Portugal, with one of the strongest historic ties to Britain and current ties to British tourism, is considering a novel approach to keeping Britons coming: offering subsidized healthcare.
With Brexit underway, and no firm agreement yet on trade and other issues before the December 31 end of the transition period, Britons traveling or living on the Continent face loss of the health-care reciprocity that's part of the EU's arrangements. Portuguese tourism authorities fear that loss of health cover might cut into the 2 million visitors a year, 1.2 million of them to the beaches of the Algarve in southern Portugal.
Health Minister Ritai Marques says that “The Portuguese and the UK are the oldest allies in the world and no matter what happens the Portuguese will stand by the British. The British traveller is very important to us.
“We are looking to guarantee this health cover next year. We are currently looking at how often it is used and if it is making a positive impact. We are in the process of testing this and the other ideas right now.
“If these are issues that are important to the British traveller, then we have to go for it. We are trying to minimise the disruption to British tourism.”
Image: VisitPortugal.com
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