Spain coronavirus travel advice – hotels to stay shut until end of year in government plan to ease lockdown
SPAIN'S Government is not expecting tourism to "get back to normal" until at least the end of 2020.
Minister of Labour, Yolanda Díaz says the so-called de-escalation period will almost certainly be done in two phases and the holiday industry won't be taking precedence.
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She said the government was already working on the next phase of the State of Emergency which runs until at least April 26th and is likely to be extended until May 10th.
Although no date has been set for even a partial lifting of restrictions, Yolanda Diaz said: "We are working on two phases for de-escalation, one for the summer and another for the end of the year."
The minister confirmed that the process of reincorporation to the work of the different sectors will be "gradual" and that in her department they envisage two timescales.
The first will be in June and will cover the productive sectors. Large companies and banks have already confirmed that the return to work will be "gradual".
The second will last until the end of the year and will affect, above all, tourism, culture and leisure, as well as air and maritime navigation currently severely restricted or even paralysed in many cases.
Yolanda Díaz acknowledged that these sectors will have "enormous difficulties" to resume their activity so various measures are already being looked at.
On the Costa del Sol, bar and restaurant owners are already calling for the lifting of restrictions on the times they can open, the size of terraces and the relaxation of self-distancing rules.
They say it would be ridiculous to put so many limitations on tourist establishments given the money they would have lost during the coronavirus crisis.
Nightclubs and discos in the holiday hotspots want government officials to look at how they could operate if punters have to be 6ft apart.
One businessman told : "No one is going to go to a disco to dance alone or to spend midnight without being able to get close to anyone."
Vice president of the Andalusian Federation of Clubs and Party Rooms, Juan Rambla said the State of Emergency rules had hit them very badly just before the start of the high season.
"I prefer not to think about the losses that we are going to suffer," he said.
Health officials in Spain are set to release an army of disinfectant-spraying drones to battle coronavirus.
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It comes as Spain, the third-worst hit country in the world, saw its death toll near 21,000.
Last week, started to allow some non-essential workers to return to their jobs as coronavirus restrictions were partially eased.
The news follows the warning from EU chief Ursula Von der Leyen earlier this month, who advised people against making any summer holiday plans in Europe due to the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic effects.
While it is unlikely tourists will be able to return in the next few months, thankfully there are some great deals for next year, starting from £254 per person.
- Seven nights in Fuerteventura with easyJet Holidays, departing from London Gatwick on June 1 -
- Seven nights in Ibiza with easyJet Holidays, departing from London Luton on June 1 -
- Seven nights in Tenerife with On The Beach, departing from Birmingham on June 3 -
- Seven nights in Costa Brava with On The Beach, departing from London Stansted on June 4 -
- Seven nights in Menorca with TUI, departing from London Stansted on May 14 -
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MOST READ IN TRAVEL
When Brits do finally return to Spain after the coronavirus pandemic, they could see themselves benefiting from a beer price war.
Bar owners have been boasting about slashing prices for a pint of lager across the Costa Del Sol and Costa Blanca, as bars fight to attract business following the lockdown.
Although they will almost certainly be advised to wear masks and will have their temperature taken when arriving at airports and ports too.
Tourism leaders have also explained that holiday-makers will have to sunbathe 6ft apart on beaches even after the end of the coronavirus crisis.