Alex Trelinski
TWO hotels will be available free of charge to accommodate any tourists visiting the Valencian Community that have contracted COVID-19.
The move follows a similar initiative introduced in the Canary Islands, but the crucial difference is that medical costs for foreign travellers to the Costa Blanca must continue to be covered via insurance policies or an EHIC card.
British tourists are not covered by UK-based insurance providers due to Spain being classified as a non-essential destination by the Foreign Office.
Therefore unless a visitor has an EHIC card, they face a bill on the Costa Blanca for any form of medical treatment, in contrast to the decision from the Canary Islands.
The Valencian Government will spend €280,000 on hiring the two hotels in Benidorm and Valencia City.
The unnamed premises in Benidorm are designed to serve the whole of Alicante Province including the Costa Blanca.
Coronavirus cases are continuing to rise in the region and Valencia’s secretary for tourism, Francesc Colomer, said that the hotel hirings are aimed at boosting confidence for potential holiday makers:
“In such a difficult time for the tourism sector, we want to guarantee that if any visitor gets they will have somewhere free to stay in isolation in a safe environment.”
The government has gone for two major locations in the region as opposed to several smaller hotels after talks with regional hotel and tourist associations.
Francesc Colomer also praised the work done within the tourism sector to keep everybody safe:
“There has been an enormous effort made to make sure that the highest health and safety standards are maintained to reinforce the image that our region is a safe place to go to.”
