The Minister of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, pointed out this Monday that with the quarantine imposed by the United Kingdom on people traveling to Spain as a whole, in the case of the archipelago "at stake" are currently 250 weekly flights and 50,000 air seats.
Castilla stressed that the forecasts were not those of 2019 but "were positive." Therefore, she hopes that the relations between states will bear fruit because she qualified that it is also "important" to take into account that the main tour operators and companies that bring the British to the Canary Islands are in a situation of "delicate liquidity."
For this reason, she stressed that the archipelago is "very important for them but they are also very important" for the islands, because if the "big ones fall", she said, it will be difficult to recover what they contribute, and the situation could "worsen a lot."
Even so, the Canarian Minister of Tourism wants to "trust in the effort" that everyone is making, since since the information was known, she indicated that the Canary Islands has been in talks not only with the central government, but also with the Embassy, with which Castilla will hold a meeting this Monday.
Castilla pointed out that the negotiations are between the Government of Spain and the United Kingdom, although the Canary Islands is "pushing", while thanking all the work that is being carried out not only from public institutions, but also from support from the private sector, both regional and international.
The Minister stressed that the management of the coronavirus pandemic in the Canary Islands "makes the difference", considering that it is a "competitive advantage" compared to other destinations in the current situation, hence she described it as "incoherent" that the Canary Islands are removed from that recommendation not to travel to Spain but the quarantine is maintained for those who travel to the islands.
Finally, she did emphasize that the "perfect lever" for economic reactivation, "sooner rather than later", involves carrying out PCR tests on travelers because although she recognized that there is no zero contagion, it does serve to filter. And she understands that it should be a decision adopted from Europe because, in addition, with so much demand, the cost would be reduced.