Government ‘confusing UK holidaymakers with travel lists’
ONLY 25 countries on Government lists aimed at restarting foreign holidays are accessible for English visitors, according to new analysis.
Last week, the Department for Transport (DfT) named 74 countries and territories from where people will not need to quarantine if they return to or visit England from Friday.
Even though the five-mile travel restriction was lifted in Wales yesterday, quarantine rules have not – anyone flying into Wales must self-isolate for 14 days.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) published a separate list of 67 destinations which are exempt from its advisory against all non-essential travel.
But analysis by travel consultancy The PC Agency and consumer research agency AudienceNet found that just 25 locations included on the lists do not have border controls that stop English visitors entering.
Others are either closed to international flights or impossible to enter without quarantine or coronavirus testing, according to the analysis.
Among the countries included on the Government’s lists which have restrictions in place are Austria, Japan, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Vietnam.
The PC Agency chief executive Paul Charles said: “Consumers are confused by the two lists produced by Government, as it’s just not clear which countries are actually accessible without having to quarantine on arrival.
“Our research shows that holidaymakers and business travellers from England can only enter 25 countries, out of 74 on the DfT list, without being quarantined. It’s vital that the Government provides clarity to consumers who are booking, and provides just one list that is accurate and up to date in terms of where we can actually access.”
Emma Coulthurst, consumer advocate for price comparison site TravelSupermarket, said: “The Government’s latest information released late on Friday on where UK citizens can holiday this summer has the potential to confuse people and see them unwittingly book holidays which, due to restrictions imposed by the destination country, they might not be able to take.
“There are some countries on the UK Government FCO and DfT lists which are refusing UK citizens entry or imposing strict entry requirements, which either completely prevent holidays or make them extremely difficult or more costly.
“It is vitally important that holidaymakers check the individual country’s entry requirements before booking and also book cancel-forfree or flexible rebooking options in case they unintentionally book a holiday which entry restrictions then prevent them from taking.
“The UK Government should be making it clearer what the actual situation is for travel from the UK to countries on their lists and providing a lot more clarity on where holidaymakers can actually go to from the UK without restriction.”
Downing Street said it expected more countries to announce an easing of restrictions on travellers from the UK.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman was asked during a briefing with journalists whether it was “misleading” to have published a quarantine-free list when not all of the places featured were allowing UK visitors in without restrictions.
The No.10 spokesman said: “Many countries already don’t impose quarantine restrictions on travellers from the UK and we expect more to ease restrictions on UK travellers following our announcement.
“We are working closely with international partners around the world to discuss arrangements from travellers arriving from the UK.
“It is obviously a changing situation across the world and passengers should check the individual country pages that we make available on gov. uk for travel advice and any restrictions at their destination before they book their trip and before they travel.”
Meanwhile, Greece’s government yesterday announced that direct flights from the United Kingdom to all airports in Greece can resume on July 15.
Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said the decision was made “in co-operation with the British Government and after the recommendation of experts”.
Greece had previously banned all direct flights from Britain due to the extent of the coronavirus spread there.
Britons are among the top tourist visitors to Greece, and the country is eager to ensure it can salvage whatever it can from this year’s summer tourism season.
The sector accounts for around 20% of Greece’s economy.
Direct flights from Sweden have also been banned until at least July 15.
Mr Petsas said Greece was still “watching the epidemiological data” from Sweden, and would make announcements depending on how the situation there evolves.
Meanwhile, India has overtaken Russia to become the third worstaffected nation by the coronavirus after reporting 24,248 new cases yesterday.
India has now confirmed 697,413 cases, including 19,693 deaths. Russia has 680,283 cases.
The US has had the most cases, with nearly 2.9 million. Brazil is second, with over 1.6 million.