Hotels and holiday lets to open in parts of Spain on May 4 – but only to Spanish holidaymakers
SPAIN could return to a "new normal" by the end of June with holiday apartments and hotels reopening by next month, according to the prime minister.
But Brits will have to wait longer, as they will only open to Spanish holidaymakers for now and no dates have been given for when international visitors can return.
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The country has faced one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe, banning all outdoor activity - which has only recently started to lift with children under 14 allowed outside for one hour a day.
Now, Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez has revealed a six-week plan to get business and social life back on track, based around four phases - a preparatory phase zero which officially kicks in Monday followed by three recovery phases which would see beaches reopened to the general public on June 8 if all goes to plan.
Four of the islands will be able to start the first phase before the rest of Spain.
He explained: "On May 4, the island of Formentera in the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands of La Graciosa, La Gomera and El Hierro would go to phase one and the rest of Spain a week later if they meet the pre-established requirements.
“From then on every fortnight the Ministry of Health together with the autonomous regions will evaluate the fulfilment of the markers set out before deciding which islands and provinces can move to the next phase.”
Beaches with limitations on the numbers of people to ensure social distancing would also open up fully again, from June 8, while hotels and tourist apartments will open by Phase One.
The Spanish PM offered no hints about when Spain will open up its international air and land borders and be able to start welcoming foreign tourists again.
He has also ruled out any travelling between the Canary or Balearic Islands, as well as between provinces.
Spain's six-week de-escalation plan
Phase Zero
- Hairdressers can open
- Cafes and restaurants can offer takeaway meals
Phase One
- Hotels and holiday apartments can open
- Bars and restaurants can open terraces, with 30 per cent capacity
- Small shops can open
Phase Two
- Cinemas and theatres can open
- Indoor restaurant dining can resume with limited numbers
- Weddings with limited guests can resume
Phase Three
- More people allowed into restaurants and shops
He said in the TV interview yesterday each recovery phase would have to last at least a fortnight before regions and islands were allowed to move on.
Mr Sanchez said: “Each one of the three phases one to three will last for a minimum of two weeks because that is the average period of the incubation of the virus.
“That will mean that in the best of cases the de-escalation process will last a minimum of six weeks in each region and we would be back to the ‘new normality' as a country as a whole by the end of June if the evolution of the pandemia is controlled in all areas.”
He stressed individual islands and regions would only be allowed to move up a phase if they met conditions yet to be fully explained to limit contagion and control hospital saturation.
Only after more limitations are lifted on business and social life following the successful completion of phase three, will Spain’s 46 million residents be able to move around the country.
And he made it clear the end of June was the optimum date for a return to Spain’s new “post-coronavirus normality” pending a life-changing vaccine.
The Spanish PM’s TV announcement will leave continuing question marks about when Brit-popular areas like the Costa del Sol, Balearic Islands and Costa Blanca will be in a position to welcome back the foreign holidaymakers so important to their local economies.
Bookings have spiked in Costa del Sol after the prime minister's speech, according , with travel consultant Rian Rodber claiming package holiday bookings for July and August "leapt by 78.9 per cent."
Juanma Moreno, president of the Andalucia region which includes the Costa del Sol, has admitted this summer would not be like last year when the region welcomed a record 32 million visitors.
He claimed last week he was “optimistic” certain sectors could reopen safely and people could be allowed back on beaches with police monitoring to keep the numbers down.
However, regions in the area such as Malaga are on how to keep tourists safe as they prepare the 160km of beaches ahead of the summer.
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The Canary Islands has said it wants to welcome back British tourists from October after hotels are opened to Spanish holidaymakers in July or August.
Regional president Angel Victor Torres told Spanish daily El Mundo: “That way, in October, November or December, which are good months in the Canary Islands, we can begin to receive tourists from other countries.”
Balearic Islands tourism minister Iago Negueruela has warned that Brits will not be among those returning to the area this summer.
He told local media earlier this month: “There are countries like the United Kingdom that took too long to adopt confinement measures.”
Spain’s coronavirus death tally of 23,822 is more than any other country apart from the US and Italy, although France and the UK are now close behind.
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