Spain is going to be part of the European Union’s ‘Digital Green Certificate’ scheme.
The scheme works via a QR code will allow travellers to show if they’ve had a vaccine, a negative test result or immunity from the virus due to having recently been infected.
Countries such as Spain and its Balearic Islands which includes Ibiza, have economies that heavily rely on the tourism industry. The QR code for the Digital Green Certificate will be free to access in most participating countries, and it’s hoped the certificate will allow a summer holiday period of safe international travel.
Alfredo González is Spain’s general secretary for Digital Health, Information and Innovation, and he said: “This certificate is not a passport, it’s not a travel document, and it’s not a requirement for travel. It’s a mechanism that will facilitate mobility in the European Union. It will respect data protection, safety and privacy. It is planned so that it will not be discriminatory, and that is one of the major advantages.”
If everything runs smoothly, it’s hoped that Spain will welcome around 40 million tourists this summer. That number is around half of what it had expected before the pandemic started in 2019.
Government officials in Ibiza had also made claims that they planned to be the first place in the world to allow tourism using a vaccine certificate system. The Digital Green Certificate is just for people living in the European Union, but is also in talks with the UK about setting up a travel corridor based on a similar system. It’s predicted that the certificate system will be implemented in June to allow European travel, and there is a possibility the UK system could come into effect early as May.
Ibiza is widely regarded as the world’s No.1 holiday destination for clubbers, and there is still a chance of a 2021 season.
H/T: Mixmag