The SPAA has welcomed the Scottish government’s decision to add Spain to its “safe list” of countries which do not require travellers to quarantine on their return.
Spain was the major omission from the UK government’s list when the Scottish government published its own approved list of 57 countries on July 8.
Scottish justice secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Following this latest review and having carefully considered the potential public health impact of changing the country exemptions for quarantine, we are able to lift that requirement [14-day quarantine] for those travelling from Spain.
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“We are continuously keeping other countries under review and where there is clear evidence that it is safe to do so, we will add further countries.
“Clearly the virus has not gone away. It is still active and it is still deadly. With the quarantine restrictions being lifted from these countries this means we have to be even more careful about what we are doing.”
SPAA vice-president Mike Tibbert said: “We recently held a constructive meeting with the Scottish government and the move to add mainland Spain and its islands to the ‘safe’ list is very welcome.
“This means that Scots can still take advantage of a summer holiday after a long period in lockdown and before Scottish children return to school in mid-August. Scots will also be able to travel for family occasions and for business reasons, thus showing Scotland is open for business again.”
He added: “Outbound and inbound tourism are interdependent. The restart of travel to and from Spain means Scotland is also able to welcome visitors from Spain too.
“Spanish destinations are some of Europe’s most popular holiday hotspots and are a favourite for Scots travellers and the safety of travellers remains our key concern.
“However, the short-term price of the delay in adding Spain to the list has been the cancellation of a plethora of flights between Scottish airports and Spain and it has surely been a major factor in Tui’s decision to cease all of its flights from Aberdeen and Edinburgh during summer 2020.
“This move is a first step to helping the travel sector, but the whole industry needs a far larger support package than just the inclusion of Spain on this list. Recovery will be complex and protracted.”
Speaking on a Travel Weekly webcast on Friday, SPAA president Joanne Dooey outlined the impact of the omission of Spain on the trade.
She said: “It’s been an absolute nightmare, this is our busiest time for people going in holiday from Scottish airports. So obviously to still have the quarantine in place for Spain has had a major effect.
“Spain is Scotland’s number one destination; 60% of holidaymakers out of Scotland go to Spain, and that’s how important it is to us.”
She added: “We have been in talks and we have been writing to everybody. We’ve been on every television station; we have been pushing about why has Scotland been the only nation when all the other devolved nations are now going into Spain without quarantine. We’re hoping that it will get looked out and there should be some sort of announcement hopefully made either today or on Monday.”
Dooey said: “I do think that it is definitely still a market; nowhere near what it was, but I do think that there’s still a market there for people who want to go August or September. And we have had people come into us saying I want to book this as soon as I know I don’t need to go into quarantine coming back from Spain.”
More: Spain omitted from Scotland’s quarantine-free ‘safe list’
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