Europe must pick up the pace on vaccinations or risk losing out on a crucial second tourist season, analysts have warned.

The verdict from investment bank BAML comes as European nations struggle to open up their economies in the face of a third Covid-19 wave that has forced France and Germany to tighten restrictions instead.

Europe is more exposed to the international tourism market hit hardest by the pandemic, but its vaccine rollout is only now picking up pace after months of diplomatic rows over delays to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Europe has only vaccinated 22pc of its population, compared to 56pc in the US and 59pc in the UK.

The bloc has been inoculating 0.8pc of of its population a day in April, up from 0.4pc in March. However, it will have to move even faster and match the US pace of 1.2pc a day to meet ambitions of a July opening, BAML’s head of foreign exchange strategy Athanasios Vamvakidis said.

“Our estimates suggest that while the pace of European vaccination has doubled so far in April, it will have to triple from the March level to be able to reopen for the tourist season in July, which is the official target. This is feasible, but not a given,” he said.

If Europe continues at its current pace it will only succeed in vaccinating three-quarters of its population by the end of July, with potential fallout for the euro as well as the region’s suffering tourist sector, Mr Vamvakidis said.

“Losing a second tourist season could have long-term implications for some EU countries. The tourist industry in Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean, is highly dependent on small and medium-sized companies. The sector could experience permanent damage if the pandemic lasts for longer."

The EU is planning to introduce vaccine passports from mid-June after internal markets commissioner Thierry Breton unveiled a new European Health Certificate to ease the return of international travel.

"We would expect that as more people get vaccinated, and particularly if annual COVID vaccinations become necessary, some kind of vaccination certificates would be inevitable to re-establish normality and be able to have a sustained economic recovery,” Mr Vamvakidis said.

“The question is whether this will be done early enough to help Europe with the summer season this year.”

Further research from Morgan Stanley also found that office workers across France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK expect a month more at home with a widespread return to the office not expected until July, on average.

Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel has toughened lockdown rules and introduced curfews this week, has undergone the biggest shift. More than a third of surveyed workers do not expect to return before October.