ARCHIVED - Spanish Foreign Minister optimistic that Brits will holiday on beaches in Spain this summer
British holidaymakers will be able to hit the beaches this summer provided the UK rethinks quarantine rules, according to Spain's Foreign Minister.
Spain's Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya is confident that if "we all accelerate our efforts now" the summer is looking good for British holidaymakers.
Arancha Gonzalez Laya told BBC Breakfast the onus is now on the government to step up its vaccination campaign and the EU to press for the UK to move Spain out of the "blacklist".
Stressing that the UK government needs to rethink its 10-day quarantine on return from travel to Spain, the minister said: "If we all accelerate our efforts now, if Spain accelerates vaccination, if the EU accelerates the UK out of the blacklist and if the UK moves to consider regions as opposed to simply considering countries for their green list my sense is that then the summer would look good both for Britons and for Spaniards."
She added that Spain "loves British people" and is "very much looking forward to welcoming them back into our country".
Spain’s Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya says she’s optimistic British holiday makers will be able to hit the beaches this summer
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) May 12, 2021
But she tells #BBCBreakfast it requires the UK government to rethink their rules for quarantine for travel to Spain. https://t.co/GNZ1EOo5eS pic.twitter.com/xreyOewlO4
At the launch of a new €8 million tourism campaign 'You Deserve Spain' ('Te Mereces España') this week, the Spanish Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto revealed that from May 20, British holidaymakers will be able to come to Spain "without PCR requirements".
But while this is great news for millions of Britons who usually holiday in Spain, they will still be required to quarantine on their return.
The UK government's ‘traffic light’ system sets out the restrictions in place for travelling to different countries when international movement re-opens on May 17, and Spain is on the amber list for the first three-week period, which covers the time from May 17 onwards.
Once Spain moves to the green list, self-isolation won't be necessary.
But the lists will only be updated every three weeks, which means travellers will have to wait until at least June 7 to find out if Spain has made it onto the green list.
And Maroto said she remains optimistic that this will happen in the next review of the UK Covid traffic light system.
Image: Wikimedia Commons