Madrid, May 31 (IANS) The Spanish government is considering opening up safe “corridors” to allow foreign tourists to visit the Balearic and Canary Islands in mid-June, Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism Reyes Maroto said.
Spain received around 84 million tourists in 2019 with income from tourism making up 13 per cent of the country’s GDP and providing 12 per cent of jobs, but the ongoing health crisis has put the sector on hold, reports Xinhua news agency.
There is a 14-day quarantine requirement for the arrivals from foreign countries until July 1 to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
But in an interview published in the La Vanguardia newspaper on Saturday, Maroto said the government was considering easing restrictions for the two island groups which are among Spain’s key tourist destinations.
“The islands have offered making these corridors and we will also talk to other Autonomous Communities to see if they are interested in corridors and what guarantees they could give us,” said Maroto.
Both the Canary and the Balearic Islands are currently in the third stage (Phase 2) of the Spanish government’s plan to ease restrictions.
The small islands of El Hierro, La Graciosa and La Gomera (Canary Islands) and Formentera (Balearic Islands) will move into the fourth stage (Stage 3) on Monday.
Maroto added that “it is very important that the first tourists are tourists from countries which are in the same conditions as us and also in condition to fly safely”.
–IANS
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