No holidays for those without vaccine, Saga tells passengers
SAGA has announced that it will only allow those who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to travel.
While outlining its plans to begin offering trips from May 2021, the cruise and holiday operator said it had written to customers who have booked trips this year and informed them that it was a requirement to have had both jabs of the coronavirus vaccine at least 14 days before travelling.
It is the first cruise line to insist on a vaccine, and the rules apply to both domestic and overseas holidays.
It comes just a week after Gloria Guevara, the chief executive of the World Travel and Tourism Council, said needing proof of vaccination to travel could lead to “discrimination”.
But Saga said the “health and safety of our customers has always been our number one priority... Our customers want the reassurance of the vaccine and to know others travelling with them will be vaccinated, too”.
The over-50s specialist had been due to resume operations in April, but has pushed back its return. As well as package holidays and escorted tours, Saga Holidays offers seagoing cruises, with its latest ship Spirit of Adventure due to embark on her maiden voyage on May 4. Cruise writer Dave Monk said: “This is a bold move by Saga, especially as even its over-50s customer base – who will be among the first people receiving vaccinations – will still have to wait for a fortnight after the second dose to be able to travel. Any slippage in the vaccination programme will badly affect its restart plans.”
The prerequisite of vaccination in order to travel has been dividing the industry. Alan Joyce, the chief executive of Qantas, said in November that proof of a jab would be a “necessity” if passengers wished to fly on the Australian carrier. The comments led Ukbased holiday operator, Tradewinds Travel, to boycott flights with Qantas.
Paul Charles, the chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told The Daily Telegraph: “It may not be the wisest approach to lay down such strict criteria at the moment – better to put in place world-class testing for all customers than a vaccination policy that may have to be reversed.”
The Telegraph has contacted a number of tour operators and cruise lines, with many declining to comment on whether they would be implementing similar rules. The Department for Transport said that guidance on travel is “under constant review”.
A spokesman for the trade body Cruise Lines International Association, which represents 95 per cent of global cruise capacity, said: “Measures implemented by cruise lines are continuously evaluated and will evolve as the pandemic and circumstances change.”