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Spain extends restrictions on non-essential travel from most non-EU countries until November

The Spanish government has again extended temporary restrictions for non-essential travel from most third countries until October 31st 2021, meaning that the majority of unvaccinated tourists from outside of the EU can still not visit Spain.

Published: 30 September 2021 10:47 CEST
A passenger checks in for her flight at the Barajas airport in Madrid on June 20, 2020, a day before the country's state of emergency ends following a national lockdown to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. - With Spain's epidemic now well under control, the government has been cautiously easing out of its mid-March lockdown with travel restrictions soon to be lifted as well. (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)
Spain has extended Covid restrictions for travellers from countries outside of the EU on several occasions already. Photo: Pierre Philippe Marcou/AFP

Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE) confirmed this newest extension to the temporary restriction order for non-essential trips and unvaccinated travellers from outside the bloc, first approved on July 17th.

The measure affects unvaccinated people from most non-EU countries who want to travel to Spain, as those who can prove vaccination with one of the inoculations Spain accepts can visit the country for tourism or other non-essential reasons. 

Previous BOEs gave reasons for the extension, stating that “the epidemiological situation has not changed substantially”, but this edition simply confirmed the extension of the current rules in place now until midnight October 31st 2021.

Spain also has a list of low-risk third countries whose travellers wanting to visit Spain for non-essential reasons can come regardless of without having to present proof of Covid-19 testing or vaccination. Travellers from these nations are in effect exempt from Spain’s travel restrictions for third countries.

The current list of third countries which are exempt from the restrictions includes Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Jordan, New Zealand, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Singapore, Ukraine, Uruguay as well as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

However, the BOE states that this list was amended on September 23rd to include Chile, Kuwait and Rwanda in the above list and remove Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the Republic of Moldova, although this does not reflect on Spain’s Health Ministry website (check with your embassy).

Travellers from third countries on the list may be able to enter Spain without the need for a negative Covid test or a vaccination certificate, but they still need to fill out a health control form, which can be found here.

It’s also important to check whether you need a visa or any other documents to enter Spain first and, if so, contact your nearest Spanish embassy to find out if they’re currently issuing these documents. 

The other reasons that can be used for travel to Spain from third countries that fall under the non-essential travel restrictions are:

  • You are a resident in the EU or Schengen country.
  • You have a visa for a long duration stay in an EU or Schengen country.
  • You work in transport, such as airline staff or are in a maritime profession.
  • You work in diplomatic, consular, international organisations, military or civil protection or are a member of a humanitarian organisation.
  • You have a student visa for a country in the EU or Schengen zone.
  • You are a highly qualified worker or athlete whose work cannot be postponed or carried out remotely.
  • You are travelling for duly accredited imperative family reasons.
  • You are allowed entry due to force majeure or on humanitarian grounds.
  • And as mentioned earlier in the article, if you have a vaccination certificate that Spain’s Ministry of Health recognises, as well as their accompanying minors (unless they’re under 12 years of age).

Those travelling to Spain from the UK and the US

As stated by Spain’s Health Ministry, “For persons resident in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland coming directly from this country, in addition to the vaccination certificate, diagnostic certificates of NAAT tests (nucleic acid amplification tests, e.g.: RT-PCR, RT-LAMP, TMA, HAD, NEAR, CRISPR, SDA…..) will also be considered valid”.

READ ALSO: What travellers from Spain to England should know about the UK’s new Covid border rules in October

As for travellers from the US, On Friday September 3rd Spanish health authorities removed the United States from the list of third countries whose travellers do not have to meet Spain’s Covid travel restrictions.

READ MORE: What do Spain’s new Covid restrictions for the US mean for American travellers?

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TOURISM

How much more expensive will holidays in Spain be this summer?

Whether it be hotel prices rising or shortages in the aviation sector making flights more expensive, a summer vacation in Spain this year is likely to cost more than last year.

Published: 25 April 2024 09:13 CEST
How much more expensive will holidays in Spain be this summer?

With lingering inflation, drought conditions, rising rents and building social tension surrounding the impact of mass tourism on Spanish society, summer 2024 could be an eventful one in Spain for a number of reasons.

