With more countries easing coronavirus lockdowns in an effort to restart their economies as summer gets underway, CNBC takes a look at where you might be able to go on vacation in the coming months. 

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, recently issued guidelines outlining how the tourism industry might reopen and operate this summer. 

Crucially, it said EU countries should only allow tourists to visit if their own coronavirus contamination levels are under control. 

The Commission had already recommended European countries keep in place temporary non-essential travel restrictions until June 15. But, after more than two months at home due to widespread lockdown measures, many people around the world are likely to be anxious to take a vacation. 

Though others may be reluctant to book a trip abroad, given fears that easing confinement measures too quickly could prompt a second wave of Covid-19 cases. 

Nevertheless, some European countries are now sharing when they expect to reopen borders. Here’s what we know so far: 

Portugal 

Augusto Santos Silva, Portugal’s foreign minister, told newspaper Observador Friday that “tourists are welcome in Portugal.” 

He said that tourists flying into Portugal will not be subject to a quarantine period but that there will be health checks in place. 

So far 30,788 people have contracted the coronavirus in Portugal, while 1,330 have died from Covid-19, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Greece 

In a televised address on Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the country’s tourist season would restart on June 15 and that international flights would resume gradually from July 1. 

Greece has had among the lowest number of Covid-19 cases in Europe, with 2,882 infections confirmed and 172 deaths. 

It was one of the quickest countries in the region to impose strict lockdown measures, which is thought to have helped it keep the virus under control. 

The country has now started to ease restrictions, including reopening more than 500 of its beaches. 

Spain 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced over the weekend that tourists would be allowed into the country from July. 

Sanchez encouraged tourist establishments to start preparing to resume activity and urged Spaniards to start planning domestic vacations, which he said many will be able to go on from the end of June. 

On Monday, the Spanish government then said that from July 1 foreign visitors would no longer have to undergo a 14-day quarantine following their arrival into the country. 

Last weekend, the Spanish health ministry said daily deaths from the coronavirus had fallen below 100 for the first time in two months. It has now confirmed 235,400 cases of Covid-19 and 26,834 deaths, in total, from the virus. 

Italy 

Last week, Italian Transport Minister Paola De Micheli announced the country would be reopening airports, once again allowing interregional and international transfers from June 3. 

This comes after Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced last weekend that Italy would be opening its borders to countries within the European Union from June 3.

Though he said this depended on whether data on the virus continued to be encouraging. 

To date, a total of 230,158 people have contracted the coronavirus in Italy, while 32,877 people have died.

Sweden 

Sweden controversially never actually went into a full lockdown and has kept borders open. The government has imposed a temporary ban on citizens from all countries except European Union member states, the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. 

There have been 33,843 confirmed cases of the virus in Sweden so far and 4,029 deaths as a result of Covid-19.

Netherlands 

Similarly, the Netherlands has kept borders open for tourists from so-called Schengen countries — the 26 states in mainland Europe which have allowed free movement without a visa.

U.K. citizens are also allowed to travel to the country but, reportedly, a full declaration of health is required. 

The Netherlands has confirmed 45,445 cases of the coronavirus and 5,830 deaths. 

Iceland

Borders in Iceland have also remained open for tourists from Schengen countries but a 14-day quarantine has been required.

The Icelandic government expects to ease restrictions no later than June 15, in line with the European Commission’s guidelines. It then plans to start offering testing as an alternative to quarantine to travelers.  

In Iceland, 1,804 people have contracted Covid-19, while 10 people have died from the virus. 

Other countries in Europe have either yet to make announcements about letting tourists in, have chosen to stay open, or are due to reopen, to select states initially. 

For instance, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania formed a travel bubble, allowing residents from only these countries to move between each other. 

Meanwhile, Austria is set to open borders with Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary on June 15, according to multiple reports. A health certificate must be presented upon entry, or else travelers are required to isolate for 14 days.

The Arab Monetary Fund expected that economic growth in Qatar would grow broadly, driven by oil and non-oil activity, expecting continued improvement in economic performance in the medium term by supporting economic policies and policy space conducive to growth and employment, according to the report "Arab Economic Outlook" issued by the Arab Monetary Fund.

