Spain reopens borders to vaccinated tourists, but excludes Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Spain has reopened its borders to vaccinated tourists from virtually any country in the world who have been vaccinated against Covid-19. The country will also allow cruise ships to enter its ports.

Since May 24, Spain has allowed citizens from 10 low-risk countries outside the European Union (EU) to enter without a negative PCR test for coronavirus. The UK, Spain’s largest market for foreign tourists, is on the list, as are Australia, New Zealand, and Israel, among others.

However, entry to all other countries was only cleared on Monday, June 7. The Spanish government also requires tourists to be immunized with a vaccine approved by the European Union or the World Health Organization (WHO) and that the last dose has been administered at least 14 days prior to arrival.

According to this criterion, vaccinated Brazilians would be included. However, Spain has decided that entry of travelers coming from both Brazil and South Africa will remain banned in order to prevent the spread of new variants of Covid-19.

Flights from both countries may only carry citizens or legal residents of Spain or Andorra and transit passengers staying less than 24 hours at the airport. In contrast, travelers from India, another country with a high incidence of the disease, may enter as long as they comply with quarantine upon landing in the country.

Although Spain has cleared entry to British tourists, the UK government has not yet removed the Iberian country from the list of high-risk locations for Covid-19 infection. This means that all citizens traveling to Spanish destinations will have to comply with a quarantine when returning to their cities after their vacation.

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Spain is the only European Union country to allow citizens from virtually all countries to enter its territory. The other countries in the bloc are following a more controlled reopening plan, which allows the circulation of tourists from countries classified as “safe”. The rules for the entry of foreigners are strict: only citizens of countries that have registered a maximum of 25 new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants in the 14 days prior to the trip.

Before that, European borders had been virtually closed for over 450 days. Occasional relaxed regulations allowed travel between EU countries, but in general the tourism industry has been paralyzed since last March.

The period was especially difficult for Spain, the world’s second most visited destination and where 14% of the economy depends on tourism. In all, 345,000 people in the sector lost their jobs in 2020 – 90% of all layoffs in the pandemic. “Domestic travel does not sustain the industry. Foreigners have greater purchasing power and stay longer,” points out Tomás Mazón, from the Institute of Tourism Research at the University of Alicante.

Health Minister Carolina Daria said the country is “in the process of regaining its global leadership in tourism.” “Spain is a safe destination,” she said.