NOW that the 'State of Alarm' is over, residents being summoned for vaccines are getting younger and lower-risk, masks no longer have to be worn outside and contagion rates are dropping dramatically, Spain as a whole can finally start thinking in earnest about going away on holiday.
Hopefully, nearly a year and a half into the pandemic, a second fiesta-free summer and the likelihood of British tourists not heading here for a while – except the Balearic Islands - or for the first three weeks in July at least – we haven't all gotten out of the habit of doing those things we used to love, like hanging out with friends in cafés and bars, going to restaurants, watching or taking part in festival parades, and taking weekend mini-breaks or full-blown vacations.
And if we have, with luck, it won't last.
The great news is that search engines for package tours, excursions and hotel and holiday apartment rooms are starting to climb.
Why summer is still peak holiday time for Spanish residents
In the past, most Spanish companies and the vast majority of the public sector shut down for the whole of August and, even though this is no longer practical and workers rarely get a double pay-packet that month now, things certainly do seem to slow down in the country from the end of the school year (mid-late June) until it restarts (first or second week in September) except in those areas that make most of their full year's living from tourists. Most business premises have air-conditioning these days, but where work isn't always indoors, it's generally too hot to be bothered. And too hot for your customers to be bothered with anything particularly energetic.
As a result, Spaniards are in the habit of taking their annual holidays in summer, normally all their year's leave at once (standard practice, harking back to the days of having the whole of August off), and they love a bit of sunshine, beach and pool as much as any northern European.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com