Tourism

Four hotel companies for June "test" tourists

Riu in Playa de Palma will provide one of the hotels. | Miquel À. Cañellas - Archive

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma28/05/2020 11:56

Four hotel companies, understood to be Garden, Iberostar, Riu and Viva, have offered to accommodate tourists in the second half of June. These are the up to 3,000 foreign tourists who are expected to come to Majorca as part of a test of Covid protocols.

President Armengol says that hoteliers are willing to open, "as it is important to maintain the leadership of the Balearics as a tourist destination despite the difficulties caused by the health crisis". The test project is being considered by the Spanish government and it would involve German tourists being brought by German tour operators. DER Touristik, Schauinsland-Reisen and Tui are said to be the tour operators. The hotels will be in Alcudia and Playa de Palma.

German tour operators have been chosen because Germany has similar epidemiological levels to the Balearics. In the case of Tui, there is the additional benefit that it has its own airline; this facilitates the programming of holiday packages.

Apart from the need for Spanish government approval, there is an issue with regard to ERTE. If a hotel opens, the company is exposed to the possibility of losing the social security bonuses that are assured under the state of alarm. Madrid has yet to apply the necessary flexibility that will ensure that hotels can open.

As well as the Balearic government, the government in the Canaries is placing pressure on Madrid to allow safe air corridor routes with Germany so that foreign tourism can start before the end of June.