Starting today, anyone, provided they are vaccinated, can go on vacation to Spain.

”Spain is a safe destination,” confirms Health Minister Carolina Darias, adding that the country is now on the road to ”regaining its position as a global leader in tourism.”.

But the country is still on, for example, the UK's list of risk countries, which means that travelers must, among other things, isolate themselves for two weeks upon returning home. This is disappointing news according to Darias.

The British normally make up the largest tourist group in Spain – in 2019, over a fifth of Spain's 83.5 million visitors were from the UK.

But despite that Although the British may not be there, or at least there will be fewer than normal, the tourism sector is hoping for lots of summer visitors.

According to Jose Luis Prieto, president of the Spanish Association of Travel Agents (Unav), tour operators in the UK, France and Germany – Spain’s three main markets – have received a large number of enquiries in recent weeks. And across the country, hotels and restaurants are now reopening after months of closure.

Spain, heavily dependent on its tourism industry, was one of the Western economies hit hardest by the pandemic. The Spanish government has set a goal of attracting 45 million travelers this year. But by the end of April, the country had only had 1.8 million visitors, according to official statistics.

For non-vaccinated Europeans – who have so far been able to enter Spain with a negative so-called PCR test that is no more than 72 hours old – a (cheaper) antibody test is now sufficient.

Source: TT