Dozens of tourists on the beach of Las Canteras (Gran Canaria), on October 23. Getty Images
The dunes of Maspalomas, one of the jewels of the Canary Islands, are the silent witness to the stoppage of tourism in the archipelago.
Its beach bars closed with more than 22 degrees of temperature, the stacked hammocks and countless square meters of unoccupied beach were the nightmare of the hoteliers since the beginning of the confinement.
With less than a month to go until winter begins, this image has set off all the alarms.
The region's economy is at stake: more than a third of GDP and four out of every ten jobs are at risk.
The coronavirus crisis has undermined the foundations of tourism.
And the last stone of this tortuous path is, according to the representatives of the sector, the requirement that came into force this Monday for foreigners who enter Spain by air or sea to present a negative PCR test carried out in the 72 hours prior to his arrival.
Canarian businessmen and government denounce that the high season is thus endangered.
The measure aims to control imported cases, in addition to transmitting security.
However, the sector considers it an error that only the PCR test works and not the antigen test, which is cheaper and with almost immediate results.
The Canarian Government approved a similar measure, which came into effect on November 14.
In his case, it did give validity to the antigen tests and it affected both foreigners and residents of the Peninsula who stayed in a hotel or tourist apartment.
This, according to tourism companies, did not reduce the level of reserves, something that has happened with the requirement of the PCR, which has sunk demand.
Acceptance of antigen tests is considered vital by hoteliers, travel agencies, tour operators and airlines to try to save furniture.
Otherwise, they write off the season.
“This makes tourism unfeasible due to the high cost of PCRs [more than 100 euros per person].
When they allow mobility again in the United Kingdom and Germany, it is very likely that they will not come to the Canary Islands with these conditions ”, they affirm from Meliá.
The hotel company draws a gloomy picture shared by much of the sector.
Iberostar, for example, calls for more balance: "We support all measures that help guarantee the safety of travelers and residents, but we ask the authorities to allow rapid antigen tests."
The obligation to have the PCR, for the moment, is for tourists from 65 countries with an incidence of infections greater than 150 per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days.
This list, according to the
Official State Gazette
, will be updated every 15 days.
Between the European countries and the Schengen zone, the risk map prepared by the European Center for Disease Control will be followed.
Jorge Marichal, president of the Hotel and Extra-Hotel Association of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro (Ashotel), considers that the measure arrives at the wrong time: in summer the Executive rejected it and now, when there are alternatives, they only give validity to PCRs.
A decision that Marichal rejects outright, especially since it came into force days after the European Commission recommended the use of rapid tests.
“If the antigens are not worth it, there will be no tourist season.
Everything has stopped since the mandatory nature of the PCRs was announced, even the tour operation ”, he emphasizes.
The Government of Spain, meanwhile, remains firm.
He assures that he is trying to reach an agreement in Europe to also standardize the results of the antigen tests.
"We are going to defend this position within the EU," say sources from the Ministry of Tourism.
They are optimistic: "It is an important step for the Commission to recommend it."
The companies in the sector and the employers are pressing for it to be so.
And, above all, so that it is achieved as soon as possible.
"It is essential that Spain exert its influence in Europe to modify this", says Juan Molas, president of the Tourism Board.
José María Mañaricúa, president of the Las Palmas Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Entrepreneurs, fully agrees: "The PCR is expensive and difficult to access in many countries, hence the reservations have been paralyzed."
Hopeless
The Canarian Government, for its part, joins the tourism industry and demands a change from the Executive of Pedro Sánchez.
Yaiza Castilla, Minister of Tourism of the Canary Islands, made it clear last Friday: "If the requirement of only PCR goes ahead, the bulk of operations will be canceled."
Castilla described the measure as "a stone on the road."
Given this situation, it seems clear that they paint coarse for the winter season in the Canary Islands.
If at some point there was a glimmer of hope, especially for the possibility of opening corridors with the UK and Germany, now it seems to be fading.
"Tour operators are already canceling flights because they cannot bear the cost," confirms Santiago de Armas, advisor to the Canarian hotel company Lopesan.
Raúl González, CEO of Grupo Barceló, shares this pessimistic view —or, perhaps, only realistic—: “Everything gets more complicated.
There are customers who, given the constant modification of measures, prefer not to travel until everything is solved ”.
Thus, it seems that the only hope is that the Government of Spain admits the validity of the antigen tests and wait for the activity to rise.
“The demand exists and the control measures such as the pre-arrival tests do not affect, as long as the antigen tests are also included.
The entire tourism sector maintains the hope that the Government will rectify and accept them to be able to overcome the winter season, ”says Maru Araña, RIU's Director of Contracting and Sales for Europe and Africa.
If there is no change, the hotel companies warn: new closings of an already very scarce open floor may arrive.
“It will not be a good season.
We are even considering closing some of the hotels that we already have open ”, Meliá sources acknowledge.
Single criterion
The Government of the Canary Islands has its sights set on next Tuesday, December 1, the date on which the confinement in the United Kingdom is expected to be lifted.
The president, Ángel Víctor Torres, marked that day in red this Monday as the deadline to agree on a "harmonized" standard that allows the Ministry of Health to admit both PCR and antigen tests to access Spain - including the Canary Islands - by ports and airports.
President Torres and the Canary Islands Minister of Tourism, Yaiza Castilla, were hopeful about this possibility after a telematic conference with representatives of the British operator Jet2.
"Two regulations coexist and in these days we have tried to arbitrate mechanisms so that we have a single harmonized standard," acknowledged the highest regional leader.
The Canary Islands hopes to have a common rule ready within a week to try to save the tourist season.
Meanwhile, both regulations will coexist: PCR for foreigners and antigens for residents in Spain who travel to the Canary Islands and stay in tourist accommodation.
These days, says the island government, the operation will be analyzed to unify "sanitary control criteria."
The intention is that "access to tourists to reliable and cheap diagnostic tests is made possible, so that this requirement is not an impediment to their travel decisions to the Canary Islands," said Torres.
This was one of the issues discussed with the tourist group Jet2 to coordinate strategies in view of the foreseeable opening to mobility of the United Kingdom, the main source of tourists to the islands.
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