2021 Spanish Summer holidays ???
Posted on 4th March 2021 at 19:12
With the UK vaccine rollout doing so well, many people are hoping that lockdown restrictions will be eased. The PM Boris Johnson, I thought, has been very clear with the roadmap targets having to be met BEFORE any lifting can be done. IF we all stick to the rules, there is a very strong chance that international travel could start to move again, and this would be a MASSIVE boost for the global economy.
The UK tourists are a huge customer for Spain, and the brits love the weather and Spanish hospitality. The Spanish government know this and appreciate it, so I found the following few lines from the Spanish tourism minister very interesting and reassuring :
Reyes Maroto, (tourism minister of Spain) confirmed that the Spanish government is working on establishing safe tourist travel corridors with the country's main markets, including the UK.
Maroto explained that Spain was a pioneer in developing these corridors last year and that there had been negotiations with the UK and Germany about their reopening before "the third wave" of the pandemic prevented this. Both the UK and Germany, she added, are currently "closed", while Spain has travel limitations due to new variants of the virus. “It was nevertheless important to have corridors ready.”
Regarding the vaccine passport, Maroto said the Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez had voiced his support for this during a videoconference of EU leaders. The passport "will allow us to regain safe mobility", something to which other tools - PCR tests and safe corridors - contribute. There is a debate regarding the passport but there is also consensus on the need for it in order to guarantee safe mobility. "We are working with the EU so that there are common protocols." The UK are also excited by this development, as this should ease not only tourism travel but also business travel. Apparently the EU have invited the UK to be part of this scheme.
Regarding prospects for foreign tourism this summer, the minister insisted that work is being done so that there is international mobility. "Destinations are making preparations, and we hope that mobility conditions will be met. We now have something that we didn't have last summer, and that is vaccines."
Asked about when the passport and corridors might be implemented, Maroto observed that this will depend on the opening of tourism supplier markets. In this respect, the UK has given a date - May 17 - which "seems to be when restrictions will be eliminated or reduced".
The UK's largest tour operator Tui, has revealed today their plans to resume holidays to Spain from May 21. (Travel rules permitting) and Airline and tour operator Jet2 has slashed holiday prices by £110 per person ahead of the potential lifting of restrictions on foreign holidays on May 17.
Jet2 have reductions on trips to destinations across the Mediterranean and Canary Islands, through the Jet2holidays app if they book on or before March 31.
Bookings have increased for many destinations, including mainland Spain, Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Italy and Portugal, with Jet2 reporting a 1,000 per cent increase since Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a global travel taskforce would put forward a report on how to resume international travel. EasyJet said their bookings had increased by 600% the day after the UK roadmap was revealed.
The chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: "After an uncertain and difficult year for everyone, people want nothing more than to get away and enjoy some much-need time in the sunshine.
"The announcement from the government, which shows a clear ambition to reopen international travel, is the news we have all been waiting for, and it is clear to see from the surge in bookings how ready our customers are to enjoy their well-deserved real package holidays."
So, some promising news regarding Spain. Let’s hope this is the start of the world reopening…
Look after yourselves
PPTmk
Tagged as: Spanish Holidays, Tourism
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