Speaking after a meeting between G20 tourism ministers, Draghi said it was important to provide clear, simple rules to ensure that tourists can once again travel freely in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“From the second half of June the European Green Pass will be ready,” Draghi announced at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
“In the meantime, the Italian government will introduce a national green pass, which will come into force starting in the second half of May.
“It’s time to book your holiday in Italy; we can’t wait to welcome you again.”
While details of how the pass will work are not yet clear, it is likely to require proof of full vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test.
It is not known if either the Italian or European pass will be extended to allow arrivals from outside of the EU and Schengen travel zone.
Travel between Italian regions has been strictly restricted for much of the year to fight the virus.
But with case numbers falling, the government hopes to attract visitors over the summer with so-called vaccine passports.
Italy is the president of the G20 this year and chaired Tuesday’s meeting of tourism ministers, who looked at ways of recovering from the damage wrought by the pandemic.
International tourist arrivals dropped 73 per cent globally in 2020 and nearly 62 million travel and tourism jobs have been lost globally as a result of the pandemic, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Italy’s tourism industry, worth around 13 per cent of GDP before the pandemic hit, is one of the sectors worst-hit by the coronavirus crisis.
Italian government ministers have repeatedly said the country wants to allow visitors from outside Europe this summer – however no firm date has yet been given for non-EU tourism to restart.
