Spain to lift ban on British tourists from 30 March

Spain is the most-visited country by Britons

Madrid is opening back up to Brits (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Spain is set to lift its ban on British visitors from 30 March.

The ban, put in place just before Christmas 2020, was imposed to halt the spread of Covid-19 variants.

Visitors will be required to present a negative Covid test – either PCR, TMA or LAMP tests – taken within 72 hours of departure. British tourists will not be required to self-isolate on arrival.

Spain is the most-visited country by British tourists, and had previously signalled it was ready and willing to accept visitors this summer – either vaccinated or with a negative PCR test certificate.

The country generates 12 per cent of GDP from tourism.

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The success of the UK’s Covid vaccination programme – more than half of UK adults have now received at least one dose – and a sharp reduction in the number of coronavirus cases have led many countries to ease entry restrictions.

On Sunday, Germany ended its flight ban, and on Monday, Pakistan eased restrictions on UK travellers.

European countries including Greece, Cyprus and Iceland have set firm dates for when they’re willing to accept British tourists this summer.

However, the Spanish rules being eased won’t necessarily mean a huge bump in tourism.

At present all non-essential international travel from the UK is banned, with £5,000 fixed penalties threatened for people in England who go to an airport intending to fly away on holiday.

The government’s Global Travel Taskforce will report on 12 April about possible arrangements for reopening international travel no earlier than 17 May.