Spain to reopen for foreign tourists from July
23 May 2020, 15:36
Spain will reopen to international tourism from July, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced.
It comes as the country beings to emerge from one of the strictest lockdowns worldwide, which was implemented on 14 March.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a press conference on Saturday that the tourism sector should start to prepare for the upcoming summer season.
He said: “The hardest part is over. We are seeing light at the end of the tunnel.“
Now the epicenter has moved to other parts of the planet, as is happening, for example, on the American continent.
“The response of the Spanish people has been formidable. Everyone has fulfilled their mission and they came together to deal with the epidemic.”
When it comes to foreign travel, he said: “We must begin to restart economic activity.
“Some of these sectors are hostelry and tourism, which have a fundamental role in the creation of employment.
“The moment has arrived. I’m announcing to you that there will be a tourist season this year and I invite all tourist establishments to start to prepare from today to restart their activity in a few days from now.”
LaLiga was also given the go-ahead to restart from June 8, according to Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in an address to the nation.
The Spanish top-flight was suspended on March 12 because of coronavirus but the league stepped up its preparations for a resumption as group training of up to 10 players was allowed at the start of the week.
There are 11 fixtures still to play in LaLiga, which will confirm a return date in the coming days although Javier Tebas, the league's president, has stated June 12 is an option.
"The resumption of major professional sporting competitions and, in particular, La Liga will be allowed from the week of June 8," Sanchez said in a quote according to the BBC.
The Segunda Division - Spain's second tier - has also been cleared to resume on the same date.
![Comedy writer Graham Linehan took to X, formerly known as Twitter, said that while plans for the "surefire hit" were underway, "trans activists were busy trying to destroy [his] life."](https://images.lbc.co.uk/images/646445?width=105&crop=1_1&format=webp&signature=5hcM2xeYrEZ5a1TglEVKxhBuKf4=)
