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From this Friday, May 15 at 00:00, all people from abroad who come to Spain will have to spend a quarantine of 14 days. They can only go out to go to a pharmacy or health center , make the purchase or carry out any force majeure movement. The regulations will last, for the moment, the same as the state of alarm, according to the Official State Gazette.

Those responsible for the national tourism sector were caught by surprise, but the reactions were immediate. One more thrust to the hopeless panorama that lies ahead? A blunder? Why now and not before? A dissuasive measure that will favor the mobility of tourists to other destinations? These are some of the questions raised by the Tourism Board, hoteliers, travel agencies, restaurateurs or airlines in our country.

A "deterrent" measure for tourism

The European Union is also not in favor of the idea , as it has just expressed through a statement. "As soon as the health situation allows, citizens should be able to catch up with friends and family, in their own country or across borders, with all necessary security and precautions." And he continues: "The generalized prohibition on free movement should be replaced by more specific measures. If the health situation does not justify a general lifting of restrictions, a phased and coordinated system should be applied."

A traveler waits for a plane at the terminal.SHUTTERSTOCK

According to Manuel Vega , president of the Spanish Association of Hotel and Restaurant Directors and Executives ( AEDH ), who was stunned to learn of the Government's initiative of a forced quarantine of all foreigners who came to our country again, to the that doesn't see "much of a journey". "Every day you change your mind here. It already seemed outrageous when I saw that they wanted to apply it in the United Kingdom, but it is that here we need tourism much more. It seems like a joke . Do we want to generate confidence so that tourists come?" He explains while assuring that his groups of whatsapps with tourism professionals smoke these days.

José Luis Zoreda, executive vice president of Exceltur , an association made up of 28 of the most relevant companies in the tourism sector nationwide, also believed it to be a fake news . "The order is proof that tourism has not been taken into account in the government's strategic decision agenda." He also considers that it is a "dissuasive" measure that favors the movement of tourists to other countries such as Portugal, Malta, Cyprus, Italy or Greece , "where they will be welcome".

The controversy of the bilateral corridors

And that, so far, 32 states have instituted different types of quarantine from Australia to Angola, China, Croatia, Cuba, Iceland, Myanmar, New Zealand, Romania, Thailand, Taiwan or Zambia. Belgium not only insulates whoever comes from abroad, but also whoever is going to pick up the person in question. Others who are committed to isolation are the United Kingdom and France, who will create a kind of tourist corridor among their citizens, which will be joined by Germany, which also studies monitoring everyone who visits them. That yes, it wants the flights to the Balearic Islands , habitual destination of vacations of its inhabitants, they continue standing this summer. For their part, Spain, Italy and France spoke of a possible pact between borders, but it has not materialized.

View of the Kempinski Hotel Bahía, on the Costa del Sol.

The establishment of these bilateral corridors is not shared by Francisco Sa Texeira, director of Sales and Marketing of the Kempinski Hotel Bahía on the Costa del Sol, the only one that the oldest luxury chain in Europe has in Spain, whose clients are mostly foreigners. "It is playing with advantage." Nor does it support quarantine: It involves throwing stones at your own roof. We should not send negative messages, but rather the opposite and think about recovery. "In addition, there is no point in imposing restrictions on countries that are in the same situation", let alone those that the pandemic has hit less like Portugal. It seems like a joke, "he says.

Even so, he is hopeful about the summer by trusting in the increase in national tourism in a destination as international as the Costa del Sol . "For the first time we have four Spanish cities (Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Seville and Valencia) in the top 5 of those interested in coming, according to the analytics on our website, when London, Zurich or Berlin were always in the lead." For this reason, it is already thinking about attractive proposals for the reopening, such as new gastronomic and cultural experiences, including an exhibition by Carmen Thyssen herself.

Need for trust messages

Meanwhile, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) also believes that quarantining foreigners (cross-border workers, carriers and aircrew will be exempt, as well as health professionals who come to work in our country, although if it will be imposed on the Spaniards who return) it is sending "a message of disadvantage" , as its executive president, Gloria Guevara, has indicated in a statement. "If things are done well, in July or August the tourist movement between European countries and between the United States and the Caribbean can be recovered."

Pool of the President's House, in Ávila.

And all is not lost this summer. Hugo Ortega, CEO of Fontecruz Hotels , with establishments such as La Casa del Presidente in Ávila, the former summer residence of Adolfo Suárez, or the five-star Toledo Eugenia de Montijo, prefers to be optimistic. "The international client can see that the most drastic measures are being taken to alleviate the coronavirus and see it as something positive. But it must be supported with messages of trust and security towards our receptive destinations such as Germany, France or Italy."

For his part, Jorge Marichal, president of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodations ( Cehat ), affirms that the isolation of foreigners is due to "technical", not tourist reasons, caused by the state of alarm. "We are aware of the limitations required by the pandemic, so we believe that what is important is the culmination of international agreements that allow tour operators and airlines to know under what conditions travelers will have to fly," he concludes.

In accordance with the criteria of The Trust Project

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