UK travelers criticize the Spanish quarantine; Britain defends the movement

MADRID / LONDON (Reuters) – British tourists reacted with dismay on Sunday to their government’s abrupt decision to impose a two-week coronavirus quarantine on travelers returning from Spain, but the government stood firm and said it was not I would excuse.

The move disrupted many people’s plans, whether on vacation or planning to take one, hit the Spanish tourism sector hard just as it emerges from months of blockages and travel restrictions, and caused further disruptions for airlines and tourism companies.

“It ruins plans for everyone,” Emily Harrison of Essex preparing to fly home from Madrid’s Barajas airport and facing two weeks of self-isolation. “Everyone is panicking.”

While she and other travelers at British and Spanish airports were upset, Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said it was a “real-time response” to a jump in coronavirus cases in Spain.

“We cannot apologize … we must be able to take swift and decisive action,” he said on Sky News.

The government announced it would remove Spain from a list of safe trips late Saturday and the measure went into effect just a few hours later, leaving travelers with no time to dodge or plan ahead.

Opposition Labor Party health policy chief Jonathan Ashworth criticized Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government for its “downright chaotic” handling of the measure.

TUI (TUIGn.DE), Europe’s largest vacation company, said it would cancel all vacations to mainland Spain until August 9, while maintaining flights to the Balearic and Canary Islands.

Spain has seen COVID-19 cases increase in recent weeks, prompting most regions to impose rules for masks to be used everywhere and, in several areas, including Barcelona, ​​requests that people stay home.

Most of the new cases have been concentrated in the northeast region of Catalonia and neighboring regions, so many of the criticisms focused on the fact that the quarantine also applies to other areas, which have been spared from the pandemic .

“This is ridiculous. There are almost no cases here and there is a much better chance of getting it when I return to Britain,” said John Snelling, 50, of Stratford-upon-Avon, who was on vacation in Menorca.

Britain has been the country most affected in Europe by the pandemic. Spain was also severely affected, with more than 290,000 cases and more than 28,000 deaths. She imposed very strict blocking measures, which gradually eased them in early summer.

‘ABSOLUTE DISASTER’

Last week, Norway again imposed a 10-day quarantine requirement for people arriving from Spain, while France advised people not to travel to Catalonia.

But a collapse of tourism from Great Britain would have a much greater impact on the economy of Spain, where tourism accounts for 12% of GDP. The British accounted for more than 20% of foreign visitors to Spain last year, the largest group by nationality.

“This decision is an absolute disaster for the recovery, there is no other way to see this,” Angel Tavares, head of European economy at Oxford Economics Consulting, said on Twitter, referring to the quarantine measure.

Antonio Pérez, mayor of the Mediterranean town of Benidorm, which is highly dependent on British tourists, said it was a “hard blow.”

The response from the Spanish government has so far been silenced. Authorities said only that Spain is safe, with groups under control, adding that Madrid “respects the UK’s decisions” and is in contact with the British authorities.

In addition to quarantine, Britain advised against all but essential trips to mainland Spain. The regional authorities of the Canary and Balearic Islands said they would try to obtain a quarantine exemption.