Spain wants to ‘co-ordinate’ tourism reopening with UK govt
Rob GillSpain wants to work with the UK government to create a regime of measures to allow Britons to visit their most popular destination this summer.
The country, which is heavily reliant on the tourism industry, is currently proposing the introduction of a system of vaccine passports or certificates to the EU and OECD (Organisation for Economically Developed Countries).
Tourism minister Fernando Valdes told The Independent that vaccine certificates or passports would be among a series of measures to allow Brits to holiday in Spain this summer.
Although he stressed that UK visitors who did not have proof of a Covid-19 vaccination would not be stopped from entering Spain.
Valdes said the Spanish government would “like to co-ordinate” these measures with the UK government.
“A vaccine certificate should help us regain mobility and would have to complement our works with testing and other means that we have already implemented to avoid transmission, such as face masks or social distancing,” he explained.
“We feel summer has to be the beginning of a gradual restoration of international tourism to Spain and when we are hoping to welcome British tourists once again.”
Authorities in the Balearic islands are expected to ask the Spanish government to trial the vaccine passport if it is given the go-ahead by the EU.
While in the Canaries, authorities are planning to insist on UK visitors arriving with a negative PCR Covid test when travel resumes.
On Wednesday (24 February), Spain extended restrictions on UK arrivals by air or sea until 16 March to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.
UK residents are already banned from going on holiday abroad with the government not planning to reopen international travel until 17 May “at the earliest”. More details will be announced when the government’s Global Travel Taskforce sets out a series of recommendations by 12 April.
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