Travel agencies optimistically await the beginning of the tourist season as some of them report a threefold increase in interest in spending summer holidays abroad compared to last year.

According to the agencies, people grew accustomed to coronavirus measures and are more adapted than before to travel under extraordinary circumstances caused by the pandemic.

Covid passports are likely to become a hallmark of traveling in 2021, indicating whether a holder was vaccinated or tested negative and ensuring there are as few hindrances as possible during their vacation.

So far, tourists have shown the greatest interest in EU destinations, such as Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria, or Spain. “We have sold thousands of summer tours at this point. Thirty percent of clients head to Greece. We also notice that Czechs want to indulge themselves more, so they choose high-quality hotels with better services closer to the sea,” said Andrea Řezníčková, the spokesperson of the travel agency Invia.cz.

Tourists also expect strict hygiene measures on all stages of their voyages and often even require them themselves. “We can certainly count on the disinfection of premises. Besides, the all-inclusive system will be readjusted and service personnel retrained,” Jan Bezděk, the spokesperson of the travel agency Fischer, claimed.

The way the tourist season will develop hinges on the future course of the coronavirus pandemic and vaccination. Covid passports, the concept of which is being prepared by the EU, will make traveling easier and safer.

They should also allow tourists to visit restaurants, theatres, and even mass events. The EU is still negotiating the final form of the document with an outside world, particularly with the US, Britain, Norway, and others. It should be approved by the member states and the European Parliament before the holidays.

The covid passports project has already been launched by Denmark. The document there is a part of the so-called digital identity, meaning that it is paired with an identity card.

Estonia plans to send a QR code which will function as a covid passport to citizens’ mobile phones by the end of the month. Israel, on the contrary, offers both a printed form of the document and a digital one.

Notwithstanding clear advantages covid passports offer, the concept is not flawless. For instance, Israeli residents complain about red tape when it comes to obtaining passports, as well as attempts to forge data in phones.

Former Czech Minister of Health Roman Prymula became an external consultant for Agel group, a private healthcare provider owned by Tomáš Chrenek.

Agel group confirmed cooperation with Prymula to Czech Television. Prymula told the broadcaster that he would not comment on his private activities.

Agel comprises the Avenier company, which currently distributes vaccines of the American firm Moderna and has also won the tender for the distribution of vaccines from the American corporation Johnson & Johnson.

Avenier may be in charge of the distribution of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V as well. The possibility of cooperation between the Czech firm and the Russian pharmaceutical sector was mentioned by Roscongress, a development institution which serves as a platform for the promotion of Russian national interests beyond its borders.

“The potential partner for the execution of the delivery, distribution, and vaccination by the drug Sputnik V is the company Avenier, a.s.,” was stated in a Roscongress press release back in March. According to Czech Radio, technical specifications of the Russian vaccine were discussed by the Czech embassy in Moscow.

Nonetheless, Martin Nesrsta, representative of Avenier, denied the possibility of distribution of Sputnik V by the company. “Usage of any coronavirus vaccines is only possible with the approval of the EMA [European Medicines Agency] or SÚKL [State Institute for Drug Control]. Sputnik V does not have either of these approvals. Unlike Slovakia and other EU countries, the Czech government did not purchase this vaccine, and therefore its distribution in the Czech Republic is not possible by any distributor,” Nesrsta claimed.

CNN Prima News reported a month ago that Prymula had become an advisor to President Miloš Zeman with his name appearing on the list of official advisors.

According to the news channel, Prymula will be an unpaid consultant without a contract. Zeman has repeatedly said in the past that he considers Prymula an expert; last October he was awarded the Order of the White Lion, the highest order of the Czech Republic, for tackling the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Prymula had spent a month in office, leaving the position of minister of health after photos of him having dinner with other people in a restaurant amidst the pandemic were posted.