Spain Optimistic On Tourism Despite Rise In COVID Cases

Despite a rapid increase of COVID-19 infection rates, Spain expects visitor numbers to reach a relatively satisfactory 40 million this year, Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

"There is no reason to sound the alarm," she said in an interview with the Cope radio station. After a record 83.7 million foreign guests in 2019, the number of holiday-makers in Spain collapsed to 19 million last year, amid the coronavirus pandemic and international travel restrictions.

Maroto stressed that the pandemic was not over and it was important to remain cautious. Vaccination progress meant that this summer could not be compared with last year, however. While infection rates were rising, the number of hospital patients was not, she noted.

She welcomed Britain's decision not to quarantine people on return from their holiday after July 19. The country accounts for most visitors to Spain.

Germany, meanwhile, has categorized Spain as a risk area, imposing some quarantine measures on return.

Most recently, Spain has recorded 199.45 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over a seven-day period - one of the worst rates in Europe. In Germany, by comparison, the figure given by the Robert Koch Institute is just over 6.

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