The Portuguese outpost of Madeira is open for business next month.
All travellers will have to present a negative test conducted within three days prior to departure or be tested on arrival. Covid-19 tests will be paid for by the Madeira government.
Madeira is positioning itself as a Covid-safe environment and destination for international travellers. The country is working with SGS certification to ensure best practice and procedures to minimise risk. SGS certification is available to companies working within the tourism sector.
Madeira has had very few cases of Covid-19. So far, the country has registered 90 positive cases of the upper respiratory disease, 67 recovered cases, and no deaths.
Porto Santo, the island off Madeira, was the first beach in Europe to officially reopen after Covid-19.
The island situated in the Atlantic Ocean is a popular destination for British travellers – just a 3.5-hour direct flight from the UK.
The most recent data published by Madeira reported that the tourism sector accounted for 26 per cent of GDP, and 16.7 per cent of regional employment.
The report also outlines health and safety guidelines at hotels and restaurants.
Meetings and conferences are currently “suspended until a later stage of the sector’s reopening once a higher level of confidence and the implementation of specific measures have been verified,” according to the report.
The country is gearing up for the meetings and incentive business sector in the near future. One of its newest and largest venue hotels is Vidamar Resorts Madeira, with an ocean-front setting. There are 300 hotel rooms and over 2000 sqm of meeting space, with seven multifunctional rooms, hosting 100 pax banquet-style and the largest up 420.
Adjacent to the resort is the Vidamar Congress Centre which has two flexible spaces that can be divided into six separate rooms and an Auditorium which seats 396 delegates.
The auditorium has a 7m by 5.25m screen, projector, mixing desk, sound system, stage lighting and conference/interpreting system with a central unit equipped for five speakers.
