Costa BLOCKED-a! Spanish tourism minister dashes holiday dreams for thousands of Britons after saying UK government must 'improve' its Covid record BEFORE they will be allowed in
- Spain's tourism minister Maria Reyes Maroto said UK must improve Covid-19 rate
- The prospect of Brits returning to Spanish beaches in next two weeks dashed
- German and Nordic countries most likely to be involved in tourism 'test-run'
Brits' hopes of holidaying abroad have been dashed as Spain's tourism minister says the UK must 'improve' its situation with coronavirus before tourists are allowed back.
Maria Reyes Maroto said British tourists will not be among those participating in a proposed trial-run for allowing tourists back into the country.
The first tourism test-run is due to take place in two weeks, ahead of the reopening of Spanish borders to holidaymakers from July 1.
The news comes after the government has faced increasing pressure to scrap its scheme forcing all travellers arriving in the UK to spend 14 days in quarantine.
Tourism and aviation industries have warned the measures could scupper any hopes of economic recovery and there is now a growing number of ministers and Tory MPs demanding Home Secretary Priti Patel rethink the plans.
Brits hopes of travelling to Spain for a holiday have been dashed as the Spanish tourism minister said the UK must improve its UK record
Maria Reyes Maroto said the Spanishand regional governments had been in talks with holiday providers TUI and Jet2holidays
Instead, she said tourists from Germany and the Nordic countries were the most likely to be permitted entry for the trial.
The tourism minister said the Spanish and regional government were in talks with holiday providers TUI and Jet2holidays about the prospect of Brits returning to the country.
The Mirror reported she told Spanish media the likelihood of holidaymakers from the UK being the first to visit Spain were slim: 'There the health situation still has to improve.
'For us it is important to guarantee that people arrive healthy and leave healthy.'
The suggestion of a 'test-run' for the return of tourists to the county is yet to be approved by the government but if it does get the go-ahead Mrs Reyes Maroto said Germany and the Nordic countries were most likely to be first because their 'epidemiological situations are very good.'
Mrs Reyes Maroto said Germany and the Nordic countries were most likely to be the first to return as beaches in usually bustling tourist towns such as Menorca (pictured) are left emptier than usual
The regional government in the Balearic Islands has been pressing for the trial-run return of tourists, with plans to commence the first entry from June 16.
In its plans it has been campaigning for Madrid to allow 3,000 German holidaymakers to visit the islands.
Also included in the proposed test-run are the Canary Islands and Mrs Reyes Maroto also has plans to incorporate areas such as Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol if the regional governments wish to be involved.
Restrictions in Benidorm and Marbella are expected to be reduced tomorrow with the prospect of reopening beaches.
However, Benidorm mayor Toni Perez made the decision to keep beaches closed until mid-June.
The Balearic government has outlined a number of measures in it's pilot 'action plan' for reopening to tourists as it hopes to be one of the first regions in Spain to receive holidaymakers.
The first tourists to arrive in Mallorca will undergo PCR coronavirus tests at the airport and then remain isolated for six hours in their hotels to await the results.
It is planned to test-drive the new procedures in mid-June if permission is given to bring up to 5,000 Germans to Mallorca as a prelude to the opening of international borders and the scrapping of Spain's 14-day quarantine rule from July 1st.
According to reports in the island's press, the go-ahead has already been given by both the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Transport but approval is still pending from the Ministeries of Labour and Health.
The Balearics, which include Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza, have a low incidence of coronavirus deaths at 224 since the outbreak of the crisis and just over 2,000 infections.
As a result, the local government wants the islands to be treated as one of the world leaders in dealing with the aftermath of COVID-19 and how to cope with international tourism again in the safest way possible.
'The pilot plan aims to demonstrate that it is possible to allow the subsequent entry of tourists without risk into the islands from July 1st, the date on which the summer season is to start more generally, hence the inclusion of tests for detection of the disease on arrival at the islands,' says Diario de Mallorca.
Four hotels in Mallorca have offered to take the German visitors from June 16 to 30. Two of them are in Platja de Palma and two in Alcúdia. It is hoped to have another one Menorca, another in Ibiza and a third in Formentera.
The experiment will also test all the coronavirus protocols, from arriving at the airport, transfers to hotels, the accommodation itself, arrangements around the swimming pools, use of the facilities, trips out and their eventual return.
President of the Hotel Federation of Mallorca, MarÃa Frontera said the pilot test was essential to demonstrate that the Balearic Islands are a safe destination.
It is hoped it will help pave the way for other international tourists, including from Britain when travel is allowed.
It is hoped it will help pave the way for other international tourists, including from Britain when travel is allowed.
This comes after Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez put the UK at the top of his list of target countries in talks aimed at reaching bilateral 'safe corridor' swaps.
Spain has quarantined all international arrivals for 14 days since May 14 but recently announced that the country would open for tourism from July 1.
The first tourists to arrive in Mallorca will undergo PCR coronavirus tests at the airport and then remain isolated for six hours in their hotels to await the results. Pictured: A passenger arriving in Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport last week
People sunbathe and children play in the water in Mallorca, Spain, as the country partially eases lockdown restrictions
There has been debate over whether Britons should be allowed to holiday in Spain after the Home Secretary Priti Patel's announcements that anyone who arrives into the UK after June 8, including returning Britons, will have to self-isolate for 14 days or face fines of £1,000.
The travel industry also lambasted the rules, labelling them as 'ineffective and unenforceable' given that those travelling to the UK from Ireland were exempt from the rules.
It means flyers can first travel into Dublin and then either jet into the UK or get a bus across the border with Northern Ireland, avoiding the self-isolating rules.
Amid growing speculation that the government will ease its quarantine measures for international arrivals when the quarantine is reviewed on June 29, major airlines have been plotting a return to the skies come July.
Despite British Airways, EasyJet and RyanAir announcing thousands of redundancies after the coronavirus lockdown grounded most of their flights in March, companies are now scheduling more than 160,000 passenger flights from July, with room for 29.5million passengers, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
Heathrow Airport has been empty in May compared to previous years, but airline companies are now planning a return to service in July, should quarantine measures be eased
RyanAir flights have been grounded as a result of the coronavirus pandemic there are hopes the government could scrap quarantine rules by the end of June
There are hopes the government could decide to allow travel to certain summer holiday favourites, such as France, Spain, Greece, Italy and Germany.
Britain does not feature on Greece's list of 29 countries it has deemed safe enough to accept tourists from. However it is reviewing the list at the end of June.
Brits may still be able to visit during the last two weeks of June, but they will be subject to mandatory testing on arrival and a period of quarantine depending on the results.
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