Spain to allow foreign visitors from July with no quarantine
"We will guarantee that tourists will not run any risks and they will not bring us any risks," Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said on Saturday.
by Resident Advisor
Spain is opening its borders to international visitors from July with no required quarantine period.
In a televised address on Saturday, May 23rd, prime minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed that foreign tourism would return to Spain "in safe conditions," El Pais reports. In 2019, the country was the second most-visited on the planet, welcoming around 83 million people.
"We will guarantee that tourists will not run any risks and they will not bring us any risks," Sánchez added. "There will be no opposing forces between health and business. Spanish tourism will now have two hallmarks: environmental sustainability and health safety."
This appears to be good news for Spanish clubs and promoters, many of which rely on tourism, particularly in the summer months. That said, it's still unclear when clubs and venues will reopen due to strict restrictions on capacity and social distancing.
"Of course we are happy about the reopening of the country to the foreigners," Gerardo Niva, founder of Madrid party Mondo, told Resident Advisor. "It's a good start and means that the situation is getting better in Europe. At the moment we don't have much info about how this improvement will affect the clubs, events etc. Let's hope for more good news soon."
Pere Martí, booker at Razzmatazz and MIRA Festival in Barcelona, is less optimistic. "Honestly, I don't know what to think about allowing tourism," he told RA. "I don't think we’ll be able to arrange shows, festivals or club nights anyway this summer, so I don't think it's the news that promoters have been waiting for. I'm so confused about everything, but I have decided to try to accept the uncertainty, wait and learn from this pause."
Read more about how other countries plan to restart clubs and festivals. You can also follow our rolling news coverage on the coronavirus's impact on electronic music here.
This post has been updated to include a new promoter response.