The hospitality sector in Gran Canaria ‘breathes again’ after opening interiors

The hospitality sector in Gran Canaria has breathed a sigh of relief after the Canary Islands Government decided to lower the alert level for the island to 2, meaning they can open their interiors again, after almost a year of ups and downs and closures and restriction since the pandemic broke out.

Bars, cafes and restaurants are still subject to restrictions on capacity limits, distancing of tables, and curfew, but these have been relaxed under level 2 to 50% of capacity inside and 75% of terraces allowed to be used, and a closing time of 11pm.

This has been indicated by the president of the Association of Bars, Cafes, Restaurants and Nightlife of Las Palmas, an organization which has been integrated into the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Entrepreneurs, (FEHT), Fermín Sánchez. As he said yesterday, the situation continues to be critical for many businesses but at least they can breathe again by allowing the reopening of the interior of the premises with a maximum of six diners per table (on level 3 there were four) and a curfew at 11pm. "It allows there to be customers inside as well as outside, and for there to be a proper meal service, as with a 10pm curfew we lost our dinners almost completely," he said.