Spain hopes to launch international tourism in summer

Spanish authorities expect to vaccinate 70% of the population and open international tourism before the start of the season.

Spain plans to resume international tourism in the summer, by which time most of the population (70%) will likely have already been vaccinated. With regard to lifting the current restrictions on non-compulsory travel from third countries, including Russia, everything depends on a joint decision with EU partners.

The tourist flow to Spain in 2020 decreased by 77%. Only 19 million foreign visitors visited the country, the worst result in half a century. The contribution of tourism to GDP fell from 12.4% in 2019 to 4% in 2020.

The government plans to make Spain accessible to its closest neighbours in Europe and then to citizens of other countries. Due to the epidemiological situation, Russia is still on the red list of the European Union. And Spain is not ready to open the borders for the Russians like Greece.

Spain supports the introduction of “cove” passports in the country, according to officials, this will contribute to the early restart of tourism.

In 2019, 1.3 million Russian tourists visited Spain, in 2020 - more than 150 thousand.

Source: tourism.interfax

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