President Sánchez travels to La Mareta, Macron to Brégançon, and Biden to Camp David: Government Leaders' Summer Getaways Never Stop

As August approaches, a large part of the Western world experiences a slowdown in administrative matters, leading to a significant reduction in institutional activities. These activities typically resume in September, coinciding with the start of a new round of executive, legislative, and institutional duties, ushering in a veritable boom of events that lasts until almost the end of December.

During this time, a considerable portion of the press focuses on the holiday destinations chosen by prime ministers, presidents, heads of state, or ministers during the summer. Although most media outlets cover this topic, the focus shifts away from politics, providing citizens with almost a travel report on the chosen destinations of these authorities, sometimes even conducting exhaustive analyses of the locations, climates, and gastronomy.

However, while many media outlets overlook this aspect when reporting on these trips, it's important not to forget that these government leaders continue to hold their rank and institutional status even during their vacations, which implies an unusual deployment of resources in these locations.

Most prime ministers, presidents, or heads of state usually have fixed vacation residences, which almost always belong to the state's assets. For example, the President of France typically retires during the summer to the beautiful town of Brégançon, an ideal coastal destination for the hot months. In Italy, the prime destination is La Maddalena in the northeastern region of Sardinia. In Spain, there are several official residences for the Prime Minister, with the most popular ones being Palacio de Las Marismillas in Doñana National Park or La Mareta on the idyllic island of Tenerife.

Across the Atlantic, the President of the United States has several residences at their disposal, with Camp David being an ideal destination both in summer and winter, thanks to its secluded location in the forests of Maryland.

There are countless examples, with these being some of the most famous or well-known ones. The impact of a government leader's vacation visit on a destination is tremendous, as it puts the spotlight on the location during their stay. It's not uncommon for them to visit public and even crowded places, attracting a large number of people and media.

Moreover, the destination benefits from this visit throughout the year, as many tourists place it on their maps and, emulating the government leaders, engage in tourism in these places, resulting in increased occupancy rates.

Therefore, when a prime minister or head of state retreats for a vacation in August - especially in the Western world, as mentioned before - they do not abandon their responsibilities. In fact, they continue to fulfill their institutional roles if required.

This is why the summer travels of these personalities also involve the deployment of an important team of professionals in areas such as security, protocol, transportation, gastronomy, travel and activity organization, communication, and more.

The reason for implementing such security measures during a government leader's vacation is that, even during their time off, they remain a head of government, which comes with all the implications. Consequently, during their travels, many of them require an escort to guarantee both their physical integrity and their right to privacy and rest.

Transportation also plays a crucial role in ensuring security, privacy, and data protection. As a result, it is common for prime ministers, presidents, heads of state, and, to a lesser extent, ministers, to use official or private transportation to meet these needs, whether they are on official duty or not.

Regarding gastronomy, leisure activities, and activity organization, many of these aspects are typically handled by the respective government's Travel Unit. This unit can either be an internal part of the leader's team or an external agency, such as a travel agency or intermediary. The latter option is often preferred by these high-level travellers during vacations since these agencies, experienced and certified, are well-acquainted with the destination, allowing them to offer the best options in the aforementioned aspects.

Last but not least, we must mention the communication team that accompanies the government leader for various reasons. Firstly, despite being on vacation, any developments that arise during this time require an immediate response from the prime minister, president, or head of state. Therefore, this team is responsible for conveying and advising on such matters. Secondly, transparency also plays a crucial role in these leaders' vacations, and many of them opt to continue generating content for their institutions and communication channels, such as press releases, social media, etc., elements increasingly valued and important to the public.

As the summer retreat comes to an end, these government leaders are often met with packed schedules, filled with travels and events, coinciding with the start of September when all governmental and institutional activities resume unofficially.