RECAP: Portugal, Israel and Iceland among 12 destinations on UK’s travel ‘green list’

Benidorm mayor begs UK Government to ‘let Brits back’

Benidorm’s mayor is calling on the UK Government to give the resort green traffic light status, saying it is the “place of happiness” for the Brits.

A disappointed Toni Pérez says Benidorm has better data than Portugal, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands and British holidaymakers should be allowed to travel without going into quarantine on their return.

“In view of the accumulated incidence, Benidorm meets the criteria to be green in that traffic light system,” he said.

The Mayor added: “The latest data available from the Spanish health authorities position the Valencian community as the region with the best control of the epidemiological situation. The data for the province of Alicante and Benidorm in particular are highly satisfactory.”

“The cumulative incidence at 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants in the Valencian Community is 40.99 cases, while the general incidence of the province of Alicante and Benidorm is six points lower.

“And compared to the destinations announced in the last hours, Benidorm has better AI data than Portugal (58.9), the Canary Islands (98) or the Balearic Islands (61.6).

He has slammed the decision not to put Spain on the green list as incomprehensible and wants to “personally inform the British ambassador of the reality of the Benidorm tourist destination in which the British market accounts for 40% of the tourist demand for the city.”

The mayor said Benidorm had carried out great work to combat the pandemic, closing its beaches and hotels in March 2020, eight days before the recommendation of the Spanish Government and had organised the repatriation operation of more than 35,000 Britons to preserve them from the incidence of Covid- 19.