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HEALTH

Which regions in Spain offer free insurance to tourists who get Covid-19?

Some Spanish regions offer to cover the costs incurred by national and international tourists who contract Covid-19 while on holiday in their territory. Here are the conditions and what the insurance covers.

Published: 28 July 2021 09:43 CEST
Updated: 6 January 2022 17:51 CET
regions spain free insurance covid
The Balearics Islands recently joined the list of Spanish regions that offer free Covid insurance for visitors. Photo: Jaime Reina/AFP

If tourists or visitors develop Covid-19 symptoms while in Spain, they are required to self-isolate in their accommodation and avoid physical contact with other people. 

Then they must contact the health authorities of the region they’re staying in, and based on their evaluation of the symptoms, they will ascertain whether the person in question has to take a Covid test. 

phone number to call in spain regions if you have covid-19

If the test comes back positive, they’ll have to quarantine either at their hotel accommodation or wherever they are told to. 

In the Valencia region’s case, hotels have set up self-isolation rooms for tourists who develop Covid-19 to stay in, so there is always accommodation available for them to lengthen their stay for the remainder of their quarantine. 

It’s a measure to be taken seriously as those who break the self-isolation period face €30,000 fines from regional authorities.

In most cases, these Covid quarantine periods last ten days in Spain and are paid for by the tourists themselves.

Some tourists are only finding out they have Covid-19 when it comes to getting a Covid test to fly back to their countries, meaning they have to pay for an extra ten days entirely out of their own pocket. 

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However, some regions have factored in how the uncertainty of tourism and travel will dissuade many tourists from venturing abroad and have therefore decided to take action.

Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Galicia and Murcia are the regions that have so far signed contracts with private insurance companies to provide travel insurance to tourists who fall ill with Covid-19.

Here are what the requirements are to access this benefit in the five regions that have made it available, and what it covers in each of them:

Andalusia

The Andalusian government offers free travel insurance to non-resident international tourists who travel to the southern region up until June 30th 2022 and stay in government-approved accommodation. 

Unlike the other regions, they don’t offer this benefit to tourists who are Spanish nationals or residents.

The expenses Andalusia covers are medical, surgical and hospitalisation expenses in the case of contracting Covid, up to €4,000. It also includes possible transport and repatriation expenses, as well as the stay in Andalusia for a quarantine period of a maximum of 15 days and with a price limit of €5,000. To find out more, click here. 

regions spain free covid health insurancePhoto: Pau Barrena/AFP

The Canary Islands

The Canary archipelago has offered free travel insurance to tourists since the summer of 2020 through insurer AXA.

This covers healthcare expenses and accommodation for foreign and national tourists who visit the Canary Islands or travel between them, therefore also including Canary residents.

The insurance is activated in the event that the visitor tests positive for Covid while staying at tourist accommodation on the islands.

Although Canary authorities have not announced when the free insurance offer will end, they did extend their contract with AXA in August 2021, the previous agreement being in place since the previous summer.  To read more about the insurance policy, visit the Canary tourism website here. 

READ MORE: Spain’s Canary Islands give insurance guarantees to tourists in case of Covid-19

Galicia

Since June 2021 the northwestern region has offered free Covid travel insurance for visitors from outside the region through Europ Assistance, in order to “offer tranquility to tourists and Camino de Santiago pilgrims who visit the region”. 

All visitors with residence outside Galicia who stay at tourist accommodation and who have not contracted the disease before arriving will be able to benefit from free coverage (find out more here).

In this case, Galicia takes on the health, accommodation or transportation costs derived from a Covid infection, including for the family members or companions of the traveller. The expenses they cover go from €500 to a maximum of €15,000 in the event of repatriation. Galician authorities also ask tourists who’ve been in high Covid infection areas in the past 14 days to register their details before travelling on their regional database here.

Similar to the Canary Islands, the government of Galicia has not said when the free insurance offer will end. 

Murcia

The southeastern coastal region of Murcia has had Covid insurance in place for tourists through RACE Seguros since July 1st 2021 and is valid up until June 30th 2022. 

It covers expenses derived from healthcare, travel and any extension of their stay due to self-isolation. 

This applies to national and foreign tourists, as well as for the accompanying family members or people on holiday with the affected person, if they are staying at hotel accommodation regulated by the Murcian government. You can find out more on this page. 

The Balearic Islands 

In mid-August of 2021 the Balearic government launched its own comprehensive package of Covid travel insurance for tourists, however the policy was only available up until December 31st 2021. 

