The government are to review the foreign travel list on Thursday and there is hope that holidaymakers will be given more options for quarantine free travel.
Malta and Balearics Islands could be added to the governments green list as scientists deem these countries as safe for holidaymakers.
Steve Witt is co-founder of travel giant Not Just Travel, one of the UK’s largest travel companies said, “Every single country that is added to the green list is a boost for the economy, the travel industry and the consumer. Each addition is a boost in consumer confidence. Not just for now but for the future, as we’ll see a corresponding uplift in sales for 2022 and 2023. It is almost like giving people permission.
Customers are happily booking at the last minute. Their mindset has changed and they are flexible to travel to wherever the green list, and the destination country, allows them. If the Balearics are added today, there’ll be a queue at the airport on Tuesday.
Today’s announcement of the green list will result in a steady start in bookings. The real rise in bookings will start when the first lot of travellers come back to the UK to prove that it’s easy to travel. People want to see that it works. People want to be confident that if you book a week, that you get a week without having to come back halfway through. As soon as we start seeing people returning from those holidays we’ll see lots more people booking.”
Government’s plans going forward
“We would prefer that the government make slower decisions and keep to them rather than the oscillations that they’ve been making. Previously, the government said that it would give people plenty of notice if a country was going to move from one list to another. They didn’t stick with that and caused a great deal of confusion and undermined a whole industry.
My advice to the government is to just stick to whatever plan you announce today. The global travel taskforce outlines some suggestions that allows businesses and consumers to plan so much easier. The government needs to communicate a strong message that the consumer can understand.
People just want certainty. A destination where you can be certain of the rules is better than ten where you’re not quite sure what’s going on.
Some operators and airlines are confident there’s going to be a positive announcement and they’re planning around that. The whole industry is hopeful and it will be a bit of a kick.”
So many operators have taken their summer holidays off the table. Some have said they’re not going to sell at all, even if the government does make additions to the green list. The operators that continue to sell will do very well and it would be foolish of them to put their prices up.”
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