NEWS


Euro destinations eye summer return


Ben Ireland


Major European tourism destinations are ramping up the message that they are “open for business” this summer, but not all are prepared to welcome UK visitors straight away. Spain, the UK’s number-one


riles the industry There is a glimmer


of hope for summer business. The last thing the industry needs is a mandatory quarantine


closely engaged with the government on this. It has to go with a layered series of measures that airports and airlines are planning.” An aviation industry source said:


“Now the announcement is out we’re in a better position to talk about the next stage. The problem was the length of time between the PM announcing [quarantine] and Patel confirming it. That put the brakes on. The announcement unlocked our ability to engage with the government.” The source added: “Airlines are


looking to restart in July. It won’t make a lot of difference if quarantine is just June. The industry’s intention is that we get confidence for a


travelweekly.co.uk


fundamental change at the first review.” A leisure industry source agreed:


“Nobody is particularly worried about the first three weeks. They’re interested in how robust the three- week review is, in the bilateral steps, and in the package of measures – masks, testing, temperature checks – to remove quarantine.” However, Tom Jenkins, chief


executive of tourism association Etoa, said: “This is not a science- based decision. It’s the Home Office attempting to hang tough.” Industry leaders attending a


Global Travel & Tourism Resilience Council virtual summit on Tuesday demanded coordinated government action. