By Sarah Keane • Published: 08 Feb 2021 • 13:02
CREDIT: Instagram
SPAIN’s Secretary of State for Tourism says summer holidays are a real possibility
It’s certainly been an ongoing saga with Spanish officials contradicting each other left, right and centre, but Fernando Valdes, Spain’s Secretary of State for Tourism, has given renewed hope that the country will once again welcome foreign holidaymakers in summer 2021. Speaking with Spanish news source Informacion, the official said that the government was doing everything in its power to ensure a fruitful summer season.
“We’re putting all our efforts into making sure we have a decent summer from a health and tourist point of view.
“By summer we want to see a gradual recovery of international tourism beginning with our European neighbours.”
While tourism minister Maria Reyes claimed a couple of weeks ago that Spain would begin to open its borders to international travellers in the spring, her comments directly contradicted the Spanish Prime Minister. Pedro Sanchez had previously revealed that he wants to have 70 per cent of the population vaccinated against Covid before the tourism sector is reopened, something he didn’t see happening until the end of the summer.
“Spain has a lot to offer in terms of diversity and heritage and we need to develop our range of tourism products as a complement to our sun and sand product,” Mr Valdes added.
“But it is a champion in the sun and sand tourism model and aims to continue being so and this government is going to continue to support it.”
According to data by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Spain’s tourism industry dropped by more than 70 per cent in 2020, with Britons being by far the biggest contributors to Spanish holidays. But as the country prepares to enter into Phase Two of the vaccination rollout plan, things are looking far more optimistic for 2021.
“We are among the eight EU countries with the highest Covid-19 vaccination rate and above nations like France and Germany,” the Tourism Secretary pointed out.
“We still aim to have at least 70 per cent of the adult Spanish population vaccinated by summer.”
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Former teacher and health services manager with a Degree in English, Sarah moved to Spain from Southern Ireland with her husband, who runs his own car rental business, in 2019. She is now enjoying a completely different pace and quality of life on the Costa Blanca South, with wonderful Spanish and expat friends in Cabo Roig. Sarah began working with Euro Weekly News in 2020 and loves nothing more than bringing all the latest national and international news to her local community.
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