Gjøran Dolve looks around the room sadly, which on a normal Thursday afternoon in July would be full of holiday-minded Norwegians.
– Yes, then it would have been pretty good with life here at this time here. Calm and popular with some sports on TV and music in the background, says Dolve to TV 2.
But now it has known The cuckoo nest bore in Magaluf has been closed since last autumn. The season opening should have been in April, but then the coronavirus ravaged Spain and the country was shut down.
Now, when everything has opened up and it is allowed to travel again, Norwegians shine with their absence on the popular tourist island in the Mediterranean.
– No, I’ve seen someone yet. Had I done that, it would have already been open here, says the bar owner.
Tourist rush without Norwegians
Every day, more than 100 planes now arrive in Mallorca from various European countries.
This indicates that tourism is at full speed up again and that between 15 and 20 thousand visitors flock to the island every day.
But after the Norwegian government opened up for foreign travel on Wednesday, there has not yet been a direct flight from Norway.
José Antonio Sola, who runs the Scandinavian hotel Vista Sol in Magaluf, would normally have had at least 60 Norwegian guests at this time. Now he does not quite understand what is happening.
– We are waiting with longing for the Norwegians because they are so important to us, sighs Sola.
Hotel director José Sola is completely dependent on Norwegian tourists, and does not understand where they end up. Photo: Elias Engevik, TV 2
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He speculates that the strict travel restrictions Norwegians have been subjected to have made them afraid to fly – or to come to Spain at all.
Stronger back in the fall
Spain was one of the countries in Europe hardest hit by the coronavirus in March.
After an eight-week total shutdown, the Spaniards declared victory over the epidemic on June 21. But in recent days, the infection has flourished again in several places, including Mallorca.
In the last 24 hours alone, there have been over 580 new cases, the newspaper reports The country.
Bareier Gjøran Dolve still believes that the island is very safe to travel to, with the measures that have been put in place.
– When everyone talks about Spain being hit hard, it is mainland Spain they mean. There has been very little here.
Dolve believes that the sour Norwegian autumn and winter will bring sun-hungry Norwegians back to the island, where he has been a permanent resident for the past seven years.
At best, he hopes there will be a change over the next few weeks so he can reopen his bar.
– What I look forward to most is seeing people again and opening up. Seeing people laugh and enjoy themselves as they normally would at this time. That is what we are known for, and that is what I have missed the most, says the bar owner to TV 2.
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