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OBSOLETE COVID THREAD Spain waiting for UK Tourists

OBSOLETE COVID THREAD
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Isca-camigo

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Time of past OR future Camino
Various ones.
This is a quote that was copied from the Guardian this morning( 22/4).

Spain 'desperate to welcome' UK tourists in summer – minister​

Incidentally, if you’ve been missing the media obsession with whether people from the UK will be able to holiday abroad in the summer, I have good news. Sky News have had Spain’s tourism minister Fernando Valdes on and he said the country is “desperate to welcome” UK visitors this summer.
PA note he said “I think we will be ready here in Spain. We also think that the vaccination scheme in the UK is going pretty well, so hopefully we’ll be seeing this summer the restart of holidays.”
There’s a worrying note though for those opposed to the use of vaccine passports – as he also said that certificates enabling holidaymakers to prove they have either been vaccinated or recently tested are “going to help us”.
 
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It's a space filler for the Guardian , it doesn't address the biggest roadblock for UK citizens and that is until the bulk of adults in the UK under 50 have been vaccinated then they are potentially bigger spreaders of the virus than if there was no vaccine at all.
 
It's a space filler for the Guardian , it doesn't address the biggest roadblock for UK citizens and that is until the bulk of adults in the UK under 50 have been vaccinated then they are potentially bigger spreaders of the virus than if there was no vaccine at all.
All over 40's in 🇬🇧 (who want vaccine), will have had second dose by end July. These will be the travellers to Spain this summer, along with their minor children.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
It's a space filler for the Guardian
It was a short interview that SkyNews had this morning at around 8:20 am with the Spanish minister for tourism, Fernando Valdes, and then all the news media picked it up, including the Guardian's daily live blog. And SkyNews may have arranged this interview because of an "exclusive" in today's The Sun of all media.
 
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Context is everything. The SkyNews interview with Fernando Valdes, the Spanish minister for tourism is on YouTube but because it is a (very long) live stream I cannot link directly to the interview.

The SkyNews anchor starts with the words: "I am sure I speak for a lot of our viewers when I say that we are desperate to head back to Spain this summer. Do you think it is likely?"

Fernando Valdes picks this up and replies: "We are desperate to welcome you this summer so I think yes. We will be ready here in Spain".

Then there's a lot of I hope so, likely, could be, thinking of, ease the travelling, Spain is pushing hard on the European Commission in terms of reaching an agreement not only between member states but also with third countries, third parties such as the UK, we expect, travel corridor, mutual recognition of certificates, safe tourism is key, from the month of June, ... not a summer like 2019 but a restart of tourism ...

The SkyNews anchor finishes with the words: "You give us some hope" and "Fingers crossed".
 
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I wrote in a related post reply on March 17th to @Tincatinker that there was much going on behind the scenes to make UK - Spain travel possible this summer. This is increasingly the case. It may favour those who have already been vaccinated, or cost those who have not more money (testing etc.) But will happen.
 
Such a jigsaw and also depends on level of quarantine / testing. Currently a English resident family of 4 is looking at the best part of £1000 minimum for testing alone just to fjy back to England!
 
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Such a jigsaw and also depends on level of quarantine / testing. Currently a English resident family of 4 is looking at the best part of £1000 minimum for testing alone just to fjy back to England!
Not really a jigsaw. If you are permitted to travel, it will cost more to meet requirements. You can always stay at home and not pay the £1000 you quote. There will be travel winners and losers in this. As I said above: "It may favour those who have already been vaccinated, or cost those who have not more money (testing etc.)". Hey ho.
 
I broke the habit of a lifetime after reading this thread and bought a copy of the Sun today. This is a newspaper (like most) which appeals to a certain demographic.
With a front page teaser which included the return of an actress from one of our 'soaps" and the chance to obtain two free tickets to Alton Towers it lead to a two page spread high on graphics and low on narrative.
The article was full of unatributable quotes such as "an EU diplomat said"/"one well-placed Brussels source said"/ "but another EU diplomat said" and "a travel industry source said".
It also went on to say that "if the bloc moves too slowly, holiday hotspots could even defy Brussels.....to open up borders to tourists"

Make of it what you will.
 
