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Tenerife, Spain

Tenerife authorities dispel disinformation about coronavirus lockdown

Tenerife authorities dispel disinformation about coronavirus lockdown

The local authorities of the Spanish islands met with tourism representatives to inform them on how things are going

A week ago the Adeje hotel on the beautiful island of Tenerife was locked down with a thousand of guests and staff in place. The reason: an Italian couple tested positive for coronavirus.

The situation received massive media attention and had serious repercussions on local tourism, which is the main source of income for the Spanish island. Now, with no single coronavirus positive guest residing there, it was time for local authorities to begin dispelling doubts and disinformation.

Here is why the President of the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife (Island Council of Tenerife), Pedro Martín, held a meeting on Friday with representatives of Tenerife Tourism, including the Island Tourism Advisor, José Gregorio Martín Plata.

Invited were tour operators in the main origin markets - United Kingdom, France and Germany, representatives of travel agencies, airlines, Ashotel, and the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands.

The meeting had the objective to inform the interested parties in the tourism sector of the actions that are being carried out and to analyse the implications for the tourism sector after the emergence of several cases of COVID-19 in the south of the Island.

No more Covid-19 positives in Adeje hotel, Tenerife

"The main drawback today that we have in the Adeje hotel is not the coronavirus but the misinformation that has been generated around it. At this time, there is no one affected in the hotel, moreover, the people diagnosed are isolated and controlled, and by the way, they are doing very well," said President Martín, quoted by the council`s portal.

In his opinion, the next important step would be to establish a connection with those who bring tourists to the local hotels - the tour operators and to explain exactly how the situation has been handled and what measures are being taken.

“Today the good news is that with every passing moment the situation is being normalized, the forecasts suggest that no new affected people will appear; the feeling we have, and what the health authorities transmit to us, is that this will not occur; therefore, I think we will be able to overcome this whole situation in a very short time” continued Pedro Martín.

He also specified that the authorities have started coordinated operations between tour operators and Tenerife Tourism to transfer directions to customers and facilitate transit to their countries.  This completely new situation, he is hoping, will serve as a lesson and an experience for the future, should a similar scenario occur.

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