Mallorca in Spain is watching German travelers in late June to restart tourism

Madrid (CNN) – The Spanish island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean plans to welcome a small number of Germans and other tourists at the end of June in a “pilot project” to restart tourism that has been stalled due to a coronavirus, Francina Armengol, Regional President of the Balearic Islands said Thursday.

The plan will have TUI large German tour operators flying in Germany or others from European countries or regions which, like Mallorca, have low infection rates, Armengol told CNN and other reporters via video call.

“We are ready to carry out a pilot project at the end of June, so that groups can be guaranteed safe,” Armengol said, speaking from Palma de Mallorca, the island’s capital. “We must learn how to live with Covid-19 and how to do it safely.”

In Germany, TUI confirmed that they saw new tourism in Mallorca and its surroundings.

“We are having constructive talks with a number of local governments where we believe there will be a summer vacation,” Martin Riecken, Head of TUI Communications, told CNN by telephone. “We do not believe that Spain as a whole, but Balearic, also the Canary Islands, with low infection rates, where local governments have made good progress.”

TUI, he continued, is also in talks with tourist destinations in Greece, Cyprus, Croatia and Bulgaria.

Restart tourism will depend on the national government reopening the borders and revoking the 14-day mandatory quarantine for travelers, where they apply, Riecken said.

Spain has announced a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all international travelers to Spain, starting May 15, and the rule will survive through the country’s emergencies.

‘Green bridge’

Talks of high travel came as a concept called “green bridge” of getting currency in the European Union and in various capitals. Its advocates, including some academics, argue that the safest way to restart tourism and a devastated economy, is to move travelers to the “green bridge” directly between areas with low infection.

Riecken said TUI, with 28 million travel customers every year, had heard the term. “We look at certain point-to-point agreements between the country of origin and the destination country where we consider safe holiday operations in the Corona period,” he said. “We hope tourism will begin again gradually, country after country and destination for destination.”

Mallorca and three other islands in the Baleari islands are actively preparing to reopen, Armengol said.

The Balearics had 16 million tourists last year, one quarter from Germany. This year, because of coronavirus, they estimate only 4 million to 6 million visitors. Tourism is 30 percent of local GDP and is worth around € 10 billion ($ 10.7 billion), said Iago Negueruela, head of Balearic tourism, who also attended a video call with journalists.

“The best way to ensure safety is for tour operators to monitor tourists when leaving Germany, how they arrive at hotels, and travel. This is the safest way to travel, rather than individually, so we are doing pilot projects with companies that have already have experience in this matter, “Negueruela said.

The Balearics will be TUI’s first destination in Spain when it continues operations, said Riecken. Any temperature checks on tourists will be carried out by airport officials, he explained, and said the TUI could provide tourist contact information to local authorities “if needed.”

Pilot project

Jogging during Spanish lockdown.

Al Goodman / CNN

Separately, around 200 German holiday home owners in Mallorca wrote to Armengol last month, his office confirmed to CNN, pressing to be allowed to return to their property as soon as the Spanish lockdown was revoked.

Armengol said the ICU bed of the Balearic hospital did not stretch to the limit during the height of the pandemic, as in some other parts of Spain. This summer, health workers will soon be testing tourists, who show symptoms of viruses, even very small ones and will isolate them if they are declared positive.

The Balearic government is also working on a mobile application, the use of which will be voluntary, to notify travelers if they have made physical contact with someone who has recently tested positive for Covid-19, Armengol said.

Spain is one of the countries hardest hit by coronavirus, especially in Madrid and Barcelona. The state of emergency began March 14, to reduce infection. But the government eased restrictions on confinement this week for more than half of Spain’s population, and promised a gradual reopening.

German airline Lufthansa recently announced that it plans to continue flights to Mallorca and other destinations in June.

TUI, which has operated tours to Mallorca for 50 years, has its own aircraft fleet carrying about 70% of travelers, Riecken said.

Armengol said that if the pilot project took place at the end of June and was successful, more tourists could arrive in July. Just like summer is fully in.