Bookings for flights from the United Kingdom to Spain have been on the rise since the announcement of the lifting of the quarantine for Britons vaccinated on their return home, an association of airlines said on Monday.
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"
Several companies have seen very significant increases in reservations compared to last week, sometimes up to four times more, but we were starting from a very low level
", declared Monday Javier Gandara, president of the Association of lines airlines (ALA), which brings together companies representing 85% of air traffic in Spain (Iberia, Air France, Vueling, Ryanair, Easyjet, etc.), in a video released to the press.
Before the pandemic, the British were the largest contingent of tourists in Spain.
"
Uncertainty
" at the highest level
Hailing "
good news for both tourism and air transport
", Javier Gandara however judged that "
the uncertainty remained at its highest level
" since the restrictions could be put back in place "
in the future
".
As of Monday, fully vaccinated Britons and those under 18 returning from a country classified as orange - like Spain - no longer have to observe quarantine when they return home.
This period of isolation could last up to 10 days and discourage many people from returning to work after their vacation.
This lifting of the quarantine for vaccinated tourists comes as England abandoned almost all of its health restrictions on Monday despite a skyrocketing contamination.
Spanish tourism remains fragile
Despite this increase in British arrivals, Spanish tourism professionals have been alarmed for several weeks by a too timid recovery, weighed down by the latest wave of the epidemic in the country due to the spread of the Delta variant, which is more contagious.
Last week, the employers' organization Exceltur was well cared a "
brake on
" on bookings after warnings from France and Germany on travel in Spain, while there was "
Very promising signs of recovery and increasingly encouraging clearings on the horizon
".
Before the pandemic, French, Germans and especially Britons were the top trio of visitors to Spain.
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In early July, the Spanish government reiterated its goal of attracting nearly 45 million foreign tourists this year, about half the volume reached before the pandemic in 2019, when Spain was the second largest tourist destination in the world after France.
