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He highlighted the exceptional and difficult position that the Canary Islands are in due to Coronavirus. They are the least affected area of Spain in terms of case numbers but the most economically damaged.
Torres expects Canarian government revenues in 2020 to drop by at least 25% (a 600 million euro shortfall) and also said that from an economic perspective the islands' hotels cannot stay closed for the whole of 2020.
The Canarian authorities plan to allow hotels to open as soon as is prudent. He warned that June is likely to be too soon but that hotels could open in July and August for inter-island and national tourism. He also stated that international tourists could start to return from October.
Air Europa has already announced that it plans to start flying between Spain and the Canary Islands from June 1st if flights are permitted.
This time frame depends on other European countries opening up their borders and airspace, and on the return of international flights. If the reactivation of international tourism is not possible during 2020, the Canary Islands will need significant financial support from the Spanish government, or to be allowed to take on extra debt.
