Terrible toll of SNP’s ban on sun and sangria

ALL the twists and turns (and speculation) regarding quarantines and ‘air bridges’ is now beginning to take on a rather Alice in Wonderland quality. To say that the unfolding events have gone from ‘curiouser to curiouser’ is perhaps not strong enough.

It has been, frankly, a bonkers, rollercoaster ride.

South of the Border, the travel industry was driven to despair over Government leaks about what countries would be on the list of quarantine-free travel, which began almost as soon as quarantine came in on June 8.

Eventually, last Friday, 59 countries were named – and then those employed in travel (not to mention holidaymakers with trips booked) let out a massive collective sigh of relief. Business could continue to all the main destinations in Europe. Game on! With social distancing at hotels and ‘gun-style’ temperature checks at airports, naturally.

Now Nicola Sturgeon is getting in on the act, announcing 39 ‘safe’ countries from Friday, while rejecting others on the UK Government’s list of ‘air bridges’, having made a ‘difficult decision’ to leave out the biggie – Spain – on the grounds that it has a significantly higher prevalence of Covid-19 than in Scotland.

On the face of it, this makes sense. The number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people is 330 in Spain compared with 28 in Scotland, while England has 128.

So Spain is out, for now, although the First Minister dangles the possibility that this could change in days: ‘I know how many people from Scotland enjoy travelling to Spain and I know how much we love welcoming Spanish tourists. My hope is these restrictions can be relaxed soon, and possibly very soon.’

It is all highly frustrating, not just to holidaymakers who have had their plans dashed, but also to the thousands of folks working in the travel industry. The British economy benefits to the tune of £145.9billion a year, according to the Office for National Statistics; 7.2 per cent of national output.

More than £79million is spent annually by the 205,000 Spanish visitors to Scotland alone.

It is very big business and a lot of livelihoods are on the line if travel companies go under – already there have been thousands of airline job losses.

More than 18million Britons, including a large proportion of Scottish tourists, visit Spain each year. It is by far the most popular destination, way ahead of France with 10million visitors.

To announce travel is back on to certain countries – some of which include nations that will not let us in, such as New Zealand and Australia – is quite bizarre.

Tens of thousands who adore the sun, sand and sangria will be no doubt be left bemused today, wondering exactly what ‘possibly very soon’ means.

Is there a figure the First Minister has up her sleeves – a point at which Spain is deemed safe? How many exactly per 100,000? What do the scientists say?

What is clear is that every day ‘lost’ to tourism to Spain will bring both disappointment to tourists and financial woes for travel agents, tour operators and airport staff. Not to mention difficulty securing refunds for packages already booked.

Health is, of course, of paramount importance, yet to leave Spain out does suggest a certain determination to do things differently than down south.

Curiouser and curiouser, yes – and costlier and costlier, too.