Spain to reopen to tourists by end of spring

Spain has closed itself off to tourists to stop the spread of Covid-19

Credit: REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo

Spain will open its mass tourism resorts for business in spring once the country has vaccinated between 30 and 40 per cent of its adult population, Spanish Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto has said. 

The introduction of Covid passports to ease international travel is anticipated by May, she said. 

The statement strikes a more optimistic note than Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who earlier this year said the threshold to allow for a full reopening of the country’s tourism sector should be 70 per cent vaccination.

“We could be prepared to start to apply the digital passport in mid-May,” Ms Maroto said in an interview on the Antena 3 television channel.

It comes ahead of next week’s expected announcement of a draft EU plan for the Digital Green Pass system showing a traveller’s proof of vaccination or Covid testing status.

Ms Maroto also said that Spain was expecting the approval of the single-shot Janssen vaccine “in a matter of days” to assist with a necessary acceleration in the vaccination campaign to reach 30 to 40 per cent inoculation by June.

According to Spanish Health Ministry data, by the start of this week the country’s regional health authorities had administered 4.85 million doses of mainly Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, with 1.41 million people completely protected.

Even with the EU’s recently reduced expectation of receiving 300 million doses between April and June, the 30 million apportioned to Spain would allow it to reach the 40 per cent threshold of 15.7 million adults sometime in June – as long as the rollout can keep pace with supply.

Coronavirus Spain Spotlight Chart — Cases default

Spain’s third wave of Covid that peaked after Christmas is now under control, with a 14-day cumulative incidence of 139 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the lowest level recorded since August.

Bookings of travel to Spain from the UK soared last week after a government official said that Madrid was negotiating a “green corridor” with Britain in case there was no pan-EU agreement on a Covid passport system.