The British Ambassador, Hugh Elliott, said in Ibiza on Wednesday that he could not give any guarantee that the Balearics will receive differential treatment to the mainland when it comes to UK holiday travel status (the traffic light system).
In Ibiza, he met Vicent Marí, the president of the Council of Ibiza, and the Balearic tourism minister, Iago Negueruela. Following the meeting, he said that "we understand and we will study" the request from the Balearic government that the islands are treated separately.
The ambassador added that there is constant collaboration between authorities in the UK and Spain. The relationship is "good at all levels" and is the basis of "making the best decisions at the right times".
Elliott, who is making his first visit to the Balearics, recognised the sacrifice being made in Ibiza because of the restrictions, adding that this "is a kind of investment in order to let the vaccination programme have its effect and to lower the level of the pandemic".
He acknowledged that there is a great deal of anxiety about the return of tourism. "This is an anxiety shared by the British, who really want to return to the Balearic Islands, a favourite destination for my fellow British citizens." In a normal year, he noted, a million British people would come to Ibiza.
The application of the traffic light system, Elliott explained, is being analysed. As to whether Ibiza would meet the criteria to have a green light because of the low incidence that the island has currently, the ambassador said that "although the quality of the data in the Balearics are an important factor to be taken into account, there are many parameters". "No decisions have been made yet about who will be in which category."