Spain has confirmed that it will allow fully vaccinated Irish people to travel to the county without restrictions from June 7th. It is the most popular destination among Irish holidaymakers, with more than a million people travelling from here to there in a normal year. Whether Irish people will be allowed to take up Spain's offer will depend on the Government here, which still has an advisory in place against all nonessential international travel.
Spain, like Ireland, has seen its tourism sector devastated by the pandemic: visits fell by more than 80 per cent last year. It has also been among the nations with the most Covid-19 deaths, at more than 78,000, and cases, at 3.6 million. Its infection rate has fallen, however, and its vaccination roll-out is gathering pace.
Spain’s decision to welcome back vaccinated tourists from next month was announced by its prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, at a tourism trade fair in Madrid this weekend. “They’re welcome – more than welcome – without restrictions nor health controls,” he told reporters, adding that the return of the tourism is key to Spain’s economic recovery.
Hotel reservations are already rising, and Sánchez said he hoped visitor numbers could reach 70 per cent of their prepandemic levels by the end of the year, with summer tourism reaching between 30 and 40 per cent of 2019 levels.
In a briefing the Spanish tourism authority has also outlined how people travelling with children are to be accommodated. As it stands there is no approved vaccine for people under the age of 18. Under the new rules, unvaccinated minors in the same family unit may enter with a negative PCR test while children under the age of 6 will not be required to undergo a PCR test to travel with their family.
It is still unclear when Irish people – even those who are fully vaccinated – will be able to travel. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said today that the reopening of major sectors over the next two months will be “steady”. The Government will make an announcement about reopening plans on Friday, with much anticipation around dates for travel, indoor hospitality and live events.
The Government is also set to give further consideration this week to digital green certificates, which would provide people with airport-scannable digital passes to indicate if they have been vaccinated, produced a negative Covid test or recovered from the virus.
The move, to be signed off by EU leaders this week, could pave the way for overseas summer holidays. It is due to be introduced on July 1st, but member states will have the option of a six-week grace period before implementing the measures.
"I hope that Ireland can be an early adopter," Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said. "I don't expect it to take effect from July 1st, but I certainly hope that we will be able to benefit from removing restrictions on international travel for many people – perhaps not everybody, but for many people at some point in July."
The Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association has warned that Government “procrastination on plans for a return of international air travel risks putting thousands of people in Ireland’s aviation sector permanently out of work”.
