Welcome Mr. British: UK tourists travel to Malaga without PCR
With a big smile that could be seen behind the mask, Sasha and Samuel made an effort this Monday to find a taxi that would take them to their apartment in Benalmádena. Just landed at the Malaga airport, this English couple had not set foot on the Costa del Sol for more than a year because of the Covid and for that reason, their faces dazzled the brightness of the reunions. ?We were looking forward to going back; Malaga is our second home and we don't know how to live without spending a few months here, ?he confessed in a struggling Spanish.
Like them, many English tourists have landed in the province on a day that will be remembered by the entire tourism sector, which welcomes them with open arms in the purest 'Welcome Mr Marshall' style, albeit in a British version. From today, travelers from the United Kingdom will not have to provide a PCR test to enter Spain, which will undoubtedly facilitate the arrival of tourists. Visitors from Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Israel, South Korea, Thailand and Rwanda, which are now considered safe non-EU countries, will not need this document either.
Sasha and Samuel arrived in the capital of the Costa del Sol at 4.15 pm on a flight from London and plan to stay for a minimum of two weeks. His intention is to get everything ready for the family to come in July. "We English highly value the Coast because the weather is very good and we are tired of being at home," she said.
Although the flight was full, tourists were not the majority, as many people also came on business trips. For now, the obligation to keep a quarantine on the return has stopped many families, who will wait for the situation to improve somewhat.
Louis Williams, a citizen who appreciated being able to travel without having to present a Covid test, also appeared at the arrivals terminal. "I understand that it is a measure to contain the virus, but it makes tourists think about it more when traveling." In his case, he has traveled on business, something he had not done for five months. "The plane came complete, although at the moment there are few flights from London," he confessed.
On the other side of the door (since the Covid began, you have to wait for passengers outside the terminal) was Claudia Ettlin, a Swiss mother who lives in Chiclana and had traveled to the capital to pick up her son, who was returning. on vacation after half a year studying abroad. I'm looking forward to seeing it; the months have become too long and longer with the whole pandemic, "he confessed with one eye on the arrivals gate.
Express visit
The relaxation of the measures also allowed Anniko and Mytthe to reach Malaga. Both young women have made an express trip to visit their friend Josephine, who is studying on the Costa del Sol and they have not seen her for five months. Without fear or shame, the three of them began hugging and kissing at the very exit of the terminal as if they had not seen each other for a century. What if a long time ago? Five months; that's too long, ?they opined.
During the day of this Monday, the first in which it is not mandatory to present a PCR test at the airport, the arrival of four flights from London is expected, and for tomorrow another three. However, it is estimated that the number of travelers will increase as June approaches and the bulk of hotels will open along the entire coast. The real 'Welcome, Mr British' will then occur.
