• Tourism.Spain loses 5,000 million for each week of forced quarantine
  • Mobility: Macron relaxes his quarantine for the Spanish: it will be voluntary and only for those arriving by plane

The Government is beginning to listen to the tourism sector and is already outlining the way in which international tourists can return to our country to save, at least in part, the summer season.

What the sector was asking for is a specific opening date that allows potential visitors to organize and criticized that Spain is practically the only European country with great tourist weight whose head of government has not released a message that will reassure foreign tourists. Quite the contrary, Spain has adopted measures, such as the forced quarantine of anyone entering the country, which discourages potential tourists from even proposing a visit to Spain.

That glove was picked up today by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, setting the date for the return of international tourists: July.

"There will be a tourist season this year," he proclaimed. And it has been addressed directly to foreigners who may be thinking about where to spend their holidays this summer: "Spain has been waiting for you in July in safe conditions."

Sánchez's tone was allegedly solemn in the announcement: "The time has come," he said . "We intend to guarantee the reactivation of national tourism in the face of this same summer season" and "foreign tourists can now also plan their vacations in our country".

The President has invited "all tourist establishments, bars and restaurants, beach and inland destinations to prepare as of today to resume their activity in a few days" and "to be ready to welcome the Spanish who they want to enjoy these vacations in any of the formidable destinations that our geography offers ".

In addition, he encouraged "the Spanish to plan their vacations and take advantage of the wonders of our national offer", noting that " many will be able to do it from the end of June onwards".

From June 22

Vice President Teresa Ribera, in charge of designing the de-escalation process and who three days ago calculated that international tourists could re-enter Spain around July, had announced a new date today : June 22.

It will not be, yes, the same for the whole country. Only those territories that by then have passed phase 3 of the de-escalation can enable safe corridors for mobility, both internal, that is, of national and community tourists. In other words, only those areas that have already managed to position themselves on the horizon of the "new normal" will be able to receive tourists from June 22.

The forced quarantine applied by Spain, which the sector calculates costs the country 5 billion a week, has been criticized and answered by France , which since Monday has applied a quarantine "in reciprocity" for those who access their territory from Spain. Yes, Macron's quarantine will be voluntary, not like ours, mandatory for 14 days.

Teresa Ribera has put today, through an interview in El Periódico , one more step to what has been done so far by the Spanish Executive, putting on the table the date of June 22 as a potential horizon. Of course, if the de-escalation conditions are maintained, in which each of the phases will need at least two weeks, the return of tourists to Madrid or Barcelona by then seems already ruled out .

"We can perfectly imagine that a citizen of Badajoz can go to spend a few days in Huelva, but perhaps those of Madrid cannot. That is what in the European space we call safe corridors, connecting areas with a level of security and statistical probability of equivalent contagion both in the origin and in the destination. Therefore, keeping all the precautions there does not have to be a problem. In European destinations or provenance it is probable that the same scheme will be reproduced, "says Ribera.

A safe area

The Government defends that being the country with the slowest de-escalation does not work against our tourist interests, rather on the contrary, it can make our country be perceived as a "safer" destination. And this was also defended today in an interview on the French radio station RFI, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation, Arancha González Laya , who denied that the reopening of borders by European countries is being uncoordinated.

The minister considers that the 14-day forced quarantine is "necessary but temporary" and will be lifted gradually and in conversation with other European partners. The Government's position is that when the borders are opened, which will not happen until the 'phase 3' ends, it will be able to demonstrate that the Spanish health situation is adequate.

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  • Spain
  • Teresa Ribera
  • Madrid
  • Huelva
  • France
  • Badajoz
  • Arancha González Laya

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