Will abroad holidays go ahead in summer 2021?
Hotel quarantine, multiple COVID-19 tests and lockdowns mean it's not a good time to book a holiday for this year ...
The government has said that international travel for holidays won’t resume sooner than May 17 from England, with a review of how travel might restart due to report in mid-April. In the government’s lockdown roadmap, international travel for holidays is listed in step 3 (May 17) but it is listed as subject to review. It’s the review date, rather than May 17 when we will get a clearer picture of what is happening with summer holidays.
The fast pace of vaccination in the UK has provided some hope that trips may be able to go ahead in the future. Trips abroad will depend on levels of vaccination at your destination as well as in the UK. Several airlines have introduced policies to check the vaccine and test the status of passengers. It’s still too early to say which countries UK residents may be able to travel to, and what evidence may be required.
The government review in mid-April will assess the global and domestic epidemiological picture, the prevalence and location of any variants of concern, the progress of vaccine rollouts here and abroad, and what more the Government has learned about the efficacy of vaccines on variants, and the impact on transmission, hospitalisation and deaths.
The new coronavirus variants that have appeared in South Africa and Brazil mean that both those destinations, as well as Portugal, are on a list of 33 high-risk countries. Anybody travelling from those countries to England and Wales will need to book into a quarantine hotel approved by the government for a 10-day stay. In Scotland, travellers from all countries will need to use a hotel to quarantine.
If your holiday is before May 17, you should approach your provider for a refund or rebooking. It’s crucial you don’t cancel the holiday, but wait for the provider to do so. If your holiday is on or after May 17, the best advice is to wait and see. The holiday company won’t cancel until the government reports on the resumption (or not) of international travel in mid-April.
It’s unclear how long the hotel quarantine scheme will remain, but it adds substantial risk to holidays this summer. We know from previous travel restrictions, like the travel corridors in 2020, that government rules can change quickly. Later this year you may legally be able to travel to a country not on the red-list, only to find it has been added while you are abroad. That will add thousands to the cost of a family holiday.
If you booked flights and hotels separately then check whether your airline is allowing fee-free changes for your dates. If you do need to change, make sure you do it in time. Some airlines will only allow you to change between seven or 21 days before departure.