Spain announces opening of borders to international tourism on June 7

People who have received a drug authorized by the European regulator or the WHO will be able to enter Spanish territory, regardless of whether they come from a country considered to be at risk.

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced this Friday morning that people who have received the full vaccination schedule, coming from any country in the world, will be able to travel to Spain from next June 7. “All vaccinated people are welcome in our country”, said the president at the Fitur tourism fair in Madrid, the second most important in the world.

Thus, citizens of any country with which freedom of movement has not yet been re-established will be able to travel as long as they have been immunized with a drug approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or the World Health Organization (WHO). The vaccines authorized are those of Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Jansenn and Sinopharm, although the WHO plans to approve other drugs during the month of June.

In addition, from next Monday, May 24, citizens of the United Kingdom, which is the largest issuer of foreign tourists to Spain, will be able to enter the country without any health controls, even if their trip is not essential. It joins a list that also includes Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and China.

For European Union citizens, as of July 1, they will have at their disposal the Covid certificate, a document that will allow unrestricted travel within the Community area for those who have been vaccinated, have passed the Covid-19 infection or have a negative test.
Key in the post-covid economic recovery

According to Sánchez, Spain will receive this summer a number of tourists that will be around 30% to 40% of the visitors who arrived in the summer of 2019, the last one prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, he estimates that in total by the end of the year it could be up to 60 % or 70 % of the 83.7 million travelers who visited the country two years ago. A week ago, the Minister of Tourism, Reyes Maroto, was somewhat less optimistic and predicted a total of 45 million tourists by 2021.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, tourism contributed 12.4% to the Spanish GDP, according to 2019 data. However, in 2020, with the closing of borders and restrictive measures to curb the health crisis, it suffered a drastic fall that plummeted it to 5.5%.

The opening of borders that begins now is a relief for the sector and it is expected also for employment, weighed down by the closure of hospitality establishments.

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