London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

Spain aims to receive British tourists without Covid tests from 20 May

Spain aims to receive British tourists without Covid tests from 20 May

Tourism minister says Spain is opening up to holidaymakers ‘after worst year of our lives’
Spain is aiming to welcome British tourists back without the need for a negative Covid test from 20 May, the country’s tourism minister has confirmed, as she urged overseas visitors to come and “enjoy a perfect holiday after the worst year of our lives”.

Speaking on Wednesday at the launch of an €8m campaign to lure back visitors, María Reyes Maroto said Spain was opening up again and was particularly keen for the return of UK holidaymakers.

The minister said two safety systems were in place to guarantee visitors’ health: the EU green digital certificate, which from June will show if the holder has been vaccinated, tested or recently recovered from Covid, and the forthcoming updating of EU recommendations on non-essential travel from countries outside the bloc.

“The recommendations will be reviewed in the [EU] foreign affairs council on 20 May, and that will allow us to provide certainty to markets outside the European Union when it comes to the restarting of travel – especially travel from the UK, which is our largest market,” said Reyes Maroto.

“If all goes well, from 20 May – although there’s always a bit of the unknown over the evolution of the pandemic in the countries we’re focusing on with the campaign, though the numbers from the UK look good on both vaccination and accumulated incidence – Britons will be able to come to Spain. What’s more, they won’t be asked for a PCR test when they arrive in the country. I think it’s really good news.”

Much, however, will depend on whether the UK government moves Spain into the green list of countries Britons will be allowed to visit from 17 May. At the moment, Spain is in the amber category, meaning those returning to the UK will have to quarantine for 10 days and take two Covid tests.

Reyes Maroto said Spain, which relies on tourism for about 12% of its GDP, would not foot the bill for visitors’ tests as the huge sums involved would be better spent elsewhere.

She pointed out that Spain received 83.5 million tourists in 2019, adding: “We hope to get at least half as many this year. If we’re lucky, we’ll get even more, which would mean paying for PCR tests for 45 million international tourists. We’d need to think whether public money would be better spent on other things.”

The minister also pointed out that Spain’s vaccination programme was picking up pace. To date, more than 14 million of the country’s 47 million population have received a single jab, while more than 6.3 million have had both doses of the vaccine.

“If all goes well, we could get 70% of the population vaccinated even before the end of summer, which would be great news for everyone because we need to start leaving the pandemic behind – especially the tourist sector, a lot of which has been closed for 14 months despite huge efforts to reinvent itself,” she said.

Despite the optimism, however – and a continuing decline in the national infection rate – some regions of Spain are still reporting significantly higher number of cases per 100,000 people than others.

Across Spain, the number of cases per 100,000 people stands at 180; in the Madrid region, it is 291, and in the Basque Country, 387.

Reyes Maroto joined Spain’s foreign minister, Arancha González Laya, in lamenting the “freedom” slogans used by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the recently reelected conservative president of the Madrid region, during her campaign.

González Laya said Ayuso’s focus on the importance of “going for a beer or going to watch a bullfight” was distracting people from the fight against the pandemic and helping to keep Spain off the UK’s green list. When Spain’s six-month state of emergency ended on Sunday, thousands of people took to the streets for impromptu celebrations that were criticised by politicians and medical experts.

“The comments Ayuso made in the campaign about freedom and being able to do anything in Madrid don’t help, and they don’t help raise awareness,” said Reyes Maroto.

“But it’s not just Madrid; there are other regions that need to bring the number of cases down. Madrid accounts for a lot of the cases, but in any case everyone in Spain – including the people of Madrid – need to be aware that freedom isn’t the same as recklessness, and that we need to respect the safety rules.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
×