After more than a year without contact, Spain’s Ministry of Tourism has resumed talks with the Balearic Nightlife Association (ABONE). The bar and nightclub advocacy group intends to negotiate a July reopening in the islands of Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca and Formentera as ongoing vaccination campaigns continue to quell the threat of COVID-19.
ABONE President Miguel Pérez-Marsá noted that various factors could push the date back longer, to be sure. According to Diario de Mallorca, he said that government officials could require further progress be made in vaccinations before restrictions on establishments are lifted, for example.
In the meantime, the Monday meeting with Tourism Minister Iago Negueruela marked a step in a favorable direction for nightlife. The open dialogue will allow both parties to negotiate the protocols necessary for nightclubs to resume operations.
In June 2020, Negueruela had imposed reopening guidelines that disallowed tourism to Spain through the end of the year. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez estimated in February that the country wouldn’t be vaccinated sufficiently for tourism by the end of the summer, but Spain is now aiming to allow 40 million visitors in summer 2021.
Pérez-Marsá took over as president over ABONE a matter of days before talks resumed, but he did not indicate why communication broke down prior.
