Scramble for holidays as global travel opens up
●Agents report a surge in bookings as Covid regulations are eased
Travel agencies in Scotland have reported a surge in bookings as restrictions ease and holidaymakers seek out winter sun.
It was announced this week that countries including South Africa, Mexico and Thailand would be removed from the red list on Monday, meaning travellers arriving from those destinations will no longer need to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel.
And yesterday, the Foreign Office confirmed it was lifting its advice against non-essential travel to 51 countries and territories, making it easier for travellers to obtain travel insurance.
With changes to allow eligible fully vaccinated travellers to use a cheaper and quicker lateral flow test for their post-arrival test – rather than the PCR version – expected by the end of the month, holiday bookings are now surging.
The Travel Company Edinburgh ha s seen its “best week of the year” following the news. The company is expecting bookings for the Maldives and South Africa to pick up even more through the weekend.
Director Ken Mcnab said: “If I was to compare this to throughout the year, this has probably been our best week for the whole year.
"We are doing five times the volume we were doing at the beginning of the year. We’ve had a massive catch-up.
"The difficulty now, though, is there’s a rush on for Christmas and with the price increases it’s making it difficult for people to afford them.
"There should be enough products out there for us to satisfy the customer but it’s coming late in the year and I hope they don’t rush to spend their money now because some won’t be
able to afford a holiday next year.” Barrhead Travel said that the removal of Mexico from the Red List would see a “huge surge” in holiday bookings this weekend in areas such as Cancun, a popular winter-sun destination.
President Jacqueline Dobson said “The confirmation that just a handful of countries will remain on the Red List is a resounding relief for our industry.
"Demand for late bookings is still growing and we expect this announcement will prompt more people to confirm long-awaited plans.”
She said the red list changes coupled with the new, simplified travel guidance, made travel more appealing.
“Some people have not been able to get away on their annual holiday abroad for over two years so the demand for travel is there, particularly now things are much more accessible compared with earlier this summer.
“Our winter market representshalf of our bookings right now and, as airlines and operators react to the announcements by adding additional capacity, I believe we’ll see demand take-off across the month of October.”
British Airways reported a five-fold increase in searches for holidays on its website in the hours after the red-list reduction was announced, compared with the same period during the previous day.
Cancun, Cape Town and Johannesburg were among the most popular destinations.
Virgin Atlantic, meanwhile, said it had seen a 200 per cent increase in bookings to South Africa this week.
Joanne Dooey, president of the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA) the professional body for travel agents and the travel sector in Scotland said it was the “first substantive positive move” towards getting travel moving again not only for holiday makers but for those who are desperate to visit friends and family and for Scottish businesses which trade overseas.
Just seven countries remain on the red list following the changes announced this week. They are Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
The changes were agreed on a four-nation basis, said the Scottish Government, as UK Government Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced the same for England.