Dear Reader,

A RETIRED couple from the Midlands contacted Escape this week to say they were planning a big trip in September to celebrate a landmark wedding anniversary.

They wanted to know if they should go ahead and book something straight away (and possibly get a good deal in the process) or wait a few months, hoping the options will be greater once this wretched virus is in retreat.

My honest answer was that I did not know. If it were me, I would book something and look forward to it, but only after agreeing with my travel company exactly what will happen if the holiday has to be cancelled.

It’s the uncertainty that’s so dispiriting. We feel it deeply as consumers — but spare a thought for travel companies operating on tight margins. Many now find themselves stuck between the rock of having furloughed staff and the hard place of needing enough people to deal with unhappy customers whose holiday plans have been ruined.

The Government, meanwhile, is dragging its feet in response to calls by ABTA and others to change the so-called Package Travel Regulations, especially that the 14-day window for refund payments should be extended to four months. Action on this is needed now.

Here at Escape, we want to strike a balance between supporting the travel industry, inspiring you for future trips and keeping our readers informed about what’s really going on.

In addition, on Pages 70-71, our Armchair Traveller suggests ways of keeping the passion for travel alive while stuck at home.

The couple who made contact about their wedding anniversary might want to check out our trips-of-a-lifetime cover story. Any of them would make for a fitting celebration.

And all of us would do well to remember what Seamus Heaney wrote: ‘If we winter this one out, we can summer anywhere.’