The Fund expected that increased spending on infrastructure projects within the framework of implementing the Qatar National Vision 2030 will support growth, as the vision includes a strategy to support economic diversification to achieve sustainable long-term growth based on a diversified economy.

According to the Arab Monetary Fund, the oil and gas sector is likely to grow in light of the planned expansion of energy production over the next few years, which will have a stimulating effect on the non-oil sector.

The report showed that the various reforms in the legislative environment, including the issuance of the new foreign direct investment law that allows foreigners full ownership of projects, as well as the creation of an "investment promotion agency" to coordinate investment promotion and marketing activities with major stakeholders will provide an overall environment conducive to attracting foreign capitals and pushing forward the economic development and growth in the short and medium-term.

On the other hand, Qatar's announcement of a set of reforms in the labor market to improve working conditions and the application of the minimum wage will contribute to creating more job opportunities.

In terms of employment conditions, the above-mentioned report showed that according to the workforce survey by the Planning and Statistics Authority, the economic participation rate of the population (15 years and over) was 87.9% in the second quarter of 2019, so that the unemployment rate would remain at 0.1% during the period from the second quarter of 2018 until the second quarter of 2019.

source: uac-org.org

The results of the survey by International Budget Partnership reflected recent efforts exerted by the Saudi government to enhance transparency and disclosure in public finance.

Saudi Arabia has made a marked improvement in terms of budget transparency and accountability, according to the Open Budget Index survey released on Wednesday.

According to the survey, conducted by International Budget Partnership (IBP), an international non-profit organization concerned with evaluating disclosure and transparency of general budgets worldwide, Saudi Arabia has advanced 18 ranks compared to the previous survey, after scoring 18 points compared to one point in the previous survey conducted in 2017.

The results of the survey reflected recent efforts exerted by the Saudi government to enhance transparency and disclosure in public finance.

Commenting on the result of the survey, Dr. Saad Alshahrani, deputy minister for macro-fiscal policies at the Ministry of Finance, highlighted the importance of this achievement that the Kingdom managed to realize within a short period of time and confirmed that with this progress, we aspire in the future to achieve a higher ranking that reflects efforts made in the framework of improving the quality of fiscal data and enhancing the level of transparency and disclosure thereof, which is one of the important tracks pursued by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in line with the Kingdom's Vision2030.

The Ministry of Finance has sought to develop its fiscal systems, providing the greatest possible amount of information about its fiscal policy, disclosing its fiscal and economic data and publishing relevant periodic reports to inform specialists, analysts and citizens in a timely manner.

This has also allowed the private sector and investors to plan ahead and make informed decisions.

Dr. Alshahrani said that the budget forum held annually by the ministry is an effective way to enhance communication and an important channel for identifying the best ways to develop the budget preparation process.

He also said that this forum underscores the importance of partnership between different government agencies to share challenges in preparing the budget and mechanisms to achieve the goals.

The forum is considered a successful initiative to inform the public finance stakeholders on the various projects of the finance ministry and related programs, and to provide training opportunities following the highest international standards.

The deputy minister added that the jump in the Kingdom’s score was the result of several concrete measures taken to enhance transparency. Since the launch of the Kingdom's Vision2030, the ministry has released many reports and has continuously developed its content on an annual basis according to best practices.

The reports address a broad base of specialized recipients and the general public inside and outside the Kingdom.

In 2017, the ministry issued the first detailed budget statement, quarterly (periodic) reports for the budget performance, the citizen’s budget, in addition to the publication of its medium-term fiscal framework. During the past two years, the ministry began periodically publishing the pre-budget statement and year-end report on its website.

Dr. Alshahrani explained that transparency is one of the important aspects of concern to international financial and investment institutions, impacting their investment decisions and is usually reflected in their reports.

He added that, in the past year, the Kingdom’s government joined the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) adopted by the International Monetary Fund, as well as implemented the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) initiative on the national data page, making the Kingdom the first among the G20 countries adopting SDDS and to apply SDMX.

