Spain Tightens Restrictions on Travelers

As Spain looks to try a new approach in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the European nation is tightening its restriction on travelers entering the country.

Spain will now require U.S. visitors to have proof of a booster shot in addition to their vaccination if the date of their vaccine is more than 270 days prior to arrival, according to our sister publication Travel Weekly.

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The booster needs to be taken at least 14 days prior to arrival.

The new mandate goes into effect on February 1, 2022 and comes at an intersection of disappointing news mixed with optimism. Spain recorded more than 180,000 positive cases of the virus last week, yet at the same time a European industry association predicted that the country could reach 88 percent of its tourism rate this year that it had pre-pandemic.

Tourism experts Exceltur said it expects the second-most visited country in the world prior to the pandemic would grow to almost 90 percent this year after it stalled at 57 percent in 2021, according to a report by Reuters News Service.

Spain also said it is trying to be a leader among European nations when it comes to handling COVID.

According to an article in the Irish Times, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said countries need to start treating the as “an endemic disease rather than a pandemic.”

Health Minister Carolina Darias said: “We have to go from an emergency-style vigilance to one of better quality and which is compatible with other respiratory phenomena. Spain wants to lead this debate.”

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