Spain urged foreign tourists on
Monday to return from July as one of Europe's strictest
lockdowns eased, with streets gradually filling again and some
pupils returning to school.
The world's second-most visited nation closed its doors and
beaches in March to handle the Covid-19 pandemic, but has seen
out the worst and plans to lift a 14-day quarantine requirement
on overseas arrivals within weeks.
"It is perfectly coherent to plan summer vacations to come
to Spain in July," Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto told radio
station Onda Cero as Spain geared up to salvage a tourism
industry that normally draws 80 million people a year.
The hard-hit capital Madrid was coming back to life on
Monday, with people allowed back into its main Retiro park and a
few bars and restaurant terraces reopening.
"This is great, I was really looking forward to it. And so
was my dog!" said interior designer Anna Pardo, walking her pet
in the sunshine in the Retiro.
Strolling, jogging and chatting, Madrilenos passed through
the park's shaded alleys or stopped for a moment to enjoy its
small lake, still devoid of the usual rowing boats.
Tourism stocks gain
More cars buzzed through streets.
Though bars and restaurants are now allowed to open terraces
at 50% capacity but cannot welcome clients indoors, few
restarted in Madrid on Monday morning, as businesses weighed the
value of catering to just a few customers.
While most pupils in Spain still need to stay home and study
online, some schools reopened in the northern Basque region.
Spain has recorded 28,752 coronavirus deaths and 235,772
cases, but has seen daily fatalities drop to fewer than 100 for
the last week.
The tourism minister's comments, after similar remarks by
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, lifted shares of tourism-related
stocks, including hotel operator Melia Hotels which rose 14% in
early trading.
In half of the country, including the popular Canary and
Balearic Islands, even more restrictions have been lifted as
lockdown has moved one notch ahead to a phase 2.
Source: Reuters(Reporting by Inti Landauro, Ingrid Melander, Emma Pinedo;
Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)