Spain's foreign affairs minister, Arancha González Laya, said on Wednesday that there are "good contacts" with London aimed at Spain being included on the UK's green list of safe travel destinations.
Speaking to the BBC, González Laya expressed her optimism that, with the advance of the vaccination programme in Spain, "the British will be able to spend their holidays in Spain this summer". The most important thing, she stressed, is that this programme is accelerated; and Spain "is going in the right direction". In addition, she noted, the European Union will be lifting, probably next week, the restrictions on travellers from the UK.
With all of Spain having been excluded from the green list, the minister explained that Madrid is in regular contact with London in seeking to convince the UK government that there are various regions of the country which are safe for travel. She identified Valencia (which has the lowest coronavirus incidence in Spain), the Canaries and the Balearics.
González Laya outlined the development of the EU's vaccination certificate, which will allow free movement of people who have been vaccinated and will facilitate entry into Spain. She added that people who have not been vaccinated will need to present a negative PCR test.
"The United Kingdom and Spain are working very hard to ensure that all citizens are vaccinated as soon as possible and can enjoy a summer that is similar to summers of the past," said the minister, who stressed Spain's desire to welcome British tourists.
With regard to the vaccination programme, González Laya was hopeful that its good pace will mean that herd immunity in Spain will be achieved in 98 days. (Prime Minister Sánchez said a couple of days ago that herd immunity in Spain will be achieved in 100 days.)
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It’s being reported that In response to the UK’s traffic light system, Greece has announced a ‘Blue Freedom’ policy. The aim is to prioritise the islands for vaccination and the Government has pledged to have Greece’s holiday islands fully vaccinated by the end of June. They want their islands to be on the UK’s green tourism list. Tourism is vital for the Greek islands ... much like the Balearics. Actions speak louder than words. The Spanish Government’s rhetoric is unfortunately not included in the British criteria. Oh, and not even having an ambassador in London really isn’t clever.
It’s just not going to happen this year as Brits will not be visiting Majorca this year until vaccination levels reach those of the UK. Even Brits with properties in Majorca will give the island a miss this year and holiday in the UK until things get back to normal. The Balearic government and the EU are promising everything to get Brits back to visit but based on false promises. So forget this year hopefully see you in 2022.
For those who are in political office in the UK it must be amusing to see the 'grovelling' of the Spanish politicos. For those of us who are British and living in Spain, it is equally amusing but we already knew of their incompetence....it highlights that we live here for reasons other than the local political ideology, but we are subjected to the impact of their pathetic ideals and methodology....bit by bit ultimately I have no doubt that we will receive a vaccine....however, the Balearic Islands had issues of overtourism and quality control pre-Covid and have certainly left these questions well behind them as they strive to accept any tourism with any money from any tour operator from any country...desperation is pitiful (and certainly not necessary) but this is the intellectual level of those in power that we have to endure.