Holidaymakers returning to Spain "will have to sunbathe 6ft apart" once the locked-down beaches reopen at the end of the coronavirus crisis.
Spain's once-packed beaches may never be the same again as tourism leaders admit holiday-makers will still have to keep a safe distance from one another.
All of the country's beaches are currently off-limits to everyone, as is swimming in the sea, under the Spanish Government's March 14th State of Emergency rules which will last well into May at the earliest.
But once the physical barriers on the seafront promenades are removed, Minister of Tourism, Reyes Maroto says tourists will still have to keep their distance for a while, not just within the resorts and hotels but on the beaches as well.
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She said the tourism sector will have a slower exit from the Covid-19 pandemic and has called for a European plan to avoid the bankruptcy of airlines.
Amid fears that many hotspots will be severely hit until 2021 at the least, Spain's Executive is already working with the Spanish Tourism Council on different exit scenarios for the tourism sector.
Reyes Maroto said the negative impact was"difficult to calculate" as it would depend on the duration of the health crisis.
"We have to guarantee that the tourist sector has sufficient aid to last longer than other sectors, which will open their shutters sooner," she said.
Talking to Spanish newspaper El Pais, she the government's plans are to "reposition" Spain as a safe destination from the health point of view and to encourage Spaniards to holiday at home.
"The stimulation of national tourism will come first, international tourism will cost more. We depend on the evolution of the pandemic and we have to guarantee, when international tourism opens, that the person who comes to Spain is a safe person.
"The profitability of the tourism sector will undoubtedly be reduced because we will not have the capacity to mobilise 87 million tourists as at present," she added.
The minister said safe distances would have to continue "even on the beaches" but said it was too early to say whether tourists arriving at Spanish airports would have to have their temperature taken.
She also said she did not know at this stage how any social distancing on the beaches would be reinforced.