At the time of writing, the free Covid travel insurance had not been extended to 2022 yet, but this could change. 

To find out about updates on the Balearics’ free insurance policy, click here. 

Other regions

If the region in which you will be staying in Spain doesn’t have free Covid insurance, keep in mind that the Spanish government travel website states that “in all cases, Spanish emergency healthcare services are guaranteed and provided at hospitals and healthcare centres”.

And even if you are staying in either Murcia, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Galicia or Andalusia, you should take out your own comprehensive travel insurance to be covered for all eventualities, not just Covid-19. 

It’s worth noting as well that national tourists in mainland Spain are allowed to return to their homes in another region to self-isolate as long as they do it in a private vehicle and avoid all possible contact with others. 

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TOURISM

‘It’s become unliveable’: Spain’s Málaga plans protests against mass tourism

After recent protests in the Canaries and seemingly growing anti-tourism sentiment across Spain, locals in the Costa del Sol city of Málaga are also planning demonstrations in June against the 'touristification' of their city.

Published: 2 May 2024 11:20 CEST
'It's become unliveable': Spain's Málaga plans protests against mass tourism

Locals in Málaga are set to take to the streets in protest against mass-tourism in June, demanding an end to the ‘touristification’ of their city.

This comes after large protests in the Canary Islands in recent weeks and growing anti-tourist sentiment around the country.

Tension among locals in places such as Barcelona, Valencia, the Balearic and Canary Islands, as well as Málaga, stems from frustration with the mass tourism model and its impact on their cities.

READ ALSO: Why Spain is a cheap mass tourism destination

Often, it is also about the post-pandemic influx of remote workers and digital nomads from abroad, many of whom come to Spain to enjoy a (relatively speaking) cheaper cost of living with high foreign wages and purchasing power than many local Spaniards struggle to compete with.

READ ALSO: Mass protests in Spain’s Canary Islands decry overtourism

In this sense, much of the building anti-mass tourism sentiment brewing in Spain is bundled up in a more general (and at times somewhat confused or misplaced) anti-foreigner feeling that views outsiders, whether it be traditional tourists or digital nomads, as exploiting Spain and the expense of Spaniards.

In cities such as Málaga, locals are being priced out of their own neighbourhoods as more and more properties are turned into short-term tourist rentals owned by landlords (many of them Spaniards or commercial multi-property owners) wanting to cash in.

A growing number of Malagueños have had enough and will take to the streets on June 29th under the slogan ‘for decent housing and against the processes of touristification and precariousness of life’.

The event’s aim is to protest the tourist model in the city: ‘Málaga has become an unliveable city for those of us who live there. It is over! For a Málaga to live in and not to survive’ are among the catchphrases expected to be used at the demonstration.

Organised by the Málaga Tenants Union, the protest will challenge the ‘exploitation of housing, work and life’ in the Andalusian city.

Locals would say this has been a long time coming. In many ways, Málaga has become a victim of its own success, particularly after it was voted as the best city for foreign residents in the InterNations Expat City Ranking 2023. In the post-pandemic period, scores of foreigners have moved to the city.

READ ALSO:  Why Spain’s Málaga is becoming a victim of its own success

So much so that eight out of 10 new residents moving to Málaga are currently foreigners, according to recent data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE). Stats show that in 2022 Málaga welcomed a total of 56,242 inhabitants, of which 44,656 were foreigners and 11,586 were Spanish nationals.

In recent months the city has become inundated with anti-tourist stickers.

“This used to be my home” (antes esta era mi casa) , “go f*cking home” (a tu puta casa), “stinking of tourist” (apestando a turista), “this used to be the city centre” (antes esto era el centro) and “Your dead loved ones, mayor” (Alcalde tus muertos) are some of the hostile messages recently adorning walls and doors in Málaga.

READ ALSO: ‘Get the f*ck out of here’: Spain’s Málaga plastered with anti-tourism stickers

The growing foreign population, combined with the pre-existing mass tourist model, has inflated the local property market. Rental prices have increased by 16.5 percent compared since the end of 2022 and have now reached an average of €15.5/m2, stats from property portal Idealista show, while the cost to buy a home in Málaga has increased by 11 percent to an average of €3,049/m2, reaching a new historic high.

According to a study by HelloSafe, Málaga is the second most expensive province in the country when compared to the average salary, just behind Barcelona. It estimates that 81 percent of the average salary in Málaga is used on living and rent.

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