The hopes of the Spanish tourism industry for a strong recovery in business are fading. Due to the increasing number of cases, the number of guests from abroad is falling again.
In view of the high Corona numbers in Spain, the tourism industry has expressed itself pessimistically about the current summer season.
There is a “sudden decline” in bookings by foreign holidaymakers, reported the state TV broadcaster RTVE on Saturday, citing the vice-president of the Spanish tourism association Exceltur, José Luis Zoreda. «If the corona numbers continue to worsen, we estimate that tourism will generate sales of 37.97 billion euros in this summer quarter, more than the 24.30 billion in the same period last year, but much less than the 58, 37 billion in 2019, “the broadcaster quoted the tourism manager as saying.
The industry had hoped for a much stronger recovery in business this summer because of the ongoing vaccination campaign. In normal times, tourism contributes more than twelve percent to the Spanish gross domestic product (GDP), on the holiday islands of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, which are also popular with Germans, it is even around 35 percent. The industry secures hundreds of thousands of jobs.
To contain the pandemic, some regions have reintroduced night barriers in individual municipalities from 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. – for example, Catalonia, Valencia and Cantabria. Already 8 million of the 47 million inhabitants of Spain are affected, wrote the newspaper «El País». In Mallorca, with a seven-day incidence of 270, this is not yet planned. In the Canary Islands (176), a court refused a ban on going out.
The seven-day incidence for Spain rose to 300 by Friday. For comparison: In Germany it is currently 9. However, the situation in the hospitals is not as tense as in previous waves. Almost ten percent of all beds in intensive care units are occupied by corona patients. 56 more deaths due to corona were registered within seven days. This is mainly due to the vaccination campaign. A good 61 percent of all Spaniards have received at least one corona vaccination, almost 50 percent are fully vaccinated.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
