Canaries want entry controls lifted before UK tourists book other destinations

The Minister of Tourism, Yaiza Castilla, and the island’s business associations, have demanded that the Central Government eliminate the requirement of double vaccination for British holidaymakers, before it is too late, and they opt for destinations such as Egypt, Turkey or Greece instead of the Canary Islands, causing further economic and job losses.

Next Tuesday, February 11th, the UK ends the requirements they had for anyone entering England, so that fully vaccinated travellers don’t need any tests, and non-vaccinated only need a pre-departure and Day 2 test, with no lengthy quarantine.

This change has led to a boom in holiday booking but the Canary Islands are missing out as they are still governed by the ‘no vaccination no entry’ rule set by Spain for anyone from the UK.

On the other hand, holiday hungry Brits are eagerly awaiting the arrival of that date, as it is just a few days before the 'half-term' holidays when many can get away with their kids for the first time in almost two years.

Under normal circumstances, most of these trips would be channelled to the Canary Islands, the number one destination in Europe in winter, but this year they will suffer if the Central Government does not take the step and eliminate the requirement imposed on travellers from the United Kingdom that has been in place since December 1^st. Currently, anyone over the age of 12 years old must be fully vaccinated to enter Spain, which has made it even harder for travellers from the UK because of their vaccination schedule.

This requirement has affected many families with children of that age, who up until recently have not been able to get 12-15 year olds vaccinated, and have had to cancel holidays to the islands.

The measure has seriously harmed the Canaries since its implementation, and in December alone, an estimated 100,000 bookings from British tourists were cancelled.

The situation not only puts the short term at risk, ie the winter season which is already considered lost, but also raises fears in the medium term for Easter, May and June, compared to other European destinations such as Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria or Croatia, which require diagnostic tests to be carried out (antigen test or PCR) but do not prevent entry to the unvaccinated. Turkey and Egypt are also going to take tourists from the Canary Islands if it is not resolved very soon.

For these reasons, the Minister of Tourism of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, yesterday asked the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, to take action on the matter and eliminate this restriction that is causing serious damage to the islands as soon as possible.

Currently an official reply is being waited for from the Minister of Health, who don’t forget, is from Gran Canaria.