Spain aims to reopen borders to tourists by end of June – and end 14-day quarantine restrictions
SPAIN is looking at reopening their borders to visitors by the end of June as the country reduces the strict lockdown measures for tourists.
The 14-day quarantine in place will also be phased out at the same time.
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Madrid surprised its EU partners by imposing a two-week quarantine on all overseas travellers and effectively keeping borders closed, saying that was needed to avoid importing a second wave of the COVID-19 disease.
But the move was meant to be temporary and Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos said it would be phased out in parallel with travel being allowed within Spain, whose regions are easing restrictions in different phases.
"As soon as we Spaniards can travel to other provinces, foreigners will be able to come to Spain," he told TVE broadcaster.
"From late June, we'll start the tourism activity, I hope," he said. "We must make Spain an attractive country from the health point of view."
There is no guarantee that Brits will be allowed in as soon as the borders do open though - the Balearic Islands tourism minister Iago Negueruela has previously said that only tourists from certain countries would be allowed in - and that doesn't include Brits.
He explained: "There are countries like the United Kingdom that have taken too long to adopt containment measures and that also puts us in a different situation with respect to them."
Spain is one of the worst hit nations, with 27,650 deaths and 277,719 infections.
However, the daily death rate has fallen to below 100 for the first time in months.
Tourism accounts for over 12 per cent of Spain's economic output, but there are some signs of life as major airports restart international flights from today.
Even though life on the less populated Balearic and Canary Islands is almost back to normal for locals, there are still no tourists in sight.
"It is consistent with the phase-out plan. We can't allow foreigners to travel while the Spanish population is confined," Abalos said.
The UK still advises against all non-essential travel abroad.
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Benidorm is optimistic that tourists will return by the summer, with mayor Toni Perez Perez saying: "The British are our number one international tourists.
"I haven’t given up hope of seeing British tourists back this summer."
The Costa del Sol, however, has practically given up on the idea of attracting British tourists this year - Andalucia's Regional Tourism Minister Juan Marin admitted the international market was “effectively dead” this summer.
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