about 10,000 calls a week, that was about 25,000 last week.

From July 1, travelers are expected to be able to travel freely within European Union if they can demonstrate proof of a negative coronavirus test, a Covid-19 vaccination certificate, or proof of having recently recovered from a coronavirus infection.

It is expected that the caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo De Jonge will provide more information on holidays at a press conference on Friday. In addition, the Cabinet wants to hold a special press conference on this subject at the end of June, sources close to the government stated.

De Jonge acknowledged that the EU Digital COVID Certificate was causing confusion. According to him, travelers will soon be obliged to get tested only prior to trips to countries with a code orange designation.

The process was muddled by the fact EU member states are failing to take a unified stance on the matter, De Jonge explained.