Spain says vaccine passport ready by May

Breaking news: Hopes that the holiday season will start sooner rather than later

Tourists heading to Mallorca. | Carlos Barba

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporter10/03/2021 09:46

The Spanish government said this morning that the vaccine passport could be ready by May which would mean that the holiday season could start earlier than expected.

Britain is already in talks with both Spain and Greece over this issue. If all goes according to plan British tourists will be able to take international holidays by May 17, so in theory the first British tourists could be arriving on the island in late May with their passport.

The vaccine passport shows the Covid-track record of the traveller. It will be introduced across the European Union.

Spain's Tourism minister Reyes Maroto said: "We could be in a position to start implementing the digital passport (when FITUR starts on May 19)", she told Antena 3 TV station.

Faced with a pandemic that has killed more than 900,000 people in Europe and thrust the continent into its deepest recession, EU leaders agreed to work on vaccine certificates to kick-start the tourism industry, which has been severely hurt by the pandemic.