The Spanish Government has expressed confidence that the European Union will lift restrictions on non-essential travel to foreign countries from May 20, meaning that British tourists could travel to Spain. This was announced by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, at the press conference following the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, when asked about the expected arrival of British tourists this summer, taking into account that London has not yet included Spain among the “Green List” destinations that it considers safe, which will be reviewed again over the next couple of weeks.
The minister assured journalists that her department is in permanent contact with the United Kingdom authorities, saying that they “understand” the variations that Spain is dealing with across their various territories, the accumulated incidence of coronavirus cases, and that there are regions such as Madrid and the Basque Country with a rate significantly higher than other more touristy regions, such as the Islands or the Valencian Community.
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Maroto added that the Government is optimistic with forecasts for British tourism, the main source market for visitors to Spain. The minister justified her statement in the first place with the “good news” that the EU could review its recommendation 912, that regulates non-essential travel from outside the EU, as soon as this Wednesday, lifting the restrictions as of May 20, which would allow the British, based on their current incidence of coronavirus and their vaccination data, to enter Spain even without a negative PCR test result.
The minister recalled that from May 17 the British will be able to leave the United Kingdom, when British Government limitations on travel abroad are to be relaxed.
With these measures expected in the coming days from the EU and London, as well as the increase in vaccinations and a fall in the cumulative incidence of cases, Maroto said that the Spanish Government is “quite optimistic that in the next review made by the British authorities, Spain may already be ‘green’ and we can receive the British market, which is our main source market”.
The minister indicated that the summer season is already being seen “with more optimism”, in light of the tourism reactivation within domestic travel, and the launch this June of the Green Vaccination Certificates and now the expected revision of the recommendations from both the EU and the UK.
