Spain to welcome Brit tourists from June, tourism chief confirms

28 April 2021, 10:21 | Updated: 28 April 2021, 10:26

By Polly Foreman

Spain has confirmed plans to reopen to holidaymakers from June.

British tourists will be welcomed back to Spain's beaches from June, the country's tourism minister has confirmed.

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Fernando Valdes Verelst said that the country will start to reopen for tourists at that time under the Covid digital health certificate scheme.

He said that the scheme - which would allow tourists to show if they've been vaccinated, tested negative, or recovered from coronavirus - would prove "fundamental to offering travellers certainty".

"June will be the start of the recovery of tourism in Spain," he told a conference in Mexico on Tuesday.

"By then we will have a digital vaccination certificate in place and we will be able to reopen our borders.

"We are having close conversations with UK authorities and we are exchanging information on Spain’s digital system and the trial happening at our airports in May."

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Non-essential travel abroad is not currently allowed in the UK, and we don't yet know when Brits will be allowed to travel abroad again.

However, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said today that the 'green list' of travel destinations will be unveiled in the next two weeks, and that Britain's vaccine passport system will use the NHS app.

He said, according to The Sun: "In terms of vaccine certification I can confirm we are working on an NHS application.

"It will be the NHS app that is used for people when they book appointments with the NHS, to be able to show you've had a vaccine or that you've had testing.

"I'm working internationally with partners across the world to make sure that system can be internationally recognised, so that's the way forward."

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