The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands has requested the State Government to modify the state order to close accommodation establishments to exempt the Canary Islands in certain circumstances, such as keeping some establishments open to respond to tourists who may remain on the islands due to the impossibility of returning to their countries of origin. With this objective, the Ministry also proposes to Madrid as an option to enable the Government of the Canary Islands to establish the corresponding exceptions on each island.
The Ministry headed by Yaiza Castilla has made an estimate of tourists who may remain on the islands at the close of this Monday, established at less than 10,000 people, a figure that, according to the regional minister, "is not 100% certain, as it is likely that there are tourists who have remained outside the usual sources of measurement".
Castilla has conveyed in this sense a clear premise to the Government of Pedro Sánchez and that is that "the Canary Islands add, by far, more tourists than any other autonomous community", and "hence the imperative need for exceptions to the absolute closure of accommodation in each of the islands".
Increasingly complicated departures
The Ministry estimated 4 days ago that there were still about 90,000 tourists on the islands, who have been leaving progressively, through international flights operated by tour operators with clients with tourist packages, but acknowledges that the main difficulty has been with tourists with only flights, or without a confirmed return ticket, "a group that has encountered the most difficulties in finding a return flight, in addition to the fact that certain countries do not allow return flights". Therefore, in her requests to Madrid, the Minister of Tourism has also proposed intensifying contacts for the repatriation of the bulk of visitors.
According to the information obtained by Turismo de Canarias, the main tour operators have already taken their clients this weekend, as is the case of Jet2, TUI, Easyjet, and there are airlines that have stopped flying without finishing picking up clients on the islands, as is the case of Ryanair.
"Through the consulates and embassies, however, and in coordination with Turismo de Canarias and the island councils, an arduous task is being carried out to locate the respective compatriots on different flights," they specify from the Ministry. However, Yaiza Castilla recognizes that as fewer tourists remain, it is more difficult to fit passengers from the islands with the countries of destination. "Therefore, a lower occupancy of the planes can be expected, as well as tourists with difficulties for repatriation, that is, little critical mass to organize rescue flights," she warns.
A volume of tourists "difficult to quantify"
"This situation will generate a volume of tourists, difficult to quantify, who will be trapped in the Canary Islands and to whom a lodging solution will have to be given so that they can comply with the measures of the state of alarm", the minister stressed.
The assumptions for which the Canary Islands asks to adopt exceptional measures would be, in addition to the unavailability of air and/or maritime connections that facilitate the return, the cases of tourists who are not in sanitary conditions to travel to their country of origin; tourists with functional diversity and reduced mobility unable to organize their return; professionals related to activities necessary to maintain public order in the current situation of the State of Alarm, such as health professionals, ship or aircraft crews, professionals specialized in port and airport management, among others.
For all these cases, it is requested to empower the Government of the Canary Islands to adopt the necessary measures to maintain adequate public and sanitary order, guaranteeing that those tourists who, for reasons beyond their control, have not been able to organize the return to their country of origin, can be temporarily relocated in accommodation that is enabled for this purpose.
These measures could consist of the signing of agreements with those responsible for tourist accommodation establishments, or through their most representative business organizations. For this, a series of tourist establishments would be made available to the administration to accommodate and care for those tourists who find themselves in the situation described. All this, adopting the sanitary security measures and the satisfaction of basic needs.
