Spain to allow EU and UK tourists in without quarantine from June 21

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British tourists will be able to enter Spain from June 21 without the need to quarantine, the Spanish government has announced.

Spanish borders are scheduled to reopen on June 21 to fellow European member states and Schengen area countries. 

The UK is also included in the list and no citizens will be subjected to quarantine.

Most EU countries have reopened their borders to other European countries but a number of them — including France, Greece, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands — require travellers from the UK and other higher-risk countries to self-isolate for 14 days.

With more than 42,600 deaths recording since the outbreak of the disease, Britain is Europe's most heavily impacted country. Globally, it stands only behind the US and Brazil.

Arancha Gonzalez, Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs, stressed however that there will be "sanitary checks at the border" and that everyone must "strictly follow health recommendations".

The tourism sector is the third biggest contributor to the Spanish economy, accounting for more than 11 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product.

Britain is the main country of residence of international visitors. In 2019, of the 83.7 million international tourists who visited Spain, more than 18 million were British. They were followed by Germans (11.17 million) and French nationals (11.15 million).

The UK, meanwhile, requires anyone entering the country from abroad to self-isolate for 14 days and is reportedly in talks with some EU countries to create so-called air bridges to allow for travel.