Spain equals its tourist competition by ceasing to require vaccination

"In a matter of days", a negative test will be enough to access, as announced by the Minister of Tourism. The year before the pandemic, 12 million foreigners entered the EU.

A key summer is approaching for the Spanish tourism sector. The forecasts are very good - to the point that some indicators could even exceed the pre-pandemic data - and for this reason the Government is inclined to eliminate obstacles that could put visitors off and decide to opt for other vacation destinations. The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, announced yesterday that "in a matter of days" the Covid vaccination certificate will no longer be a requirement for tourists visiting Spain from outside the European Union. A negative test will be, from that moment, a sufficient condition to cross our borders.

"We are going to eliminate a restriction that could be discouraging tourists from outside the European Union from visiting us, the vaccination certificate, to allow them to also enter with a negative test," Maroto explained in an interview on Onda Cero. The minister predicted that this measure "will continue to position Spain as one of the preferred destinations for international tourists. We started the year with pessimism, but the data has exceeded all expectations. The fact that in two years we have regained strength makes us feel proud of what we've done."

In 2019, the year before the pandemic, 12 million foreign tourists, of the total 83.7 million who visited the country, came from outside the European Union. 3.3 million of them were natives of the United States, a country in which currently only two out of three inhabitants have the complete guideline. As the figures show, the step forward taken by the ministry in this regard involves removing a requirement that many potential visitors are unwilling to meet.

At the same time, the decision equates Spain with countries that are clear tourist competition, at least in terms of sun and beach, and that had already relaxed their requirements to enter the country. In Turkey, presenting a negative test is enough. In Croatia, since the beginning of May Covid certificates are not required, whether it comes from the EU or from third countries. In Greece they are not either and in Italy, since May 1, it is also enough to have a negative test to enter.

"The world sees us as a safe destination, with more than 92% of the population vaccinated, an exercise of responsibility that allows tourism to recover and will once again be one of the growth levers of the economy this year" Maroto celebrated.

In addition to this news, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism announced yesterday that one of the most outstanding indicators to make a diagnosis of the sector, that of employment, exceeded the levels prior to the pandemic. The sector closed April with 2.5 million employees, thanks to the fact that 466,000 jobs were generated last year, a growth of 22.3%. The hotel industry accounts for the majority of registrations, 357,000, and the communities with the greatest labor dynamism in the last year are Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Canary Islands and the Community of Madrid.

According to Maroto, and despite complaints from some hospitality companies about the lack of waiters, "the labor reform is going to help make the sector more attractive, which is why we have been able to create more than 400,000 jobs. The sector continues to attract employment, each instead of better conditions, as we see in the agreements. Tourism is where there have been more conversions from temporary contracts to indefinite ones".

Regarding other tourism indicators, the minister pointed out that recovery will come soon "not only in volume but in spending, where right now we have reached 90% of spending prior to the pandemic."