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I broke the habit of a lifetime after reading this thread and bought a copy of the Sun today. This is a newspaper (like most) which appeals to a certain demographic.
With a front page teaser which included the return of an actress from one of our 'soaps" and the chance to obtain two free tickets to Alton Towers it lead to a two page spread high on graphics and low on narrative.
The article was full of unatributable quotes such as "an EU diplomat said"/"one well-placed Brussels source said"/ "but another EU diplomat said" and "a travel industry source said".
It also went on to say that "if the bloc moves too slowly, holiday hotspots could even defy Brussels.....to open up borders to tourists"

Make of it what you will.
It's free on-line matey. Should have saved your pennies 😉
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
😂. All these many, many posts on this subject (mine included) - although I would state (without substance) that I am "familiar with the matter"... and have tried to communicate that here 😉. As a fully vaccinated UK citizen, I will be in SJPdP on 26th July to start the Frances. This may be regarded as wrong by some, but it will be legally possible.
 
I am guessing that the British Government have a degree of concern over Spain due to the large traffic flows from Central and South America (similar to concerns re Portugal and Brazil).
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I am guessing that the British Government have a degree of concern over Spain due to the large traffic flows from Central and South America (similar to concerns re Portugal and Brazil).
Spain and Portugal are more concerned over lack of traffic flow from 🇬🇧. As such, they will take appropriate steps to provide reassurance.
 
Spain and Portugal are more concerned over lack of traffic flow from 🇬🇧. As such, they will take appropriate steps to provide reassurance.
Yes I understand that but I think our government will
have these concerns! Spain is such a transit point for travel from South and Central America! It’s fairly unique in that way!
 
Google: "familiar with the matter". I can lead you to water but....
 
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My feelings as an EU citizen resident in the UK (leave to remain status) is that the real issue which Brussels will need to tackle is the free movement within the Schengen zone.

This affects many hikers who cross from France to Spain. No border checks... thus it is no good Spain setting one rule unless it is Europe (EU) wide. The pressure is on, understandably, but it is wishful thinking setting a likely date. The situation in France is far from encouraging.

I speak as one who can’t wait to regain Spain, on the plain or elsewhere, by plane!
 
My feelings as an EU citizen resident in the UK (leave to remain status) is that the real issue which Brussels will need to tackle is the free movement within the Schengen zone.

This affects many hikers who cross from France to Spain. No border checks... thus it is no good Spain setting one rule unless it is Europe (EU) wide. The pressure is on, understandably, but it is wishful thinking setting a likely date. The situation in France is far from encouraging.

I speak as one who can’t wait to regain Spain, on the plain or elsewhere, by plane!
I give up 😂
 
Ultreia... susteia!
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Thank you. When I first came on here I was at the end of a longish Camino(s). As an experienced climber and mountain runner, the fitness was never the issue - it was always the duration that caused the niggles (mental). I have increasingly seen a weird kind of discrimination on this site. How many posts do you see where the poster has not even taken the time to read previous replies - hence making their own post irrelevant? How many posters refer back to the original question before replying? How many posters go off on one about personal grevancies? There is loads of good stuff on here...but it is merely an occasional database for me now.
 
Until @ivar actions my request. One more salvo...Trying to create a Camino franchise by having a camera and calling yourself "Bob's" Camino is weird...it just is. Why?
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Until @ivar actions my request. One more salvo...Trying to create a Camino franchise by having a camera and calling yourself "Bob's" Camino is weird...it just is. Why?

He's not on his own, to be fair - innumerable vanity-published books and blogs set out the authors' unique experience; which a couple hundred thousand each year manage to also have without thinking they can write a bestseller.
 
This is a quote that was copied from the Guardian this morning( 22/4).