It will probably also be more expensive than it was in the past, especially if you’re staying in a hotel or tourist apartment.

This follows a bumper Easter period that saw high occupancy and price rises across the country, and if forecasts and industry experts are anything to go by, it’s a trend that will continue into the summer season.

READ ALSO: ‘The island can’t take it anymore’: Why Tenerife is rejecting mass tourism

Hotel prices March increased by 10 percent compared to the same period in 2023, and have now experienced 34 consecutive months of price increases.

The average hotel room in Spain during March cost €109.2 per night, according to Hotel Tourism Situation data published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

How much more expensive will flights to Spain be this summer?

Firstly, flights. Aviation industry experts suggest that a perfect storm of conditions could cause the price of flights to increase for summer 2024. A shortage of commercial planes, caused mainly by a combination of problems on Boeing’s production line and Airbus having difficulties with engine manufacturers, will likely drive up prices around the world.

These “are factors that don’t make it easy for prices to fall,” according to Pere Suau, professor of Economics and Business Studies at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, who admitted that “it is difficult to measure the extent to which” they will go up. The key, in Suau’s opinion, is to see how demand will be affected by price rises. “As of today prices are rising, but demand is tolerating it, demand continues to grow,” he adds.

Reports in the Spanish media suggest that prices on budget airlines like Ryanair could rise by around 10 percent.

READ ALSO: EasyJet opens Spanish base in Alicante with ten new routes

How much more expensive will hotels in Spain be this summer?

So, flights will likely be more expensive this year. But what about hotels?

It’s difficult to say exactly by how much hotel prices will have risen by summer, but most estimates put it at somewhere in the 8-12 percent range, depending on factors such as location, occupancy, type of accommodation (ie. is it luxury or budget) and length of stay.

However, despite that, most experts seem to think the price rises will be slightly less than the 2023-23 year-on-year increases, when average hotel room costs shot up by 16.5 percent, according to statistics from SRT and Cushman & Wakefield.

Albert Grau, partner at Cushman & Wakefield’s Hospitality department in Spain, told El Periódico de España that: ‘We expect there to continue to be growth in prices… although it will be more moderate, in single digits, compared to the large increase in the last year.”

Spanish news outlet La Sexta reports that hotel rooms in the summer will be on average 11 percent more than last year, according to figures from INE and Travelgate.

Forecasts by American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) put Barcelona, long a popular tourist destination, among European cities where a significant increase in hotel prices is expected, with a projected rise of 9 percent. Other Spanish cities, such as Bilbao and Valencia, are forecast to see price jumps of around 8.5 percent.

In Andalusia, hotel sector insiders in Andalusia are expecting a 7 percent increase overall this summer, according to Trinitario Bertore, director of Hotel Plaza Nueva in Granada, who spoke to La Sexta. Bertore said a night’s stay in a hotel in Andalusia can now cost up to €210, a 7 percent rise compared to last summer.

José Luis Contreras, managing director of Apartamentos Valencia Costera, said prices in tourist flats in Valencia will also rise by around 7 percent and even reach an eye-watering €350 per night in the high season.

Both Bertore and Contreras said that there’s no need to lower prices because demand is increasing, despite the per night rate increases.

It seems clear that accommodation will likely be a more expensive for summer 2024 in Spain than it was last year, though the year-on-year rise will slow slightly. Most forecasts put the average expected hotel price rises at roughly 10-11 percent overall.

By exactly how much will depend on several factors: where you’re staying, and whether it’s a traditional tourist spot such as parts of Andalusia, Alicante, Valencia or the Canary and Balearic Islands; whether it’s a hotel or apartment; the quality of the accommodation; how long you’re staying; how far in advance you book; when exactly in the summer season you’ll visit Spain.

Aviation industry uncertainty also means that flights will become more expensive, so both travel and accommodation are likely to be more expensive in Spain this summer.

Tourism makes up a significant portion of Spain’s GDP. Predicted tourism earnings for 2024 are expected to bring in €202.65 billion, an 8.6 percent increase on 2023, a record year.

However, growing anti-mass tourism sentiment has been bubbling in Spanish society for some time now, with protests in various cities around the country decrying the impact, among other things, of Spain’s tourism model on the local housing market.

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