Summer tourism reboot: Up to 40% of population could be vaccinated by spring, 'enough to kick-start holiday industry'

INTERNATIONAL tourism could start up again in Spain as early as the spring if the country meets its target of having 40% of the population vaccinated by then.

Minister for industry, trade and tourism, Reyes Maroto, spoke of 'optimistic perspectives' for the holiday sector ahead of summer when she was interviewed on Canal Sur Radio today (Tuesday).

She warned that the Easter holidays would have to be handled 'with caution', and recalled that all regions on the mainland will be required to shut their borders during the long weekend at the beginning of April.

Madrid is against the move, with city mayoress Isabel Díaz Ayuso insisting that a person can 'just as easily' pass on the virus to someone 'whether they are from Paris or Parla', the latter being a commuter town within the Greater Madrid region, but the orders have come from central government and she may not have a choice. 

Talks are under way about whether the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands should be excluded from the regional border-closure requirement, given that their unique geographical situation means they are already more protected from cases imported from elsewhere in the country. 

But work is under way already to 'guarantee safe mobility' as soon as the conditions are right to allow it, including a digital 'vaccine certificate' and the continuing immunisation roll-out.

Carolina Darias, the new health minister – after her predecessor Salvador Illa left to run for regional elections in Catalunya – has announced that another 4.8 million Pfizer vaccine doses are set to arrive in Spain in April, which will mean 2.4 million people, or 5% of the population, can be inoculated.

And 'in a matter of days', in Reyes Maroto's words, the Johnson&Johnson vaccine is expected to be given the nod by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which will change the game plan entirely.

“This vaccine is going to crank things up a gear, because it only needs one dose rather than two,” Sra Maroto says.

She explained in her Canal Sur Radio interview that the national government's plan, in line with the rest of the European Union, is for around 30% to 40% of Spain's population to have been given their full quota of vaccines by spring, and that 70% of the national headcount would have been immunised by the end of the summer.

“Once we've reached the forecast spring vaccine percentage, we'll be in the right situation to be able to reopen our holiday destinations, in line with what we're working on with the EU,” Sra Maroto reveals.

She was asked by the radio presenter what would happen with the 2021 Imserso holidays – the State-subsidised out-of-season staycations for Spain's pensioners – as these were all cancelled in 2020, but would normally start being advertised in September for tours to start in October.

The minister said plans were for the Imserso breaks to go ahead this year and that she would 'even try to speed up the process' in order to 'revive demand'.

Not only are Imserso breaks crucial for travel agencies and national tour operators, who make the bulk of their autumn, winter and early spring income from them, but they are hugely in demand among the community they are aimed at – Spanish State pensioners.

“We're going to try to accelerate the Imserso reactivation, given that the scheme targets a section of the population who will nearly all have been vaccinated by then,” Sra Maroto assures.

“Our retirees and our elderly population have been the ones hardest hit by the pandemic; not just from a health point of view, but also emotionally.

“I have elderly parents, and they're desperate to get back to normal life,” she concludes.