Spain 'desperate to welcome' UK tourists in summer – minister​

Incidentally, if you’ve been missing the media obsession with whether people from the UK will be able to holiday abroad in the summer, I have good news. Sky News have had Spain’s tourism minister Fernando Valdes on and he said the country is “desperate to welcome” UK visitors this summer.
PA note he said “I think we will be ready here in Spain. We also think that the vaccination scheme in the UK is going pretty well, so hopefully we’ll be seeing this summer the restart of holidays.”
There’s a worrying note though for those opposed to the use of vaccine passports – as he also said that certificates enabling holidaymakers to prove they have either been vaccinated or recently tested are “going to help us”.
Dont know about Spain as a whole but I received a message from Irish Camino Society showing map of the Frances with restrictions. The borders of Navarra and La Rioja are currently closed to walkers. Strangely though, the border with France and Navarra does not show any restrictions
 
Strangely though, the border with France and Navarra does not show any restrictions
If it was this map (see below) then it‘s because it is a map that informs mainly about the perimeter restrictions on mobility in the autonomous regions, provinces and localities of the Camino de Santiago, as the mapmakers point out.

The only restriction at the border with France and Navarra is the requirement that a PCR or similar test is necessary when crossing from France to Spain.

However, this thread is not about current requirements; it‘s about what the Spanish minister for tourism said when asked whether he thinks that UK tourists can have a summer vacation in Spain.

French, German, Italian, Dutch, Swiss, Irish tourists can travel by land or air to Spain, as far as the Spanish authorities are concerned, and some do so right now; more will do so in all likelihood in coming weeks. That is a fact, whether one approves of it, disapproves of it, or feels neutral about it, or wants to express an opinion about it.

AMCS 2021-04-21.jpg
 
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€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
My feelings as an EU citizen resident in the UK (leave to remain status) is that the real issue which Brussels will need to tackle is the free movement within the Schengen zone.
As this comes up from time to time and nobody has ever posted about it, as far as I can tell, let me have a go: first, freedom of movement means primarily that EU citizens can live, study and work in another country, and that right is not restricted because of Covid-19. It doesn't mean primarily that they can travel around as they see fit.

Second, EU countries have the right to introduce controls at all of their land borders in the event of a serious threat to public policy or internal security. There is a detailed list here: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/w...sas/schengen/reintroduction-border-control_en

You see details of the countries who have reintroduced temporary border control in the context of Covid-19 and the time periods, and details of the countries who have reintroduced temporary border controls in a context different from COVID-19.

This was before Covid-19 and it will be after Covid-19. You never noticed it before? That's because border control at the land borders doesn't mean that every centimetre of the borders is staffed with control posts or that physical barriers are erected everywhere. That's not how it works. You need to know your citizen rights and your citizen duties and comply.

That's why questions about what will happen at the border crossing on top of the Route Napoleon between SJPP and Roncesvalles are pointless.
 
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As this comes up from time to time and nobody has ever posted about it, as far as I can tell, let me have a go: first, freedom of movement means primarily that EU citizens can live, study and work in another country, and that right is not restricted because of Covid-19. It doesn't mean primarily that they can travel around as they see fit.

Second, EU countries have the right to introduce controls at all of their land borders in the event of a serious threat to public policy or internal security. There is a detailed list here: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/w...sas/schengen/reintroduction-border-control_en

You see details of the countries who have reintroduced temporary border control in the context of Covid-19 and the time periods, and details of the countries who have reintroduced temporary border controls in a context different from COVID-19.

This was before Covid-19 and it will be after Covid-19. You never noticed it before? That's because border control at the land borders doesn't mean that every centimetre of the borders is staffed with control posts or that physical barriers are erected everywhere. That's not how it works. You need to know your citizen rights and your citizen duties and comply.

That's why questions about what will happen at the border crossing on top of the Route Napoleon between SJPP and Roncesvalles are pointless.

Much appreciated clarification Kathar1na!

I am not in total agreement with your first paragraph though....

