Is Madeira a safe holiday destination?

This post will talk about COVID-19 (and not about crime) only. and the answer is a resounding YES !

Ocean Retreat does not take any political positions. But we do feel that Madeira has taken very bold and exemplary action to contain the virus. Somehow we previously felt reluctant to cry victory. Especially with so much harm done to people’s lives globally. But we know how much the local economy relies on tourism. And we witnessed the amazing job done by the local government and health workers. So it is time to put things into perspective, and to give due credit to an incredible performance.

Is is a pity that Madeira Island is getting caught up in the travel bans due to the lacklustre performance of mainland Portugal. We hope more countries will start looking at Madeira seperately, which only seems logical for an island with a completely different situation than the mainland.

And so we just want to share one ‘boring’ table with you…which should make things clear. Madeira is one of the only holiday destinations which can lay claim on offering a safe environment.

• 

If we measure relative safety by the number of active Covid cases per million inhabitants (205), Madeira Island beats any other destination…by a landslide. Compare this to France (6657), Belgium (7561), Portugal (2458) or even Germany (326).

Knowing that Madeira is a tourist destination, this performance is all the more remarkable. One of the key ingredients here is surely the entry requirement (for residents and tourists alike) of showing proof of a negative and recent test result. Another one is Madeirans taking up their individual responsibility.

Congratulations Madeira!