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The Germans come, the Spaniards stay at home: arrival in Palma
Photo: CATI CLADERA / EPA
Spain's health minister did not want to leave any doubts.
The greatest caution is now required, said Carolina Darias in the middle of the week.
Now it is important to avoid another corona wave with all possible strength.
The incidence is comparatively low, but it is no longer falling.
On the bank holidays this weekend and Easter, Spaniards are only allowed to leave their autonomous region for important reasons, the police patrol many highways and train stations.
Domestic tourism, stressed Darias, is not one of these important reasons.
The danger of triggering a fourth wave is too great.
But at the same time thousands of tourists are pouring into the country again.
The holiday planes land on Mallorca or Gran Canaria every day.
The demand has increased by leaps and bounds since many regions are no longer risk areas.
This means that there is no quarantine after your return.
The Germans travel to Mallorca, the French to Madrid - and fly to a country where the locals cannot move freely.
Spain is currently more than ever like the bar of Europe - and the Spaniards themselves fail because of the bouncer.
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Vacation in the pandemic: Please bring your own towel
Photo: ENRIQUE CALVO / REUTERS
A discussion about this imbalance has long since broken out in Spain.
Many Spaniards traditionally visit their families during Easter week.
Ana Rosa is the longest-reaching morning stalker in the country, if there is a Spanish version of Oprah Winfrey, it is.
The presenter recently outraged live on her show.
The country is full of tourists, she said.
"And I'm not allowed to go to Barcelona!" French, British and Germans are allowed into their holiday homes.
"Are we idiots?" Asked a woman from Ciudad Real on Facebook, her post was shared almost 30,000 times.
From the point of view of the right-wing daily newspaper »ABC«, the country is becoming a bunker for the Spaniards and an oasis for foreign tourists.
Party trip of the French in Madrid cause displeasure
The discussion about tourists didn't start with the Germans, but with the French.
Thousands have been boarding the plane for weeks to escape the strict French exit restrictions.
In Madrid, the right-wing regional government persistently refuses to take strict measures, and a curfew does not apply until 11 p.m.
The restaurants are open.
The police keep ending parties in apartments full of tourists.
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French in Madrid: more freedom than at home
Photo: JUAN MEDINA / REUTERS
Figures from the statistics office show that at least more French people traveled to other regions of Spain in January, but what felt like the truth is that the French party in Madrid has long been established in the Spanish public
Hardly a day goes by without a 21-year-old Frenchman with a heavy accent telling a television station on a restaurant terrace that he has flown from Paris to Madrid to drink and party.
Vacationers are also not allowed to travel within Spain
The Spanish government has let the outrage bounce off so far.
Every tourist has to bring a negative PCR test, says Health Minister Darias.
The flights from areas with dangerous virus mutations such as Brazil have been canceled.
And anyone who enters from a country with a high incidence has to be in quarantine, says Darias.
One cannot simply isolate oneself from the rest of the EU.
In fact, Germans who are currently flying to Alicante or Mallorca have to adhere to the same rules in the country as the locals.
You must wear a mask in public places, even outdoors.
And they are not allowed to travel to other regions within Spain.
However, Germans and French do not have to be in quarantine.
The regulation is deliberately kept lax, because the Spanish economy depends on the holidaymakers coming back.
"Vacationers who respect the rules are more than welcome."
Rosana Morillo, General Director of Tourism for the Balearic Islands
In normal times, tourism accounts for one eighth of Spain's economic output.
Instead of 85 million vacationers, only 20 million came last year.
In holiday regions like the Balearic Islands, poverty is rampant.
Hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs are fighting against bankruptcy despite government aid and short-time working regulations.
It's also a race against time.
For the restaurant and hotel owners, every month counts.
more on the subject
Debate about Easter vacation: Better Rostock than Mallorca
Mallorca vacation despite Corona: What to do with the anger about Malle? A column by Margarete Stokowski
Expensive flight tickets: The Mallorca bargain is canceledBy Claus Hecking
Locals in Mallorca: Island of the HungryBy Jan Petter
We are therefore happy that demand is now picking up again.
"The Germans regard Mallorca as their second home, they have always remained loyal to Mallorca," says Rosana Morillo, General Director of Tourism for the Balearic Islands.
She is grateful for that.
"Vacationers who respect the rules are more than welcome."
For the Balearic Islands, the return of tourists is a balancing act.
The summer business, which starts in May, is much more important than the Easter holiday.
Another corona wave, as many experts fear, would be the death knell for the tourism industry.
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Food distribution at the table in Palma de Mallorca: The queues of hunger are getting longer and longer
Photo: JAIME REINA / AFP
The seven-day incidence on Mallorca is just under 20. Nevertheless, the restaurants still close at 5 p.m., from 10 p.m. there is a curfew.
Under no circumstances will the regional government endanger the health of its citizens from economic pressure, says Morillo.
She is convinced that summer vacationers hardly contributed to the second wave last year.
After all, the tourists have hardly any contact with the locals.
Nevertheless, she has tightened the controls of the PCR tests at the airport.
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