No matter. We both agree, I trust, that in the circumstances, it might be wiser at this stage, to plan to start walking from within Spain, having arrived DIRECTLY in Spain ie not crossing a land border (France/Andorra/Portugal). Especially as currently one is not permitted to hike more than 10 kms in France from one’s residence (and this stricture will probably only be reconsidered for end May).

I do not wish to go off-topic: just desperate to get back to that gorgeous, welcoming country.

EBEC89DC-6EC6-4829-8D70-6F3CB03C9DFE.png
 
Just want to add: In forum threads, all too often insufficient distinction is made between:
  • what is officially allowed;
  • what is officially advised;
  • how one feels personally about it.
Oh, and also insufficient distinction is made between what is officially allowed and/or advised from one side of a border and from the other side of a border, and often even more so when the comments come from a source that sits on neither of the two sides of the border in question but elsewhere. :cool:

Take the example of the recent German tourists on Mallorca and the French tourists in Madrid, hundreds and even thousands of them: Both were allowed to travel to Spain and both the German and French governments strongly advised their citizens not to travel to Spain. Was Spain welcoming them? I don't know. I know what official Spain didn't say: Stay at home and don't come. All they said was: Bring a negative PCR or other suitable test; wear a facemask; follow all our other rules while you are here.
 
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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Just want to add: In forum threads, all too often insufficient distinction is made between:
  • what is officially allowed;
  • what is officially advised;
  • how one feels personally about it.
Oh, and also insufficient distinction is made between what is officially allowed and/or advised from one side of a border and from the other side of a border, and often even more so when the comments come from a source that sits on neither of the two sides of the border in question but elsewhere. :cool:

Take the example of the recent German tourists on Mallorca and the French tourists in Madrid, hundreds and even thousands of them: Both were allowed to travel to Spain and both the German and French governments strongly advised their citizens not to travel to Spain. Was Spain welcoming them? I don't know. I know what official Spain didn't say: Stay at home and don't come. All they said was: Bring a negative PCR or other suitable test; wear a facemask; follow all our other rules while you are here.
My view is ‘if its legal it’s ok’ which make life a lot easier. Lots of Germans on lots of Spanish islands at the mo especially ‘digital nomads’. You need a negative test so I don’t see any issues! Totally understand that other folks make have a different ‘decision tree’ though!
 
This is a quote that was copied from the Guardian this morning( 22/4).

Spain 'desperate to welcome' UK tourists in summer – minister​

Incidentally, if you’ve been missing the media obsession with whether people from the UK will be able to holiday abroad in the summer, I have good news. Sky News have had Spain’s tourism minister Fernando Valdes on and he said the country is “desperate to welcome” UK visitors this summer.
PA note he said “I think we will be ready here in Spain. We also think that the vaccination scheme in the UK is going pretty well, so hopefully we’ll be seeing this summer the restart of holidays.”
There’s a worrying note though for those opposed to the use of vaccine passports – as he also said that certificates enabling holidaymakers to prove they have either been vaccinated or recently tested are “going to help us”.
Absolute lunacy and irresponsible governments, seems like every UK citizen that arrives in Australia has Covid so much so we have banned our own people from returning from Britain. All in good time.. patience is needed
 
Can’t see what the issue if people are tested. Are the Australian Government letting people in without a negative test! Oh and UK inbound travel largely illegal apart from a few groups!
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
This is a quote that was copied from the Guardian this morning( 22/4).

Spain 'desperate to welcome' UK tourists in summer – minister​

Incidentally, if you’ve been missing the media obsession with whether people from the UK will be able to holiday abroad in the summer, I have good news. Sky News have had Spain’s tourism minister Fernando Valdes on and he said the country is “desperate to welcome” UK visitors this summer.
PA note he said “I think we will be ready here in Spain. We also think that the vaccination scheme in the UK is going pretty well, so hopefully we’ll be seeing this summer the restart of holidays.”
There’s a worrying note though for those opposed to the use of vaccine passports – as he also said that certificates enabling holidaymakers to prove they have either been vaccinated or recently tested are “going to help us”.
It will be so wonderful to walk in the Camino space again. 🙏
 
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