Germans warned it is 'more than unlikely' they can go to Spain on holiday
German tourists topped ranking of visitors to Catalonia last year and were among biggest foreign spenders
Germany's tourism commissioner has warned the German public that they will not be able to go to Spain on holiday this year because of the Covid-19 crisis.
In an interview with the ZDF television channel, Thomas Bareiss said it was "more than unlikely that tourist trips to Spain, Greece or Turkey would resume quickly."
The German market is the second largest in terms of the number of holidaymakers who come to Spain, with more than 11 million visitors coming in 2019.
German tourists were second in terms of the numbers who visited Catalonia in March, when the crisis began, and when there were 68% fewer foreign visitors than last March.
The commissioner's words chime with those of the UK's ambassador to Madrid, Hugh Elliot, who warned the British that they will not be able to go to Spain "in the coming months."
Meanwhile, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has also advised European citizens against planning summer holidays in another EU country.
Foreign visitors spent €21bn in Catalonia last year
The loss of foreign tourist revenue to the Catalan economy will be huge. Last year, visitors from abroad spent a total of 21.3 billion euros, a 4.1.% increase over 2018.
Catalonia was the place in Spain that got the most foreign visitors last year, 19.3 million, with tourists from Germany topping the ranking and making up 19.9% of the total.
Last year, visitors from Germany were also among the biggest spenders in Catalonia, after the British and the French, spending a total of 7.5 billion euros.