The UK’s mandatory quarantine for all travellers from Spain is "lethal for Tourism and Economic interests in Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza", according to the Balearic Government and Hotel and Employer Associations.
Model Econòmic, Turisme i Treball Minister, Iago Negueruela, said he is very concerned.
“Employment and tourism in August is subject to what happens in the coming days in the UK,” he said. “We are aware that the quarantine imposed by London is a super political issue and we can only hope that the negotiations that are taking place will bear fruit in a positive way.
Negueruela said the Balearic Government is continuing to work to establish air corridors with the UK.
“Having an industry that depends on so many exogenous factors makes it impossible to make short-term predictions," he said. "We all trust that the UK will remove the quarantine on British travellers from the Balearic Islands and the Government is committed to establishing a safe sanitary corridor.”
Hoteliers
The Hotel Chain Association and the Mallorca Hotel Business Federation, or FEHM, say companies are in a quandary.
“The UK quarantine is causing massive cancellations of British tourist reservations to all of the Balearic Islands, which is a serious problem because many companies are still trying to decide whether to reopen or not and the ones that opened in early July are now considering closing up again. We have never experienced a situation like this and we all have to work with different marketing criteria,” they said.
Negueruela added that “the current season is very complex and political decisions are clouding the normal development of the peak month of August. There is a lot of concern in every way, but especially in terms of the economy and labour.
He also claimed that the slight progress achieved in July in terms of unemployment "may be blurred if the British tourist market disappears, because it will affect holiday areas in Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza".
Negueruela says he's confident that negotiations between Madrid and London will have a positive resolution because "both countries have a lot at stake in the current pandemic."
Foreign Office
The British Foreign Office won't bow to any kind of pressure from the Spanish government on what it considers is an internal issue, especially when the health and security of British citizens is at stake and the increase in coronavirus outbreaks in Spain is not helping to convince London to change its mind.