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Likewise, she emphasized that starting May 20, travel restrictions between countries outside the European Union could be “relaxed”. This will allow Spain to receive tourists from the UK, USA, South America and Asia. All this if the new classification envisaged by the European Union is approved to accommodate the vaccinated tourists. In addition, 10 “test” destinations will be set up in Spain for certification testing.
The Minister made the remarks in Alicante, during the Alicante + Europe Forum, and also mentioned that mobility between countries could resume as 19 million doses have already been administered in Spain, making the near-future scenario in tourism a little more optimistic.
Maruto said he is confident that Spain can take back half of the total 84 million foreign tourists from the record year 2019 during the rest of the year “ if the vaccination pace is maintained ” and if the EU Green Travel Certificate is ready in June.
Tourism resumption
According to the minister, the resumption of both domestic and foreign tourism is “good news” for Spain. She appealed to the community’s “responsibility” because an end to the alert did not mean the virus was defeated. “Well, we’re close to getting over it because the vaccination is advancing so fast, but we still need to do things right to avoid taking steps back.”
Regarding the arrival of tourists from the UK, Maruto explained that in this regard, the approval of the European Travel Certificate before June is of great importance. Recommendation 912 also affects that, allowing restrictions to be relaxed in countries outside the European Union.
“At the moment, the Green Card is under construction and we hope it will be approved around May 20, so that the British can also travel to Spain again,” Maruto said, adding that this measure depends on whether the UK will decide its residents in a year to allow them. To travel abroad as well.
Likewise, the Minister stressed that Spain “must act” to stay within the “green traffic light” and made clear that traffic light colors could be determined by region in Spain based on the rate of infection with the virus after negotiations with the United Kingdom.
Destinations of the pilot
Starting in May, there will be ten Spanish test destinations to test using green travel certificates. It is not yet known what they will be.
When asked whether the government will ultimately demand “reciprocity” of health measures from countries such as the United Kingdom, Minister Maruto replied that it is “necessary” to restore international mobility and that serious work is taking place within the European Union to achieve safe mobility.
“Vaccination allows us to ease movement restrictions to some extent, but with security elements such as protocols that help ensure these safe procedures through negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests or through vaccination,” Maruto said.
