If you're a travel manager hoping for special treatment from European governments to get business travel moving again, keep hoping. All European Union member states currently operate blanket bans on visitors from outside Europe, and many European nations continue to ban visitors from other European countries or allow them entry only if they undergo quarantine.
There usually are exemptions for workers in such occupations as diplomacy, medicine, agriculture and key infrastructure maintenance. However, only a half-dozen European nations are making exceptions to their normal rules for routine business travel purposes, such as sales trips or internal company meetings.
Moreover, only one country appears to have launched a concerted strategy to resume foreign business travel for its own citizens: Denmark, which has made pre-trip coronavirus testing available nationwide for businesspeople visiting countries that demand a negative test certificate as a condition of entry. Testing also is available upon travelers' return, so they can return to the office without undergoing quarantine.
Other measures introduced by the Danish government include a web page summarizing travel requirements for major export markets and offering guidance on travel precautions for businesses.
"Business travel was one of the first things the Danish government wanted to address to get the economy moving again," said Anne Mette Berg, general manager of the Danish Business Travel Association. "It's a result of close cooperation with Denmark's two largest employer organizations. They have worked together because many jobs depend upon exports."
According to guidelines for business travel published by the Danish government, "An estimated 800,000 Danish jobs are linked to exports. Without real access to international business travel from Denmark, Danish businesses will lose orders and market shares. This can have long-term impacts on the Danish economy. It is equally important that Danish businesses have access to partners and investors travelling to Denmark from abroad."
The Netherlands also is offering limited encouragement of outbound business travel. The government has said Dutch citizens should travel abroad for essential reasons only. All leisure travel is deemed non-essential, whereas that determination is at the individual discretion of business travelers.
One explanation for the absence of positive discrimination for business travel is European cultural attitudes. A "Restart Business Travel" task force created by German travel managers association VDR has called for consistent rules nationally and across the EU regarding hygiene and border entry requirements. It also wants pooling of information on travel regulations at the national and EU levels. However, VDR emphatically is not seeking special dispensation for corporate travel. "I see difficulty in making an environment where a business traveler is treated differently from someone going on holiday. Everyone should be treated the same," said executive director Hans-Ingo Biehl.
"The EU is about open borders for everyone, so there is not much differentiation between business and leisure visitors," explained Suzanne Sangiovese, commercial and communications director for travel risk consultancy Riskline. "Of course, the coronavirus doesn't discriminate between business or leisure travelers either. It's very different from North America, where the business travel industry has much more clout than in the EU."
Another complication is whether companies actually wish to travel. Berg said many Danish companies understand their government wants them back in the air but remain reticent, worrying especially about employers enduring unanticipated quarantine in destination countries.
"Our members don't expect to travel much before the end of the year," she said. "Nearly all our members have complete [corporate] travel bans or at the very least require senior management approval."
Governments Making Special Arrangements For Their Own Business Travelers
Denmark
- Anyone taking a foreign business trip can request a test for coronavirus, with results available within 30 hours. On return from abroad, business travelers can take another test so they may return to their office without isolating for the standard recommended quarantine period of 14 days. There are test centers across Denmark. A digital solution for issuing certificates is under development.
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark provides information about current restrictions on entry and stays abroad, focusing initially on selected major export markets.
- The government provides advice on the precautions businesses should take before, during and after travelling.
Governments Making Special Arrangements For Inbound Business Travelers
Croatia
Nationals of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia and Germany may enter on non-essential business. Nationals from other countries can visit for business reasons on production of an invitation from the business they are meeting and if they adhere to social distancing and other epidemiological precautions.
Denmark
Business travel is considered a worthwhile purpose for entering Denmark without quarantine. Travelers must present one of:
- a meeting invitation from the company they are visiting, including scheduled time and place and an explanation of why it would be impractical to postpone the meeting or work and why it can't take place virtually.
- evidence of a contractual relationship with the company
- contact information for the person they are meeting, who must confirm the meeting is taking place and its necessity.
Finland
Entry now is permitted with no restrictions to visitors from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Norway and Denmark. Business visitors from other countries may be permitted entry on production of a letter of invitation from the company they are visiting. After being allowed into the country, they are allowed only to travel to their hotel and the company they are meeting unless they quarantine in their hotel first for 14 days.
Greece
Greece has reopened to visitors from the rest of the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Non-EU business travelers are allowed entry with an authorization issued by the Greek embassy or consulate in their home country.
Hungary
Citizens of Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia are permitted entry without undergoing a mandatory quarantine. Visitors from Bulgaria, Poland, South Korea and Japan may enter for business trips.
Spain
Visitors arriving for documented work purposes are permitted from EU countries plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. From June 21, Spain will reopen without quarantine to all visitors from 27 European countries.
Research by Riskline and BTN. No travel arrangements should be made solely on the basis of this information.