After a punishing year, the Spanish tourism sector is desperately in need of good news. But instead, the new law making face masks mandatory in all public spaces regardless of the distance between people has come as an additional blow. Until now, the law only imposed the use of masks if a safe distance of 1.5 meters could not be respected.
The change in the law went largely unnoticed until it was flagged up by EL PAÃS, despite its publication in the Official State Bulletin (BOE). The obligation to keep mouths and noses covered in public spaces, including the beach and swimming pool, will undoubtedly put a number of tourists off coming to Spain, according to industry pundits who point out that businesses were not consulted on the measure.