EU Commission - new guidelines regarding tourism in the Balearics

The Balearic Government has expressed its satisfaction with the decision taken yesterday by the EU Commission to create new guidelines in order to reactivate tourism this summer.

The proposal submitted by the Commission is to gradually reopen EU borders in three phases with the intention of saving, even partially, this year’s tourist season. The suggestion is to gradually establish “Safe Corridors”  between EU Regions which have complied with the sanitary controls and have officially controlled the spread of the pandemic to the satisfaction of the relevant Health Authorities.

The President of the Balearic Government considers the proposed system to be a positive move and has stated that the Balearics is a “safe destination” and thereby is prepared to once more receive tourists.  The Government has suggested that it may be possible to eliminate the present requirement for 15 days quarantine for all travellers arriving from outside Spain and just apply the requirement to those people showing symptoms of the virus.

The Commission has also suggested the removal of the restriction at present in place that aircraft should leave centre seats free, thereby helping the airlines to re-activate their EU routes and adjust prices of flights accordingly. (Statistics relating to passenger movements through Palma airport show that there has been a drop of 99.6% during April 2020 compared to April 2019.)

Balearic Hotel and Tourism Groups have declared the EU recommendations “a powerful breath of fresh air” for Balearic tourism in general (including the Nautical Sector) and will reactivate the sector much quicker than expected.

The IBI (Internal Boat Industry) has also released a report on the EU guidelines, which you can read via the link below:

https://www.ibinews.com/eu-calls-for-swift-restart-of-summer-boating/36313.article