Hello and welcome to today's independent travel podcast with me, Simon Calder, and thanks very much indeed for joining me.

A little earlier than usual today, but that's because it's really important to correct something that I said yesterday.

Let me talk you through the story.

At roundabout, well, just before lunchtime yesterday,

the Spanish tourist office suddenly said,

Ah, we are going to allow unvaccinated British travellers in

as long as you have a negative lateral flow test taken within 24 hours of arrival.

Absolutely fine.

Now, we were very much expecting that.

Spain is clearly keen to get its tourism industry back and running.

The previous week, France had decided we're going to allow unvaccinated British travellers

in with a test.

So it was no surprise that Spain was opening up to unjabbed British visitors.

However, about eight hours later, yes, I was.

I wasn't actually enjoying a drink, although I do generally

very much enjoy a drink. And I was alerted to the fact that they had retracted this position. And

unfortunately, this all stemmed from, what I suspect, a kind of error in interpretation, not in translation, because very good linguists at the Spanish tourist office, but they saw the official bulletin and everybody wanted to believe that things were going to get easier.

You know, for whatever reason people are not vaccinated,

it's good that people are able to travel.

And we do, going forward, need to have some kind of system

whereby unvaccinated people will be able to travel.

Whether that's tests, whatever it might be,

...