The Balearic Minister for Tourism, Iago Negueruela, has welcomed the news that the British government has kept Spain on the amber travel list for at least the next three weeks.
Negueruela said it is “excellent news and will guarantee that the Balearics will have a tourist season. It is further evidence of the hard work carried out by the Balearic authorities and the British Embassy in Madrid and is proof that the close relationships between Palma and Madrid is working. I would also like to thank the British Ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliott, for his commitment to the Balearics.
“We think that covid case numbers may have peaked in the Balearics, but we’ve still got to be cautious and continue with the vaccine programme to ensure that Mallorca remains the number one tourist destination in the Mediterranean. I can’t stress enough that the Balearics is a safe destination and the UK government’s decision demonstrates that,” he said.
Sources for the Mallorcan Hotel Federation said that they too were pleased with the news.
“It will serve to give Britons the confidence they need to book holidays to the island this month.
“We estimate that hotel occupation will reach around 65 percent or perhaps higher on the back of the decision, but what we don’t need is more mixed messages to come out of the UK which will only continue to confuse would be visitors.
“Yes, we’re going to have a strong August but, at the moment, we are looking at a tail off towards the end of the month so we’ve got to keep working hard to ensure that we have a long season and that the Balearics remains at least on amber when the next traffic light review is scheduled at the end of the month.”
For the time being, people entering the UK from the Balearics will be exempt from quarantine if they are fully vaccinated, though they must still test negative for covid before beginning the journey.
The latest guidance urges arrivals from Spain to get the more rigorous PCR test rather than the antigen test prior to departure. That recommendation reflects both an increase in cases in Spain and the growing volume of people returning to the UK from the country that is the most popular international destination for Britons, officials said.
“UK clinicians and scientists will remain in close contact with their counterparts in Spain to keep abreast of the latest data and picture of cases in Spain,” the British government said in a statement.