The general government coverage was also introduced in the presentation of fiscal data for the first time in the past year. Also, the National Fiscal and Economic Data Page was created on the website of the Ministry of Finance with the participation of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority and the General Authority for Statistics.

All of these measures contributed to a material and unprecedented shift in the levels of disclosure and transparency in the Kingdom, leading to an enhanced position on various international indicators and contributing to supporting domestic and foreign investment, as well as the credit rating of the Kingdom.

The Open Budget Index (OBI) is an important global tool, independently prepared every two years to assess the transparency of government budgets around the world.

Countries covered by the open budget survey are ranked according to their scores in the survey.

source: zawya

The total gross deposits of the private sector in the UAE banks amounted to circa AED1.076 trillion by the end of March 2020, a 1.7 percent growth of AED18 billion from AED1.058 trillion in December 2019, figures by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates have shown.

These deposits account for around 58 percent of the total gross deposits held by the UAE banks, which stood at around AED1.852 trillion by the end of the same month.

In the meantime, the domestic credit to private sector amounted to AED1.149 trillion, a growth of 1.3 percent from AED1.134.6 trillion in December 2019.

The growth in private sector credit is a significant indicator of its contribution to economic activity and reflects increase in the sector's investment activity.

source: wam.ae

The move is in line with its support of business continuity and commitments towards fostering entrepreneurship in the Emirate following the global novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Dubai Startup Hub, an entrepreneurship initiative of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has taken its events online to support new members, as well as continue delivery of all its programs and activities digitally.

The move is in line with its support of business continuity and commitments towards fostering entrepreneurship in the Emirate following the global novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The digital initiatives are also geared towards helping startups sustain and grow amid challenging market conditions as a result of the ongoing pandemic.

Dubai Startup Hub will also launch an additional service to support startups with online mentorship during these extraordinary circumstances. The mentorship will include specialized entrepreneurship guidance and support with reviewing business models, improving and rehearsing investor pitches, and navigating the current business environment.

Natalia Sycheva, Manager of Entrepreneurship, at Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a statement that the smart transformation of services has become an urgent necessity for all institutions who serve innovators and entrepreneurs today.

“Organizing a digital networking platform and delivering educational and acceleration programs online is an important step that allows us to continue serving entrepreneurs at all times and enhances Dubai’s position as a global destination for entrepreneurship,” she said.

Sycheva added that entrepreneurs have been keen to use modern technology in exploring new business ideas and finding solutions to address current business challenges.

“The live interaction of participants with the moderators and among each other encourages them to explore new features and formats of this kind of webinars, which save time and effort, and facilitate a positive competitive environment,” Sycheva noted..

Dubai Startup Hub, launched by Dubai Chamber in 2016, embodies the value of public-private partnership to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, and is a valuable resource for entrepreneurs in Dubai.

Being a part of the Dubai Startup Hub provides a multi-program platform for entrepreneurs from around the world to explore business opportunities in Dubai, while benefiting from a variety of programs and services.

source: entrepreneur

50 startup finalists who qualified for the second phase of the Dubai Smartpreneur Competition have enrolled in 10-week online bootcamp

Dubai Startup Hub, the entrepreneur initiative by Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, has launched the Smartpreneur 5.0 Online Pitch Bootcamp.

This, first-of-its-kind 10 week training program is for the 50 finalists who qualified for the second phase of the fifth Dubai Smartpreneur competition.

The specialized online training program will run from April 19 to June 30, 2020. This program has replaced the traditional two day training to ensure that these promising ventures are supported in the current difficult times, and that they are able to sustain and grow their business in 2020.

Entrepreneurs will benefit from more than 100 individual and group online training workshops, which will be organized throughout the two and a half month program.

On the sidelines of the training program, Dubai Startup Hub also launched the Startup Pitch Guide 2020 on how to deliver an impactful investor pitch..  Dubai Chamber has prepared this guide based on global best practices that are compatible with the business environment in the emirate. Participants in the competition and other entrepreneurs can benefit from the guide to achieve positive, encouraging results when presenting their ideas to investors.

