Tourists to Ibiza must have 'Covid-19' free certificates to visit, president says

Holidaymakers heading to Ibiza will have to prove they don't have coronavirus before they are allowed onto the island, the island's president has said.

Vicent Mari said ‘Covid-19 Free’ certificates are the way forward if the holiday resort is to make sure there’s not a new deadly outbreak of the virus.

Mr Mari, President of Ibiza’s Island Council, said the certificates would play a “fundamental” part in Spain’s continuing battle against coronavirus in the summer months when it opens up to foreign tourists nearly four months after shutting its borders.

He told local media it would put peoples’ mind at ease and said the Spanish government should take control of a system whereby travellers had to make sure they arrived with their ‘Covid-19 Free’ certificate.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has already said foreign holidaymakers will be welcomed back from July and tourism minister Maria Reyes Maroto and Spain’s Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez committed to a July 1 date earlier this week.

Madrid has stressed the importance of “safety in origin and destination” but has yet to detail how it intends making sure holidaymakers pose no risk and are not put at risk beyond the social distancing and other rules already in place for its own population and residents.

Reyes Maroto backed the idea of foreign tourists from “safe” regions being given the go-ahead to holiday in the country.

She said the idea of region-to-region movement should be given as much priority as the study of which countries would be included in a “green” travel list.

Ibiza is a British favourite, with the British market accounting for a quarter of the island’s total tourist income.

Nightclubs on the island are expected to be allowed to open by the time the quarantine on foreign travellers is lifted.

Jose Luis Benitez, manager of leisure association Ocio de Ibiza, spelled a grim note last week on a local TV programme by insisting clubs could only open their doors for business once there was a vaccine.

He said: “We haven’t thrown in the towel for this season but we are conscious it will be difficult to open given we can’t maintain social distancing like in cinemas or other bars or cafes.”