Lloret de Mar: first to offer PCR tests to tourists returning home

Lloret de Mar, in Catalonia’s Costa Brava, will be the first tourist destination throughout Spain to offer PCR tests to visitors for €52, half the usual price.

The service, organised by the local hotels and restaurants association, aims to promote tourism and encourage visits as currently many countries ask that a negative PCR result taken 72-hours before arrival is presented in order to return. Rapid antigen tests will also be on offer for €20.

It was announced on Friday that people will be able to access these tests at the local athletics track without having to select a time in advance. The new testing service will run from Monday to Saturday (Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 10:30am and Saturday to Sunday 8:30 to 9:30am) with same day results (between 7 and 8pm) to be communicated by e-mail. Moreover, Dotras confirms that they will be as “safe and valid” as is necessary. 

In order to make the test even more accessible to tourists, the service will be offered in four languages: Catalan, Spanish, English and French. The tourist board has also said that they are prepared to introduce other languages too depending on demand.

Moreover, if over 20 people request a test, it can be carried out at the hotel that they are staying in (or in fact, anywhere that they want). While it will require a reservation, it will not alter the price of the test.

With the help of this initiative, the head of Lloret de Mar’s hotels and restaurants association, Enric Dotras, expects 70% of the number of visitors that there were pre-pandemic. While currently there is still quite a lot of availability, mayor Jaume Dulsat, highlights that almost half of the resort’s tourists come from neighbouring areas (from Catalonia, Spain and the south of France), and are much more likely to book “last minute”. As a result, the actual number of visitors this summer will be higher than what predictions suggest right now.