Covid19 here today: passports
Spanish tourism officials want the introduction of an internationally recognised Covid-19 immunisation document or the return of safe travel corridors to allow the country’s ailing tourism industry to recover.
Spain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto has reiterated her government’s commitment to seeing an internationally recognised Covid immunity passport or certification approved.
"Spain will support any tool that facilitates the recovery of safe travel and mobility," Maroto told journalists on Thursday, adding that she hoped Spain will be seen as "a country that’s open to the world" and with safe “tourism protocols”.
The 47-year-old minister argued that it’s impossible to give dates for the reopening of Spanish tourism and avoided saying whether she thought some measures would be in place to allow travel to Spain by Easter in late March and early April.
The focus for her government remains keeping the pandemic under control and for Spain’s vaccination campaign to work at full speed, she concluded.
But Spanish officials are well aware that the consequences of another summer without tourism would be catastrophic for the economy.
The Economy Ministry has drafted a report which not only looks at the possibility of a Europe-wide vaccination card, but also the return of the safe travel corridors that were in place previously.
The Spanish government is working in collaboration with the OECD and the European Commission for these measures to be approved by summer, but so far the World Health Organisation and the EU have rejected the possibility of an immunity passport.
Spain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto has reiterated her government’s commitment to seeing an internationally recognised Covid immunity passport or certification approved.
"Spain will support any tool that facilitates the recovery of safe travel and mobility," Maroto told journalists on Thursday, adding that she hoped Spain will be seen as "a country that’s open to the world" and with safe “tourism protocols”.
The 47-year-old minister argued that it’s impossible to give dates for the reopening of Spanish tourism and avoided saying whether she thought some measures would be in place to allow travel to Spain by Easter in late March and early April.
The focus for her government remains keeping the pandemic under control and for Spain’s vaccination campaign to work at full speed, she concluded.
But Spanish officials are well aware that the consequences of another summer without tourism would be catastrophic for the economy.
The Economy Ministry has drafted a report which not only looks at the possibility of a Europe-wide vaccination card, but also the return of the safe travel corridors that were in place previously.
The Spanish government is working in collaboration with the OECD and the European Commission for these measures to be approved by summer, but so far the World Health Organisation and the EU have rejected the possibility of an immunity passport.
22-25, F