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Because crown numbers are falling, the Canary Islands have been removed from the German risk list. The tourism industry in the archipelago takes a breather and is enthusiastically preparing to welcome new guests.
By Oliver Neuroth, ARD Studio Madrid, currently. Palma de Mallorca
The Canary Islands are a dream destination for many tourists: they offer a mild climate throughout the year. The islands make their money mainly from German vacationers. But the crisis in the Crown, as in many places in the world, ruined the business of tourism companies.
“I woke up to great news”
But now there is hope: for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Canary Islands are no longer a risk zone, which provides relief to the archipelago.
“This morning we woke up with great news,” said Yaiza Castilla, Canary Islands Minister of Tourism. Just in time for the start of the important winter season, the Federal Foreign Office is lifting its travel warning, starting Saturday.
The new status as a safe travel destination comes at a crucial moment, Castilla says, “the beginning of our main season.” She is convinced that this would lead to good prospects for the tourism sector. “Germany recognizes our efforts to significantly reduce the number of Corona cases, and that in record time.”
More than 70 flights from Germany next week
At the beginning of September, the Canary Islands were the last region of Spain that Germany had classified as a risk zone. The number of those who tested positive had exceeded 50 per 100,000 residents in one week. Now the archipelago has an incidence of 38.4, which makes it the first Spanish region to leave the list of risk areas again. For the mainland and the Balearic Islands, the German travel warning remains in effect.
Airlines are planning more than 70 flights from Germany to the Canary Islands for next week. The spokesperson for Europe’s largest travel group TUI, Aage Dünhaupt, says: Now, the autumn holidays could still be in store for some tourists. The lifting of the travel warning for the Canary Islands was delayed.
“The summer months have impressively demonstrated that a package trip to other European countries is not subject to an increased risk of infection,” Dünhaupt said. “There were almost no Covid infections among those returning from the popular package vacation areas in southern Europe.”
Optimism and a lot of work
Local tourism businesses also take a cautious breather. Along with Great Britain, Germany is the most important market for them, especially in autumn and winter. In November and December 2019, around half a million Germans traveled to the Canary Islands, most of them to Gran Canaria.
Several hotels are still closed. Homes that are currently open report an occupancy rate of just six percent. Juan Pablo González, managing director of the Ashotel hotel association, speaks of optimism at the news from Germany.
However, the companies have yet to finish their work, González says. “We must create safe travel corridors, also with other countries. Guests should not only come to us because the crown numbers have dropped here. Also because they are convinced that the Canary Islands is a safe destination.”
Project “safe travel destination” – with risk
The Canary Islands government has been working on safe travel corridors for several weeks. This refers to point-to-point international flight connections between locations with only a few corona cases. One idea is that vacationers should take a free crown test upon entering the archipelago; This is how the Portuguese island of Madeira is shown in the Atlantic, for example.
The Canary Islands authorities also want to ensure that tourists do not bring the virus to the islands. The number of infections rose in late summer after thousands of vacationers from Corona hotspots in mainland Spain visited the Canary Islands.
So the “safe travel destination” project is still ongoing. However, German tourism is starting again, with the risk that the number of corona cases on the islands will increase.
