The Netherlands has lifted the restrictions it applied to Dutch tourists travelling to the Canary and the Balearic Islands upon their return home, after deciding to review the archipelagos separately to mainland Spain. As of tomorrow (Saturday), those who visit any of the islands of the two Spanish archipelagos will no longer have to do a PCR test or go into quarantine.
This was announced by the Dutch ambassador to Spain, Jan Versteeg, while his Government updates the list of destinations considered safe. “It is a pleasure to announce that from tomorrow Dutch tourism re-opens to the Canary and the Balearic Islands. Travellers from here will no longer have to submit a negative PCR test, or undergo quarantine upon return to the Netherlands,” he posted on Twitter this afternoon.
The Balearic Islands, with 52 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days, and the Canary Islands, with 83 cases, are both well below the Spanish national incidence of 166 cases, and this news follows the successful ‘pilot flight’ that the Netherlands did to Gran Canaria which over 60,000 people applied for.
Spain expects foreign tourist arrivals to reach 45 million this year, about half the pre-pandemic level, according to Spanish Tourism authorities, inviting potential visitors to start planning their holidays in Spain. The airlines have scheduled 930,223 seats on flights from the Netherlands, according to the most recent report on air capacities from Turespaña.
At the moment, Spain still requires international tourists to show a negative PCR test upon arrival in the country.
