From The Local (firewall) here,
‘Is it worth booking a beach holiday in Spain right now?’ And there’s the rub.
A number of bars, beach-bars and clubs have been closed
down in tourist ‘hotspots’ while the beaches themselves – in some cases –
have been given limited access due to the coronavirus fears, or even closed
down entirely due to the pressing crowds.
The Spanish authorities don’t want an escalation – or the bad press
associated with infections either from or to the tourists.
The trippers, who won’t find
the same laisser-faire in 2020 Spain
as they found in other years, may consider it too much of a hassle and decide
to keep away, preferring instead to visit their own beaches and spas with a
‘staycation’.
At least if the infections were
to suddenly soar, it’d be easier to get home.
Maybe too, a fresh threat from the British government to re-introduce a two-week quarantine
for returning holidaymakers from Spain might dampen their enthusiasm.
The forlorn hope back in
March of a hot summer reducing the Covid-19 has not panned out; indeed, between
one thing and another, we appear
to be heading towards a second wave of infection and France is considering
closing its border with Catalonia (and its high
number of Covid cases).
Spaniards also need a
holiday, and much is being
written of the Catalonians driving off over the weekend to their favourite
resorts (and, in many cases, not returning).
Will tourism keep things
ticking over? A brief trip to the local resort (Mojácar) on Monday appeared to suggest that business is doing
pretty well considering, but – away from the beach – many companies are
foundering. La Información says
that ‘658 major companies closed in June’.
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