Isha Sesay
AUSTRIA has begun negotiations with the Balearic Government on the possibility of joining the pilot tourism test.
The Austrian ambassador to Spain, Christian Ebner, embarked on an official visit to Mallorca this week in order to learn about the sanitary measures put in place to protect visitors from coronavirus.
First meeting with President Francina Armengol, Ebner was told about the different projects the Government had launched to recover tourism in the region.
This included the pilot test for tourism which has so far welcomed almost 11,000 German citizens into the Balearic Islands.
Armengol assured that the autonomous community had ‘successfully overcome the health crisis’ and that ‘healthcare would be guaranteed to every visitor should they be diagnosed with COVID-19.’
Next on the agenda was a visit to Palma Mayor Jose Hila, who explained all measures that the island had adopted to halt the spread of the virus.
Hila detailed the restrictions enforced in the ‘new normality,’ where extra precautions have been taken in the hospitality sector.
Speaking at a press conference, the Ambassador said the purpose of his visit was to ‘demonstrate to Austrian citizens that Mallorca is now a safe destination for tourism.’
Ember went on to praise the pilot test, stating his intentions to get the ‘ball rolling’ so that Austria could join Germany in the trial.
It comes as the Minister for Tourism, Iago Negueruela, revealed that the pilot tourism test had ‘been a resounding success’ for the region.
Negueruela estimates that the plan has been worth the equivalent of €35 million in international tourism promotion.
This he said is thanks to the test gaining the attention of leading publications such as The New York Times, as well as reaching more than 60 million people in Germany and the UK,
