As Europe continues to enforce social distancing rules and impose new lockdowns to tackle another wave of COVID-19, Madrid is looking rather appealing.

Given the new relaxed rules, hundreds of tourists are flocking to the Spanish capital for a taste of what travel used to be before the pandemic struck.

They’re coming to soak up some sun and take a break from the COVID-19 fatigue affecting the rest of the continent. Bars, restaurants, and cafes are busy. Life, for the moment at least, is showing some semblance of being normal.

It’s perhaps a risky if calculated move.

While cities in other European countries, including Italy, return to strickter lockdown measures, Madrid has taken a rather unusual approach compared to its peers in opening up the tourism and hospitality industry, a sector that employs some 13 per cent of Spain’s workforce.

With four million people jobless in the country at the moment, the capital is trying to strike a balance between public health priorities and stimulating the stagnating local economy.

While it may be a good thing for businesses and jobs, the arrival of hordes of foreign travellers is posing a headache for the authorities.

Madrid’s police chief, José Luis Morcillo, says tourists are coming from across Europe. “[They are] not only French nationals but from other parts too,” he said. “They come in groups, and in some cases, they party in their apartments. That creates some problems”.