Spain Welcomes All Vaccinated Travellers from Today

Spain opens its borders to vaccinated travellers from all over the world on Monday, hoping an influx of visitors will revitalise its tourism sector which has been hit by Covid-19 pandemic. "Spain is a safe destination," Health Minister Carolina Darias said, cited by AFP. Non-vaccinated Europeans, who can currently enter Spain with a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours, will from Monday be able to take a cheaper antigen test instead.

But in a setback, the UK, a huge tourism market for the country, has not yet removed Spain from its list of at-risk countries, meaning British travellers will have to quarantine on their return home as well as pay for expensive Covid-19 tests. The British normally make up the largest contingent of tourists to Spain. In 2019 over one-fifth of Spain's 83.5m arrivals were from the UK.

Across the country, from the Costa del Sol to the Canary Islands, hotels and restaurants are reopening after months of closure, and airlines have restarted routes dropped during the height of the pandemic. Spain will also begin allowing cruise boats into its ports again from Monday.