Mallorca resort to open ‘Covid-safe’ air bridge for German tourists

A group of hoteliers based in the resort of Palma Beach by Mallorca’s main airport has announced that it will be ready for German visitors from July 1 after reaching an agreement to open “tourism corridors” with several airports in Germany.

Palma Beach CEO Juan Miguel Ferrer said the resort would be “Europe’s safest destination” despite Spain having the largest Covid-19 epidemic among EU countries with more than 233,000 cases and close to 28,000 deaths.

“The pillars are that this is a safe destination, near Palma airport and the city’s hospitals,” said Mr Ferrer, adding that the dimensions of the four-mile-long beach and large terrace bar areas mean the offering is distinct from the “mass tourism” typical of other Mallorca resorts in a typical high season.

Palma Beach said it had worked with local authorities and German tour operators to bring about the agreement, which will serve as a pilot study to help other resorts prepare for Covid-safe tourism.

Palma airport began take the temperature of all arriving passengers earlier this month, but international travellers landing anywhere in Spain are currently required to observe a two-week quarantine period.

The Balearic Islands government, which expects the archipelago’s GDP to take a 30 per cent hit this year due to lost tourism revenues, hopes that quarantine rules will be lifted by the time the main islands of Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca exit lockdown restrictions at the end of June.

“We are ready and working on pilot projects to start before the end of June,” said Francina Armengol, president of the Balearic Islands.

“It may be that German visitors are able to come here before people from Madrid, but the most important thing is health.”