MALAGA: Spain opened its borders to vaccinated travellers from all over the world on Monday, hoping an influx of visitors will revitalise an all-important tourism sector that has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The opening kicks off what many are hoping will be a busy summer tourism season in Europe as vaccine rates pick-up across the continent.

On Monday morning, with the mercury already high, tourists from Germany, Ireland and Belgium could be seen passing through the arrival gates at Malaga airport. At least 20 international flights landed in the morning at the most important tourist gateway in the southern Andalusia region. Visitors arriving in the sun-soaked Spanish resort of Malaga were happy to finally be able to hit the beach after more than a year of lockdown misery.