CORONA CRISIS UP UP AND AWAY
Bookings up by 50% as Brits race to escape to the sun
STUCK-AT-HOME Brits yesterday shrugged off coronavirus fears and scrambled to book cutprice holidays.
I know our customers will be ecstatic that their summer is saved. We’ve already seen bookings increase by 50 per cent.”
Experts say UK holidaymakers are seeing the best bargains in years.
You can currently book seven nights’ self-catering for a family of four in Albir – on the Costa Blanca in Spain – for £224pp in August, down from £363, while a week in Kavos, Corfu, in September costs just £145pp.
Holiday cost comparison site Travelsupermarket says prices are down by 37 per cent on last year in Portugal, 23 per cent in Majorca, 22 per cent in the Costa del Sol, 19 per cent in the Canary Islands and 17 per cent in Greece.
The firm’s Emma Coulthurst said: “For the height of summer in August, these are some of the best prices on offer we’ve seen in the outbound market for many years.
“Discounting will need to prevail to encourage people to travel, and destinations are pulling out all the stops to attract UK tourists.”
But holidaymakers are being warned that if they contract Covid-19 while abroad, they will be forced to self-isolate for 14 days after returning home.
All travellers coming back to the UK will also have to provide contact details in case an outbreak is traced to their flight, and follow social distancing measures on flights and ferries, such as wearing face masks.
Travel restrictions are expected to be lifted from July 6, but Greece’s tourism minister, Haris Theoharis, yesterday warned it could be up to three weeks before the country is happy to open up an air bridge to the UK, as talks with their health experts are continuing.