The project was proposed by CAEB, Agrupación de Cadenas and Federación Empresarial Hotelera de Mallorca or FEHM, with the support of the Central Government and will start in mid-June in Phase 3 of the de-escalation of the coronavirus restrictions.
Earlier this week a video-conference meeting was held between the CEO of Meliá, Gabriel Escarrer; Riu co-President, Carmen Riu; Iberostar CEO, Sabina Fluxá; Barceló Group co-President, Simón Pedro Barceló, the CAEB President, Carmen Planas, the President of the Government, Francina Armengol, and the Minister of Treball i Turisme, Iago Negueruela, to discuss how to reactivate International Tourism.
Carmen Planas says they asked the Government to submit a proposal to the Ministry of Transport that safe corridors be created "to allow on-demand tourist traffic and demonstrate that, as long as everyone complies with the health protocols, the system can work."
Francina Armengol, supported the proposal, which also has the approval of the Unions and the involvement of all Tourist Productive Sectors.
Playa de Palma
Various areas of the Island were considered for the pilot but Playa de Palma was chosen because it’s close to Son Sant Joan airport, has hotels in every category and offers all the necessary Tourist Services.
In principle, three establishments, which have still to be decided, will receive tourists from Central Europe and all the protocols approved by Brussels and the Spanish Government will be applied throughout the tourist chain.
“Through this pilot we want to make it possible for a limited number of tourists to enjoy their stay in Majorca with the proper health controls in place, both at origin and destination and Tour Operators in Germany and Britain are telling us that there's a growing interest in travelling to the island,” said Planas.
The Transport Minister, José Luis Ábalos, announced recently that from the end of June, Balearic airports will be able to receive tourists from the EU, and that persuaded CAEB to launch the initiative, which involves the entire Balearic tourism sector participates.
"We want to set an example so that this experience can be supported by other National destinations and achieve our goal of opening airports to International Tourism with the necessary health guarantees from July," she said.
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When the second wave if the virus comes via tourists, the authorities will have blood on their hands. There will be no appetite for a 2nd lockdown, people will ignore it and the damage will be worse than the first wave. It's all about money, there should not be a tourist season this year. By alliwung this to happen, it increases the chances of there being no season next year. Terrible decision based on money not saving lives.