Spain's tourism minister, Reyes Maroto, said on Tuesday that an inter-ministerial committee is analysing the most appropriate protocols so that hotels, airports and areas with high numbers of visitors will have all the information needed in respect of coronavirus and dealing with it.
Maroto highlighted the fact that numbers of confirmed cases in Spain are still very low and that the impact is at present small. All precautions are being taken "so that people are calm". Tourists, she added, can also be calm. The Spanish government has all the procedures for dealing with this situation, "with a health system that is the best in the world".
The minister observed that tour operators and travel agents have not had any cancellation of bookings for Spain. There is nevertheless a continuous monitoring of the data, especially with Easter drawing closer. Spain, she concluded, is a safe destination for any visitor, who "doesn't need to delay the decision to visit".
The Balearics tourism minister, meanwhile, stated that he didn't believe that coronavirus posed any risk for the main tourism season. The Balearics, said Iago Negueruela, "is not in the same situation as the Canaries". "We should wait to see how the situation with the virus evolves", he suggested, adding that the regional government is coordinating "perfectly" with the Spanish government and wanting to give a message of "total calmness".
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You are running this story, which claims no impact, a few hours after another that claims bookings are down by 50%. Are you just a patsy or will you do some proper research on the facts rather than regurgitating the official line? Not that I care about your favourite subject - tourism. What I do care about is what the ‘authorities’ - to use a broad spectrum term - are doing to prepare for new cases here. Latest news as of 1800 today is that the virus is spreading rapidly in Europe. There’s balance needed, naturally, not to be alarmist but also to be prepared. Let’s hope the headless chicken government here does the right thing. But as this is a banana republic in so many ways I doubt that will happen.