Spain will make a decision on the resumption of tourism jointly with other EU states, and foreign tourists will be able to visit the country when the necessary security conditions are ensured, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Wednesday
MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th April, 2020) Spain will make a decision on the resumption of tourism jointly with other EU states, and foreign tourists will be able to visit the country when the necessary security conditions are ensured, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Wednesday.
"Spain is a country that always warmly welcomes tourists, and the country wants to do it under the best security conditions. Spain will gradually start opening up tourism after security is ensured. We are working on it now, we want to do it together with our EU partners. And when it becomes possible, we will accept tourists with open arms per the Spanish tradition," the minister told reporters.
Spain has been one of the most impacted countries by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The country is in third place after the United States and Italy in terms of coronavirus-related deaths and second place after the United States in terms of confirmed cases of the disease. Spain's COVID-19 death toll has increased by 325 to 24,275 over the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry.
The number of daily new coronavirus cases in Spain has been declining, prompting health authorities to believe that the country has made it through the peak of the pandemic.
On April 28, the Spanish authorities presented a plan for the gradual exit from the lockdown, which consists of four stages. According to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the country may return to normal life by the end of June if the current trends in the development of the epidemiological situation continue.
The pandemic has caused enormous damage to the tourism sector of Spain, which accounts for 12.5 percent of the country's GDP and provides for almost 13 percent of the nation's jobs. The country's borders are closed to tourists, and hotels and beaches have been closed. In 2019, nearly 84 million foreign tourists visited Spain.
