People spend their time on Barceloneta beach amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak on April 2, 2021 in Barcelona, ​​Spain. REUTERS / Nacho Doce / File Photo

A recovery in Spanish tourism this summer depends on the successful introduction of international vaccination certificates and the inclusion of the UK on the Green List of Safe Destinations, CEO of Melia Hotels (MEL.MC) said on Wednesday.

“If that happens, I think we can hope for a good summer, albeit far from the level of 2019,” Gabriel Escarrer told Reuters on the sidelines of the global Fitur travel congress in Madrid.

Only a fifth of the usual 250,000 participants will probably attend Fitur in person this year, as travel restrictions kept many away.

Since the UK classified Spain as an “amber list,” meaning returning travelers must self-isolate upon arrival, the Mallorca-based hotel chain has seen more cancellations than reservations from Brits, Escarrer said.

“We know there is a lot of catching up to do,” he added, pointing to Portugal, where British Melia hotel reservations rose 187% after London put the country on its green list this month.

Although arrivals from the UK – Spain’s main market – would not reach the nearly 19 million recorded in 2019, Escarrer predicts that if restrictions were eased, up to 4 million would come.

“Believe me, that would make all the difference,” he said at Melia’s socially distant stand in the IFEMA Congress Hall in Madrid.

However, internationally recognized vaccination certificates will be the most important “detonator for recovery” for Spain and at European level.

Escarrer said that in the future, hotels would reserve areas for those who had been vaccinated, with some resorts only accepting guests with demonstrated immunity or a negative COVID-19 test.

In the meantime, Melia has adapted its hotels with better ventilation, more outdoor dining areas and standardized security protocols to make guests feel safer.

“Whether we get the pandemic under control or not, these are trends that will stay here,” Escarrer said.

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