Spain might not be open to mass international tourism until the end of summer. This is what Spanish Prime minister Pedro Sánchez has estimated in a recent meeting with Executive Council Of The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The Spanish president has reassured that he is not willing to open the country’s doors to mass tourism until, at least, 70% of the population has been vaccinated, which he predicts might be around September later this year.
These measures have indeed a big impact in the country’s economy and more specifically, in the local live music industry. It is a known fact that Spain has an immense live music scene, hosting some of the most iconic festivals in Europe, including electronic music events like Sónar, Barcelona Beach Festival, DGTL Barcelona and Madrid, Unite with Tomorrowland, Dreambeach, Sensation Madrid Medusa and venues like ElRow, not to mention the legendary island of Ibiza, with clubs like Ushuaïa, Hï, Amnesia, Privilege and Pacha, which every summer offer the most stacked and iconic residencies in electronic music.
But big major festivals and events will not only be the ones that will suffer these consequences, but also the smaller organisations, which might disappear as a result of Spain going inactive for the second summer in a row. In a recent interview with Resident Advisor, the co-founders of the Techno party Hex stated the following:
“Barcelona is a very beautiful city that naturally attracts tourism…Some of these people come to discover the cultural side of the city. So this new measure will just directly affect and maybe even kill the few organisations dedicated to entertainment still alive…We hope that the government will soon realise how fundamental this side of the city is, and how much the lack of direct help on their part (economically and measures-wise) is writing a non-bright future for us all.”
Therefore, the government is ignoring the results of the recent Covid-19 concert experiment implemented by Primavera Sound, which successfully hosted an event for 500 people and adopted many safety measures that resulted in no attendants testing positive.
Image Credit: Ushuaïa Ibiza (via Facebook)
