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Q&A: How soon will I be able to visit Spain?

If all continues well with de-escalation plans then Spain could soon be welcoming foreign tourists.

Published: 19 May 2020 17:01 CEST

José Luis Ábalos, the Spanish Minister of Transport insisted that once the nation has moved through the four phase plan to reach “the new normal” there would be no reason to keep the country shut off to foreign visitors.

Currently Spain has closed borders and is only allowing those who have very good reason to enter Spain, either because they are citizens or permanent residents here or because they have legitimate work reasons.

Since May 15th all those who enter are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine where they must self-isolate in their own homes or lodgings.

Internal travel in Spain is also banned with residents restricted to moving only around their own province until restrictions are lifted further.

But the Transport Minister explained on Monday that the new quarantine rules would be phased out once travel within Spain was allowed.

“We can’t allow foreigners to travel while the Spanish population is confined,” he told broadcaster TVE. “From late June, we’ll re-start tourism activity, I hope … We must make Spain an attractive country from the health point of view.”

His words will bring hope to a tourism sector that feared the entire summer season would be wiped out.

Tourism accounts for over 12 percent of Spain’s economic output and has already suffered a huge blow to revenue having missed out the start of the season – a revenue loss estimated at between 93 to 124 billion euros ($100 to $134 billion) according to lobby group Exceltur estimates.

Ábalos also said that he did not forsee the need for airlines to reduce their passenger occupancy by one third to allow an empty seat between travellers, a measure that industry insiders warned would make operating flights prohibitively expensive.

Instead he said other hygiene measures would have to be observed.

Even when Spain does open up to international tourism again it’s unlikely to be on the scale it was in previous seasons.

In an interview last week Spain’s Foreign Minister, Arancha Gonzalez Laya admitted the “new normal” would come with restrictions.

“This year will be tough because we will not be able to welcome the tourists as we have in previous years because of health and safety, not only of tourists but also of Spaniards.”

Tourism resorts across Spain are exploring measures to welcome back tourists and keep them safe.

Plans along the costas include ways to enforce social distancing on beaches with allocated time slots booked in advance.

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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