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The UK Exclusive Travel blog

Spain declares "Open to UK tourists"

Spain has announced that from the 24th May 2021, holidaymaker's from the UK are welcome without needing to provide a negative Covid test to enter the country.
Great News!! We all said. But then comes the catch.
Spain is not on the UK's 'green list' of safe to travel to, its on the 'amber' list. And as of 22nd May 2021, the FCDO advises "against all but essential travel to Spain, including the Balearic Islands but excluding the Canary Islands, based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks"

That presents a problem for anyone rushing off to book that much needed and well deserved holiday in Spain.
Firstly, there's the problem with two or maybe three Covid PCR tests and 10 days enforced and strict quarantine upon return to the UK at considerable cost if your intended to go back to work! Unless of course the government in its ever uncertain rule changing and 'U' turns, puts Spain on the 'green' list whilst your away bathing in the glorious Spanish weather. In which case that's a big Phew! As on your return its straight off home. No tests, no quarantine and big saving.
Secondly, there's a stern warning from the UK Foreign Office stating that Spain is NOT safe for travel to. So will your travel insurance be valid? In normal circumstances, if one travels to a country against the advice of the Government, then the important terms of the travel insurance become non applicable. As it is deemed to travel against official advice and at your own risk. The House of Commons this week made clear "You should not be going to an amber list country unless for some extreme circumstance such as the serious illness of a family member. You should not be going to an amber list country on holiday."

And of course there is always the danger of sudden spikes or new variants of the virus, as we are already experiencing in many countries, which cause localised lock downs and further complicates travel. Bear in mind Spain was quite badly hit by the virus has seen at least 3,636,400 confirmed cases of Coranavirus in Spain and as of the 22nd May 2021, 79,620 people have died. You can see from the images below that while some localities in Spain have low daily cases, others have rather high daily infections.

Despite all this, we have seen a huge increase in bookings and number of flights to Spain increasing dramatically this month. While there were 181 UK to Spain flights in the 10 days ending 16 May, there were 969 in 10 days to 30 May. Flight bookings to Greece also leapt up during the same period. Spain is without doubt top of the list of destinations travelers want to see added to the green list, followed by Greece.

We expect to see more amber list countries opening their doors to UK holidaymaker's over the next weeks as they are frightened of being totally left behind as the major holiday season commences.
Read our projection for the travel industry in 2023.