HOLIDAY HOPES AS BRITONS KEEP BOOKING
FAMILIES are still booking summer holidays abroad, the Daily Express has learned.
They are using schemes allowing them to reschedule if lockdown measures are still in place.
Holiday operators are said to be delighted about the number of enquiries they have received for many destinations this year.
A travel source said: “People definitely still want their summer holiday and they are still booking.
“People are dreaming and preparing for their next trips. Some travel providers have policies that are more flexible for people booking in the peak summer period.
“People are noticing that and it is making a difference.”
Research by Travel-Supermarket also revealed people are increasingly searching for holiday packages in October and November.
Among the most popular holiday searches are Benidorm, the Maldives, Las Vegas, Tenerife, Orlando, New York, Cancun, Dominican Republic, Dubai and Majorca. Many European countries popular with Britons are beginning to ease their lockdowns, prompting hope of a holiday once travel restrictions are lifted.
Solutions
A travel source said: “Private Facebook groups, where travel professionals get together to network and discuss the latest news, are getting ready for when things open and people will just book.
“Travel providers are messaging privately saying that ‘I’m getting so many enquires about this place or that place’ and that is great.
“There are destinations that are already working on opening back up. People are working together to find solutions and get people travelling soon.”
The Spanish government has said it hopes to reach a “new normality” by the end of June, with beaches expected to reopen by the end of next month.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said each region would relax restrictions at a different pace, depending on the severity of its outbreak. The Canary Islands could be the first popular holiday destination to reopen, with Fuerteventura and Lanzarote likely to welcome tourists first and Gran Canaria and Tenerife at a later date.
The archipelago’s president Angel Victor Torres said: “Let’s see if in July and August we can recover tourism normality.”
Greece’s Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said earlier this week that “we want people to come”.
He added: “Of course, we will take precautions in terms of the requirements before travelling but also in the way that we travel, the way that we stay on the beach.
“Social distancing rules will apply but we have welcomed tourists for more than 50 years and we want to continue showing hospitality that we’re known for.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said this week restrictions on citizens’ movements would be lifted and more shops allowed to reopen from Monday.
Nine tourism ministers across European countries have signed a letter to governments asking them to restart the travel industry. Virgin
Holidays is selling week-long packages to the US from May 11 starting at £961 for a week in New York. Trips to Florida and California are also on sale.
Emma Coulthurst, travel commentator at TravelSupermarket said: “For anyone who decides to book a holiday, I’d advise booking a package, so that your holiday is financially protected.
“If you go down the DIY route, then you should choose no quibble money-back cancellation options for accommodation. Also, a flight out of the UK will be protected under EU Air Passenger Rights 261. For extra consumer protection, pay with a credit card.”
The EU introduced a ban on all non-essential travel into the bloc by non-EU citizens in March, but UK citizens were not banned.
The boss of Heathrow yesterday warned introducing social distancing at airports is impossible.
Chief executive John HollandKaye said a better solution is needed to make air travel safe as he called for the UK to lead the way in developing a common international standard of measures which could include temperature checks for all passengers.
The Foreign Office advises Britons against all but essential international travel, including to popular holiday hotspots such as Spain, Italy and Greece.
Tourism chiefs remain confident lockdown families will be able to holiday in Britain this year – but not before autumn.
Patricia Yates, chief executive of VisitBritain, said research showed the majority of Brits surveyed who had planned a domestic holiday from July to September believe it is unlikely to go ahead. She added: “Those domestic summer holidays lost are not likely to be replaced with only a minority who have cancelled holidays looking to replace them.
“These were most likely to be from October onwards and to rural and coastal destinations.”
Forecasting on the likelihood of salvaging the industry this year has been based on the assumption of a 10-week lockdown that ends at the start of June. Experts have assumed a period between June and August when the tourism sector starts to open. Industry chiefs have anticipated a bounceback period in the last four months of the year when many categories of leisure tourism benefit from pent-up demand and people book up.
VisitBritain has forecast £69.5billion in domestic tourism spend in Britain in 2020 – down 24 per cent on last year.
This comprises £16.7billion from overnight tourism – down 32 per cent on the £24.7billon seen in 2019 and £52.8billion from day trips – down 21 per cent compared to £67billion.