Italy opened its borders to tourism within the European Union on June 3, but their economy gets a giant boost from American tourism dollars. So why hasn't the Italian government opened their doors to American tourists yet?
As you well know, Italy was hit hard by COVID-19 and the goverment made a huge sacrifice and a very difficult decision to put the health of the nation before it's economy - completely shutting down on March 9, 2020. For two months, they fought an uphill battle to flatten the curve.
Meanwhile, the American government chose the economy and personal freedom over the nation's health. Many states are opening up for business as usual while infection rates are still increasing exponentionally.
Bottom line, while we Americans are missing Italy's "Dolce Vita", they have worked too hard to let visitors from other countries come in and cause a second wave of infections. For now, we have to be patient and do what we can to take care of each other at home. When Italy feels that our efforts have matched theirs, they will welcome us with open arms.
There is speculation that Americans may be free to travel to Italy by late July. I am monitoring the situation and will post any updates as soon as I have them.
