Tourism bosses call for swift vaccine roll-out to save industry, but are 'optimistic' about British visitor numbers for 2021

SPAIN'S tourism industry representatives are calling for the Covid vaccine roll-out to be accelerated as much as possible to avoid another 'lost year' for one of the country's biggest sources of employment and income. 

Around 20 associations, all in some way linked to the holiday or hotel and catering sectors, staged a meeting in Madrid where they urged the government to take swift action to keep businesses afloat.

Health ministry sources have already estimated that up to 70% of Spain's population could be vaccinated – both doses – before summer starts, but the tourism industry is concerned about what will happen if this is not the case, and wants action to be taken to help increase the figure to at least 80% or 90%.

This said, chairman of the Tourism Round Table meeting in the capital, Juan Molas, says sector traders are feeling 'a little more optimistic' this year, given that the country's largest output nation for summer visitors, the UK, is 'moving on quickly' with its vaccination programme.

Now onto the over-75s, many of whom have had their first dose, the UK is not moving as quickly with second doses as Spain, which has opted to give both jabs to each sector of the population before moving onto the next – by contrast, Britain is now offering appointments for March for those who had their first dose in the initial two weeks of January.

But by the end of March, says Molas, it is anticipated that around 15 million British residents will have been vaccinated and be safe to travel – albeit a high number of those 15 million will not be candidates for summer holidays in Spain, as they will include care home residents and the over-80s living at home.

If an average of 100 to 120 million Europeans are vaccinated within the first six months of the year, Molas estimates, Spain could potentially see about 20 to 25 million tourists from abroad by mid-May.

He also stresses that Spain is 'much safer' than many of its main southern Mediterranean competitor countries.

Chief executive of the NH Hotels Group, Ramón Aragonés, mentioned the immunisation plan in Israel, which is 'so efficient' that the eastern Mediterranean country is 'looking forward to a splendid tourism season' in 2021.

“In Spain, we're not going to see any American residents until 2022,” he says.

Even if the target 70% of Spain's population and 120 million Europeans are vaccinated before summer, industry figures show tourist numbers will still be around half those of 2019, when in excess of 80 million visitors travelled to the country – almost double its year-round population.

In that year, tourism made up 12.5% of the GDP – nearly as much as the bar and restaurant trade, which normally accounts for about 15% - but fell to 4% in 2020.

Sector bosses are pleading with authorities to use 'all their resources and imagination' to get vaccines administered in a bid to save tourism – even getting private health centres and the Armed Forces involved, rather than just relying on the State-run public healthcare system – and treating tourism as one of the 'priority industries' to be supported in every way possible.

They are calling for the controversial 'vaccine certificate' – as yet, advised against by the World Health Organisation (WHO) – to be issued so holders can show it at borders and departure gates, and for the fast-results antigen tests to be considered valid for entry to the country. 

At present, PCR, LAMP and TMA tests are required, a negative result for which will allow the testee to receive a 'fit-to-fly' certificate; but these are expensive and results can take at least 24 to 48 hours to arrive.

An antigen test costs about a quarter to a third of a PCR and results appear between 10 and 30 minutes after testing.

They are not recommended for anyone with symptoms consistent with Covid-19, as the results are merely a 'yes/no' and not detailed enough to work out treatment required, but are widely used for people who want to 'prove they are negative' for peace-of-mind reasons and to reassure others they are habitually in contact with.

Other measures the tourism industry is clamouring for include the sector's being included in the national Recovery Plan so that it can benefit from the European Union's Next Generation funds; for value-added tax (IVA) to be slashed to 5% until the end of 2022; for direct financial benefits to compensate for loss of business activity; exemptions from paying electricity, gas and water standing charges for premises not in use, and for the temporary lay-off or 'furlough' scheme to be extended to cover the whole of the year 2021.

Financial help also needs to include tax rebates on business premises rental, flexible repayments and payment holidays on credit, and certain loans or debts to be written off in full or in part.

The State needs to finance individual towns, especially those that live predominantly off tourism, to enable local councils to condone or discount certain taxes, particularly those payable by bars, restaurants and hotels, the associations say.

Travel agencies want financial support so they do not have to bear the cost of refunding booked holidays which have to be cancelled out of their own pockets whilst waiting for the tour operator to reimburse them.

Also, they want the State-subsidised Imserso trips – holidays within Spain for its State pensioners – to be reinstated, after they were axed temporarily in 2020 due to travel restrictions, and for an Imserso programme to be set up for young adults to encourage tourism nationally.

Cruise companies are urging the government to lift the ban on international travel via this route, given that other nations have set up provisions to allow them to continue.

Molas added that the industry's relationship with tourism and trade minister Reyes Maroto is 'very good', but that lack of progress is partly caused by 'discrepancies between other members' of Spain's left-wing coalition government.

Catering associations were critical of those regional governments which have shut down all bars and restaurants until further notice, complaining that these were being blamed unfairly for the Covid spread when, in practice, owners comply very strictly with safety rules as they know how much is at stake, meaning customers are 'safer in a bar or eatery than at home with friends or family' where they are likely to let their guards down.

The Greater Madrid region is one of the few that has decided not to close cafés and restaurants, although the most recent restrictions mean none of these, nor shops other than the 'essential' retailers such as supermarkets, are allowed to open beyond 21.00.

If bars were 'such a problem', then 'all of us in Madrid would be dead by now', says a catering association spokesman – and yet the region's contagion rates are no worse than those of anywhere else in the country.

More recently, bars in the outskirts and satellite towns of Valencia have commented that a blanket shutdown of such premises months ago in Catalunya, and also in Germany, has 'done nothing' to cut the spread of the virus.