NEWS


Shock and anger: agents report from Portuguese resorts


Juliet Dennis


Travel agents on holiday in Portugal when news broke it was being removed from the green list have spoken of airport chaos and holidays ruined by the government’s sudden decision. Agents described beaches as


quiet and socially-distanced, locals welcoming, and said hotels and restaurants were operating strict Covid policies. But the unexpected news that the


country would be switched to amber from June 8 led to an immediate rush for flights home beforehand.


Lee Tate, partner of Tate’s Travel


in Sunderland, returned from a week in the Algarve with his wife and two children on June 6. He described “genuine anger


and incomprehension” among holidaymakers at the government’s “mishandling” of the situation. “It was just a ridiculous situation,”


he said. “We spoke to people who had just got off airport transfer coaches. Suddenly they were ringing friends to book a flight back home. Everyone was scrambling to get new pre-departure tests, while hotel staff were crestfallen. I feel sorry for the operators, they had only just started.”


At Faro airport, holidaymakers


faced long waits in 25C heat. Tate said: “Families with young kids were becoming increasingly stressed and some elderly passengers struggled, some while trying to complete Passenger Locator Forms.” Personal travel advisor Colette


Byrne, of Holiday Elite, was in Alvor with her husband and son for a week. “It was beautiful and beaches


really quiet,” she said. “All the restaurants locked down at 10.30pm and were Covid-friendly. Hotels had all the measures in place; it felt safe. “We were so shocked the


government gave no notice. People were really upset. One family couldn’t get back because flights were too expensive. The dad was due to be best man at his brother’s wedding next week and now has to self-isolate.” Queues at Faro were “the longest


I’ve ever seen at check-in”, she said. Andrew Botterill, executive


chairman of Holiday Gems and Destination2 parent Travcorp Holdings, was also in Portugal at the time. Speaking on a Travel Weekly webcast, he said: “There are families by the pool with children due to take exams next week that now can’t get home.”


Destinations ‘bitterly disappointed’ Ben Ireland


Destinations and trade bodies left “bitterly disappointed” by last week’s changes dubbed the traffic light system a “more colourful version” of last year’s confusing travel corridors. Luis Araújo, president of the


Portuguese tourist board, said he was “extremely disappointed” by the UK’s decision to move the country from green to amber. Algarve Tourism president Joao Fernandes said the region was “bitterly disappointed”. And Madeira’s regional secretary for tourism, Eduardo Jesus, branded the decision “unfair, inadequate and unfounded”. Mansoor Abulhoul, the United


travelweekly.co.uk


The change in traffic light status of Portugal has been branded ‘mystifying’


Dhabi, remained on the red list given its vaccination and testing rates. Joanne Dooey, president of


The Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association, which last year compared the opening and closing of travel corridors to the “hokey cokey”, said this year’s traffic light system was just “a more colourful version”. Dnata Travel Group divisional


senior vice-president John Bevan said the traffic light changes “will mystify the travel industry”, pointing out “decisions taken contradict the very criteria we were presented with a few weeks ago”. Danny Callaghan, chair of the


Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the UK, said it was “disappointing” the country, home to Dubai and Abu


Travel Industry Alliance and chief executive of the Latin American Travel Association, said: “Rates of


cases in Portugal mirror the UK almost exactly, so it is not immediately apparent what the criteria being applied is. We urgently need absolute clarity from government.” Speaking on a Travel Weekly


webcast from Portugal, Travcorp Holdings executive chairman Andrew Botterill recalled transport secretary Grant Shapps pledging to MPs last September that 2020’s travel chaos would not be repeated in 2021. He described the ‘U-turn’ as


“treacherous”, saying: “We are going back to the chaos of last summer.” Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive


of Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “We are stuck in what can only


be described as a travel déjà vu.” i Get Social, page 25


10 JUNE 2021 7


Agent Lee Tate and family in the Algarve last week


PICTURE: Shutterstock/John Kelly


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