The training program includes a diverse mix of activities, including working on pitches by using the Chamber’s guide,  participating in a series of online training workshops and webinars with winners and previous participants of the Dubai Smartpreneur Competition.

The training program also includes 4 weeks of one-to-one work with startup business coaches to improve business and financial models of the startups and running a simulation of the contest with the finalists as judges.

 Natalia Sycheva, Manager of Entrepreneurship at Dubai Chamber pointed out that this training program is the first of its kind, innovative training model that takes into account the exceptional circumstances we are in and how to enhance the capabilities and skills of the entrepreneurs and startups to sustain and grow in such situations.

It also demonstrates the pioneering role of Dubai Chamber in providing innovative support for entrepreneurs in uncertain times rather than stopping these services.

She stressed that the Smartpreneur entrepreneurs are different as they are vetted, well-trained, and are guided to build a real business.

Sycheva also remarked on the launch of the Guide which is prepared by experts and is a training and educational tool for entrepreneurs and startups on how to present their ideas.

The Smartpreneur competition aims to assist technologyentrepreneurs to be part of Dubai’s strategic initiatives, in addition to enhancing the role of these entrepreneurs in the evolving business ecosystem of the Emirate and its position as the global hub for innovation.

More than 1,600 participants have gone through the Dubai Smartpreneur Competition over the last four years, which is reflective of its effectiveness and influence in attracting an increasing number of international startups.

Dubai Chamber launched Dubai Startup Hub in 2016 as an online platform for startups, entrepreneurs, developers, venture capitalists and students, enabling them to learn about new opportunities and create new partnerships that stimulate economic growth.

Dubai Startup Hub provides a multi-program platform for entrepreneurs from around the world to explore business opportunities in Dubai, while benefiting from a set of programs and services such as Market Access Program, Emirati Development Program, Dubai Smartpreneur Competition and Co-Founder Dubai Program, among others.

source: dubaichamber

Apart from the bigger economies, other countries are also taking a stride and venturing into capital market to reach out to the global forum. Another nation trying to grow and prosper in its capital market is Morocco. It is evolving as a prominent property investment hotspot. The Moroccan infrastructure is considered of carrying the highest standards with high quality and competitive prices at the same time. It also boasts of top quality property in 5 star luxury resorts.

The development of Moroccan infrastructure is basically due to the deep interest of the Monarch of the Kingdom of Morocco Mohammad VI and the country’s government.  The Moroccan economy is also being featured as one of the best performed economy in recent times; the secret behind the flourishing economy is the valued government policies and reforms aimed at modernization.

They are receiving appreciation from the favourable market conditions and macro economic modernization.

The growth of the economy can be perceived from the fact that there has been a substantial improvement in the country’s GDP by about 2.9% a year since 2001.

The economy has further progressed and the year 2006 had showed vast improvement in country’s GDP amounting to about 8.1%. The various sectors adding feathers to country’s economy are: agriculture, banking, stock markets, insurance, and transport, respectively. With the introduction of new policies by the government, even the tourism and construction industry has witnessed a major improvement in recent years.

The Moroccan government have renewed various policies and introduced various legislative reforms in the banking sector.

Unlike other countries raising the interest rates, Morocco has shown depreciation in the interest rates since 2006 and has also given apt space to small and medium sized enterprises by providing them the required finances. 

There are not many banks in Morocco, but plans are on and establishment of many more banks are in the pipeline.  Apart from banks, real estate sector is also a preferred sector which the government is aiming to improve.

The performance of Casablanca stock exchange has garnered attention in the past few years and many IPOs have come up since which account for a profitable investment avenue.

This market promises of excess liquidity which gives ample opportunities to the investor to invest in the capital market.

With the spread of information on the insurance sector, the Moroccans are also paying quite a lot of attention to the insurance sector. In terms of reach, the Moroccan insurance industry is the second largest insurance market in the African continent.

The tourism industry is one of the important sectors for a nation to flourish and build links with other countries. The tourism industry involves road links, airports, accommodation etc.

Other areas that has given a boost to the Moroccan tourism industry is cheaper flights, improved airport services, and improved rail and road links.

source: globalbankingandfinance