Antonio Ramirez, a waiter in Benalmadena on Spain’s Costa del Sol, is struggling to make ends meet after being on vacation for over a year. He hopes a revival in summer tourism will put him back to work, but the outlook remains uncertain.

“It’s horrible to see all the hotels closed and the promenade empty,” said Ramirez, 55, who has been supported by the government’s ERTE vacation program since the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

While foreign tourism to Spain – the second most visited country in the world before the pandemic – begins to recover cautiously after falling 80% last year, arrivals remain at a fraction of 2019 levels, marking the recovery of an economy that 12% was dependent on tourism, complicating GDP before COVID.

“If the situation continues like this, I won’t be able to hold out much longer,” said Ramirez. He has three children and his wife earns only a modest income cleaning houses.

Activity in Benalmadena has increased slightly in recent weeks thanks to the resurgence of domestic tourism and Ramirez is optimistic that the 400 bed hotel he used to work at will call him back in July.

“The day I get that call, I’ll be very happy,” he said.

But the locals cannot fill the void that international travelers leave behind. Slightly more than half of the 193 hotels on the Costa del Sol are open according to the AEHCOS Hoteliers Association in the region.

Mandatory quarantine for returning Brits, who usually make up more than a quarter of the guests in the area, has deterred many, and Spain’s plan to attract foreign visitors by starting November 7th. Continue reading

“There is no point in opening borders if our main market countries don’t open them too,” said AEHCOS Vice President Javier Hernandez.

Recalling the uncertainty about new variants of the virus, the Bank of Spain has warned that summer will be far from normal and a full recovery is unlikely by 2023.

Nevertheless, the situation in Madrid, a few hundred kilometers away, which is less dependent on foreign tourism, is much more rosy.

“With the reservations we have on the books, we know it’s going to be a good summer,” said Gonzalo Baselga, sales manager at the 27-story RIU hotel, which dominates the city’s skyline and is 60% to 70% is busy. mostly by domestic visitors.

Data from the booking platform eDreams (EDRE.MC) showed hotel reservations across Spain nearly quadrupled from 2020 lows in July and August, with Madrid being one of the most popular tourist destinations.

Another positive sign: TUI’s (TUIGn.DE) The cruise ship Mein Schiff 2 arrived in Malaga on Tuesday, the first ship of its type to dock in a Spanish port since it was banned a year ago. The passengers got off in small groups to minimize the risk of infection during the city tour.

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