Greece offers winter sun as UK’S half-term bookings plummet

Restrictions have forced families to cancel holidays, with some hotel occupancy down to ‘virtually zero’

WINTER sun is back on the table for half-term holiday makers amid a rush of cancellations of domestic trips. Hotels in the UK reported a surge in dropouts, with some losing more than half their bookings after the introduction of the new tier system for regional lockdowns.

But the lifting of the travel ban to the Greek island of Crete gave sun-seekers a glimmer of hope, even as Italy became the latest major destination to be subject to quarantine rules yesterday.

Data from Travelsupermarket, the holiday comparison site, showed that interest in package trips to the Greek islands of Zante, Santorini, Kos and Rhodes in October has soared in the last week and a half. Meanwhile, Crete was also taken off the quarantine list.

Emma Coulthurst, from the site, said travellers were opting for places free from quarantine restrictions.

Domestically, accommodation providers said there was a sharp uptick in cancellations for what was already shaping up to be an unusually quiet

October half-term. Travel experts also bemoaned the confusing, frequently changing rules which have left them unable to tell customers of the requirements they must adhere to.

Tom Hughes, of holiday let firm Clickstay, said he was fielding queries from clients unsure of how the “rule of six” applies in different settings. He said: “People are asking me if it’s OK for two families to go to a hotel staying in two rooms, is it OK to rent a four-bedroom holiday rental? It’s a contradiction in people’s minds.”

Restrictions announced by local officials in the devolved nations have also taken their toll. Andrew Evans, the owner of St Brides Hotel in Pembrokeshire, Wales, said he had lost bookings for the half-term weekend.

“We’ve gone from a projected occupancy for this month of 75 per cent down virtually to zero”, he said. “So, any restrictions dramatically affect us.”

He said the hotel is contacting visitors from postcodes classified as “high risk” to advise them of the current guidance from the Welsh Government and the venue’s own protocols.

He added: “We take our responsibility seriously to keep our staff, community and guests safe, with a warm welcome and high standards of service.”

William Griffiths, owner of the Angel Hotel and the Walnut Tree Inn in Abergavenny, said the occupancy rate for the half-term week is currently 15 per cent. “This is unheard of and pales in comparison to last year’s half-term occupancy of 70 per cent,” he said. “As the weeks go on, it’s looking more and more like there will be a national lockdown over half-term and this message has obviously been having a huge effect on forward bookings.”

Meanwhile, t he Government announced yesterday that Italy is to have quarantine reimposed after a steep rise in Covid cases but Crete is to have its travel ban lifted to become one of the few remaining European destinations for half-term winter sun.

Britons in Italy will have until 4am on Sunday to return to the UK to avoid 14 days’ self-isolation after it was hit by a second wave of Covid-19, registering its highest daily tally so far on Wednesday.

Italy’s Covid-19 rate rose to 64.4 cases per 100,000 of the population and it has the second highest death toll on the Continent.

It means only Greece and its islands – including Crete – and Cyprus remain as winter sun destinations.

The only other quarantine-free states are Germany, Sweden and Estonia.