Holiday Travel to Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca in Spain Will Resume if Area is Extraordinarily Safe

ONE of Spain’s top ministers has said that holiday travel to the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca from countries like the UK will only return, if the area is “extraordinarily” safe.

Government spokesperson and Finance Minister, María Jesús Montero said: “Our country will not pick up the tourist industry until it is safe, both for people living here and our visitors.”

Jesús Montero was speaking in a Madrid video conference with journalists, and had little immediate joy to bring to a country that relies heavily on tourism.

Her more downbeat tone was in contrast to recent glimmers of hope offered by Spain’s Tourism Minister, who talked about beaches reopening with social distancing rules, as well as reigniting the country’s domestic tourist market.

After France, Spain has the second-largest international visitor numbers in the world, with the UK market vital to the tourism sector’s success.

Jesús Montero did say that how quickly foreign tourists would return would depend on when the borders between the European Union countries would be reopened.

She added that such moves would mean major coordination to be done by the EU, but she once again emphasised the importance of tourism to the Spanish government.

“Tourism has been especially punished by the pandemic due to the restriction of movement. The government will look at the sector closely because it is one of Spain’s greatest sources of revenue,” stated Jesús Montero.