Europe’s tourism test: How do you bring in tourists and not an outbreak, too?

Alberto Coll Suárez races around the patio of Meraki, a disposable face mask hanging precariously in the balance as he clears coffee cups and saucers from a handful of tables. Mr. Coll Suárez’s cafe-bar in this tourist town has been nearly full since reopening July 13. Business is better than expected, but concerns about the coronavirus linger on.

“I’m anxious,” he says. “The movement of so many people means we don’t know what will happen.”

With much of Europe tentatively returning to a semblance of normal life after several months of pandemic-induced lockdown, the opportunity for travel during the summer season has returned. But while resort towns like Puerto de la Cruz, reliant on tourism, are keen to try to make ends meet by courting travelers who dare hop on a plane, they must balance that against the serious public health concerns that remain.

Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage

Caution in the Canary IslandsFrustrations in Greece“Salvage operation”