Is the Netherlands strict enough? ‘Threshold to go to country with negative travel advice must be higher’

As Spain is struggling with new corona outbreaks, Belgium has tightened the travel advice for that country. The Netherlands has now also done this for certain parts in Spain. There are now voices to make our form of travel advice stricter.

Due to new outbreaks in Spain, Israel and Portugal, many people are reconsidering their holiday plans. Belgium has tightened its travel advice for Spain, after the Catalan city of Lleida and the surrounding area went into lockdown on Saturday. Belgians returning from Catalonia are also advised to have a corona test taken and to be quarantined until the result.

Local fires

“In Spain it concerns local hot spots, all tourist spots are easily accessible”, says director Frank Oostdam of the General Dutch Association of Travel Companies (ANVR).

According to Oostdam, Dutch people should therefore simply go to it advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs listen. He can imagine it is confusing now Belgium are travel advice has already tightened. “But Belgium has a different color system.” Where the Netherlands has four colors in terms of travel advice – green, yellow, orange and red – Belgium only has three. “So their orange is comparable to say our yellow plus.”

You can (not) go on holiday to these countries this summer

One European travel advice

‘Yellow plus’ or not, MPs Suzanne Kröger (GroenLinks) and Jan Paternotte (D66) want to change the system of travel advice. Last Thursday they filed a motion to tighten the travel advice. Or to at least align with other European countries. “It is confusing when all kinds of different travel advice applies within Europe,” says Jan Paternotte of D66.

“Schiphol is such a global aviation hub, we as a country should take the lead in protecting the population as well as possible. Hopefully, this will help us to prevent a second wave as well as possible,” he says.

Interests of countries

According to Paternotte, it is best to look at Belgium’s travel advice as an example. “Belgium has a somewhat stricter policy,” says Paternotte, “In addition to your passport, you must also have a statement with you that shows that it is imperative that you travel to an orange area.” It is therefore much more difficult as a Belgian to travel to a country with travel advice.

Safety must always be a priority, according to Paternotte. “It is difficult for the different interests of countries to play a role,” he says. “There are plenty of countries that badly need tourism. But public health must always come first. The barrier to going to a country with negative travel advice must be raised.”

‘No greater chance of infection than the Netherlands’

But what travel advice do you now follow as a holidaymaker with the plan to go to Spain? Currently, epidemiologist Patricia Bruijning considers the risks of traveling to Spain or Portugal acceptable. “These are local outbreaks, I don’t think the risk of contracting corona is that much greater than in the Netherlands. That does not mean that you should not keep an eye on it.”

If people really want to avoid all risks, they better stay at home, she says. “And then they should not go to the campsite or sit in a full restaurant.”