TUI is planning holidays for Majorca, the Spanish mainland and the Canary Islands after the Spanish Prime Minister announced the country would end its quarantine for tourists on July 1.
PM Pedro Sanchez said the government would guarantee tourists would be able to return safely to Spain from that date.
“I am announcing that from July, Spain will reopen for foreign tourism in conditions of safety,” he said. ‘Foreign tourists can also start planning their holidays in our country.
“Spain needs tourism, and tourism needs safety in both origin and destination.
“We will guarantee that tourists will not run any risks, nor will they bring any risk to our country.”
Sanchez said that the central and regional governments had been planning and coordinating the return to tourism for weeks. “We’re sending everyone a message today: Spain will be waiting for you from July,” he added.
TUI CEO Fritz Joussen welcomed the announcement, saying: “Now we can plan holidays for Majorca, the Spanish mainland and the Canary Islands and make our customers an offer.
“Millions of holidaymakers have the certainty that summer holidays in Spain are possible during school holidays. This is a good signal for many families, but also for TUI as a tour operator and the travel agencies that advise customers on their holiday decisions. After Greece, Cyprus, Croatia and Bulgaria, Spain has now also provided clarity for the start of the holiday season.
“We have been preparing intensively for weeks, have developed higher safety and hygiene standards for TUI and our partners and are already training the staff in the hotels. In times of Corona, we want to make holidays as normal as possible and as responsible as necessary, during the flight, in the hotel and at the holiday destination.”
Ryanair said it will be offering 40% of its normal schedule in July, including from the UK, offering more than 1,000 daily flights in total.
However, the UK Foreign Office is still advising against all non-essential travel and the UK government will introduce a mandatory 14-day quarantine for anyone returning to the country from abroad on June 8. The quarantine will be reviewed every three weeks, so could be lifted before July 1.
