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Arenal beach in Palma de Mallorca: increasing numbers of corona infections
Photo: Clara Margais / dpa
Spain's tourism industry reacted with a mixture of defiance and criticism to Germany's classification of the entire country as a risk area.
"Of course we are concerned," said the President of the Association of Hotel Directors in the Balearic Islands (AEDH), Alicia Reina, the dpa news agency.
But the booking situation is actually still quite good.
In Mallorca, 70 percent of the hotels are open again.
The Spanish Tourism Minister María Reyes Maroto expressed doubts about the basis of the German decision.
This is only based on the number of new corona infections.
In view of the high vaccination rate and the low number of corona patients in hospitals, however, the incidence as a yardstick for a country's risk is becoming increasingly less important.
In terms of the number of fully vaccinated people, Spain is ahead of Germany (43.7 percent) with 47.8 percent and only 6.5 percent of all beds in intensive care units are occupied by corona patients, according to the minister.
The death rate from the virus is also lower than in Germany.
Strong dependence on tourism
"The German tourists are smart and can assess that," said hotel manager Reina.
The fact that the whole of Spain is considered a risk area from Sunday onwards does not initially have any practical consequences.
Because returnees who travel to Germany by plane have already had to submit a negative test.
From Reina's point of view, it would be really bad if the seven-day incidence rose to over 200 and Germany then declared the Balearic Islands a high-incidence area.
Then returnees who are not fully vaccinated would have to be in compulsory quarantine for at least five days.
However, the value of 200 was almost reached on Friday evening at 199, as the Ministry of Health announced in Madrid.
The Balearic Islands as the favorite holiday island group of the Germans and many other Europeans as well as the Canary Islands are heavily dependent on tourism.
The holiday industry contributes more than twelve percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) in all of Spain in normal times, in the Balearic and Canary Islands it is around 35 percent.
There are hundreds of thousands of jobs in the sector.
Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto pointed out that the high numbers of infections were predominantly registered among young people who either developed no or only mild symptoms.
The authorities would monitor the situation closely and take necessary measures, the ministry said.
Holidays in Spain are definitely safe.
Some representatives of the tourism industry reacted more irritably.
"Damn it, that's extremely bad news," said Alfonso Robledo, president of the Caeb employers' association in Mallorca.
"As in the previous year, this means a brutal decline in the number of holidaymakers," he fears.
“We had a year and a half of almost complete standstill and finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel,” says Robledo.
"If the German market collapses for us, that means death."
Helmut Clemens, spokesman for small and medium-sized tourism companies on the island, expressed anger.
"The conditions are determined by politicians who are unable to properly assess the situation."
Tourism officer defends classification
The Federal Government's Tourism Commissioner, Thomas Bareiß (CDU), defended Spain's classification as a corona risk area.
"That seems to me to be an appropriate measure to ensure that travel continues to be safe," Bareiß told the Augsburger Allgemeine.
The provisions of the entry regulation also served to enable people in the pandemic to travel.
In practice, the classification as a risk area currently only means that a test is necessary in order not to have to be in quarantine, Bareiß emphasized.
At the same time, he rejected calls to avoid certain holiday destinations: "Recurring scaremongering to the detriment of travelers and the industry as soon as the numbers rise is not appropriate."
Under the given conditions, people could decide "how and where to spend their vacation," said the tourism officer.
"A lot is possible and I am convinced that people will find relaxation this summer." Uniform regulations in Europe are important.
"We should create trust together and rely on good test and hygiene concepts," demanded Bareiß.
wit / dpa / AFP
