Spain has announced on March 12th it will allow holidaymakers from the UK, but this contradicts the UK government’s plans to restrict people from leaving the UK.

Yesterday the UK government announced it would start issuing fines of £5000 to anyone flying abroad that did not have a valid reason for travel.

Holidays and visiting relatives are not considered valid reasons, which is bad news for Spain which relies heavily on UK tourism as part of its economy.

María Jesús Montero is one of Spain’s government spokespeople, and on Tuesday the 23rd of March said that “Spain is a safe country that is strictly following the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the experts.”

Currently, the UK governments international travel restrictions are set to be in place until the 17th of May. More information about international travel is expected to come in early April.

Spain has so far made its announcement specifically about the UK, which is presumably because the area has a much lower COVID-19 infection rate compared to other parts of Europe.

H/T: Mixmag