FEHM and the Hotel Chains Group, or
ACH say they will buy Covid vaccines if Brussels approves,
as Balearic hoteliers did in the Dominican Republic.
“The centralised purchase of vaccines is done by the European Union and they re redistributed to member countries, in our case the Government. Right now,
direct purchase is not authorised, so until changes are made in this regard, there is no possibility of employers acquiring vaccines,” said FEHM President Maria Frontera and ACH President Gabriel Llobera.
“If the situation changes, it is possible that companies from all areas will resort to this option, but that decision depends on various factors, such as the level of vaccination currently in place and the situation in
lift restrictions on flying to Mallorca from this Friday, March 12.
The
vast improvement in epidemiological figures in recent weeks have made the Island one of the safest destinations in Europe and the Mediterranean.
Germany’s restrictions were supposed to be binned last week, but the Government decided to wait and see if contagion continued to decline for another 7 days, which it did.
Hoteliers and Tour Operators say demand for travel to Mallorca in Germany is steadily growing.
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Since March 1 there have been more reservations than cancellations for the summer season on the island, they said.
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German tourism companies anticipate that the recovery will begin after Easter or in late summer,” said German Tourism Association President, Norbert Fiebig. “It would be a success for the Sector to invoice half of what it made in 2019.”
Holiday plans for millions of people could be put on hold after suggestions Spain might not be ready for a normal tourism season until the end of summer.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has suggested the country would be progressively better prepared to welcome foreign tourists once 70% of its citizens have been vaccinated against COVID-19 - a goal he estimates won t be reached until much later this year. Only mass vaccination will open the way to normality that we want, he said on Wednesday, during a speech at the World Tourism Organization conference in Madrid. The government is working to vaccinate at the highest possible rate. to reach the end of the summer with 70%, which will allow Spain to be progressively better prepared to receive international tourists.
Hoteliers in Mallorca and the other Balearic Islands say they
expect to recover 50% of the turnover they recorded in 2019 during the 2021 summer season and are confident that there will be sufficient coronavirus control measures in Germany, Britain, Scandinavia, Switzerland, France and Italy to allow ‘safe corridors’ to be established.
“The situation is very complicated for many companies and
we must prepare as best we can for the beginning of the next summer season, we have to be proactive,” said Hotel Business Federation of Mallorca President, Maria Frontera.
The Spanish Tourist Offices in Berlin and London as well as DRV and ABTA agree that