Holiday plans for millions of people could be put on hold after suggestions Spain might not be ready for a normal tourism season until the end of summer.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has suggested the country would be "progressively better prepared" to welcome foreign tourists once 70% of its citizens have been vaccinated against COVID-19 - a goal he estimates won't be reached until much later this year.
"Only mass vaccination will open the way to normality that we want," he said on Wednesday, during a speech at the World Tourism Organization conference in Madrid.
"The government is working to vaccinate at the highest possible rate... to reach the end of the summer with 70%, which will allow Spain to be progressively better prepared to receive international tourists."