The federal government has classified Spain as the most popular holiday destination for Germans from Tuesday as a high-incidence corona area.
The Netherlands will also fall into this category, which prescribes stricter conditions when returning to Germany, as the Robert Koch Institute announced on Friday.
The decision follows a significant increase in the number of infections in both countries in the past few weeks.
Anyone who returns to Germany from a high-incidence area and is not fully vaccinated or recovered has to be in quarantine for ten days, but can shorten this with a negative test after five days.
The new classifications can put unvaccinated holidaymakers before the decision whether to start or continue the trip.
Criticism from the travel association DRV
The travel association DRV criticized the decision of the federal government.
In the middle of the holiday season, this "destroys the vacation plans of numerous travelers and especially many families with children," said DRV President Norbert Fiebig.
The travel industry, which has been hard hit by the Corona crisis, fears that an impending quarantine will unsettle people who are currently on vacation or who are about to do so.
According to the DRV, around 200,000 package travelers from Germany are currently on holiday in Spain.
Of this about 60 percent in the Balearic Islands, 30 percent in the Canaries and the rest on the mainland.
In addition, there are an estimated total of around 200,000 individual holidaymakers from Germany in the country.
Just three weeks ago, Foreign Minister Heiko Mass gave a kind of all-clear during a visit to Madrid.
“There are no indications of developments that would lead to fear that we would have to make decisions again in the foreseeable future that would mean that German tourists would no longer be able to go on holiday in Spain,” he said on July 5th.
Although there is reason for caution, he does not assume that a reintroduction of the quarantine obligation for returning holidaymakers in Spain is imminent.
However, the corona numbers have skyrocketed practically everywhere in Spain since the end of June.
The country has one of the worst values in Europe.
Around 475,000 new infections were counted within a month, the seven-day incidence rose from 42 in June to 333 now.
On Mallorca, the Germans' favorite holiday island, it was recently even at 365. Especially young, not yet vaccinated people became infected at parties and music festivals, mostly with the more contagious Delta variant.
In the Corona hotspot Catalonia with Barcelona as a tourist metropolis, the 14-day incidence among 20 to 29-year-olds is currently a staggering almost 3200.
Vaccination campaign is having an impact
However, the vaccination campaign is also having an impact. 70 percent of the 47 million inhabitants have received at least one corona vaccination, 52.8 percent are fully vaccinated. While the number of infections literally exploded, the number of corona patients in hospitals rose much more slowly from a good 2,800 to 7,600 now. The deaths from corona within seven days increased from 59 to 78 in the same period. Experts believe that the next week could be the climax The current wave of infections will be reached and the number of infections will begin to decline, as the newspaper "La Vanguardia" wrote.
Package holidaymakers who are currently in Spain will be informed of the changed situation by their organizer, according to the DRV.
Should travelers want to end their vacation prematurely, the organizers took care of a flight change.
"An early return trip is not absolutely necessary," emphasized the association.
Tourists who have planned a trip to Spain in the next few days would be contacted successively by the organizers.
Germany's second largest tour operator DER Touristik had already announced that if Spain were to be classified as a high incidence area, guests would be offered free cancellation and rebooking options.
Also Georgia high incidence area
Georgia is now also a high incidence area.
Denmark - with the exception of Greenland - is now considered a simple risk area.
This also applies to parts of France: the regions of Corsica, Occitania, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the overseas department of Martinique.
Ireland, Malta and Monaco are now also easy risk areas.
The return journey from the German neighbor Netherlands is not a problem, even if it is now subject to conditions.
Since the beginning of July, the number of infections there had risen by 500 percent within a week.
The high point was a seven-day incidence of about 415 on Tuesday.
The government had previously lifted almost all corona measures.
The delta variant of the virus had spread rapidly, especially in discos, at festivals and parties. Young people up to 29 years of age in particular became infected. The number of patients in hospitals has also increased significantly since then. The government of the Netherlands pulled the emergency brake two weeks ago. Discos and nightclubs are now closed and festivals are prohibited. The number of infections has been falling again for a few days.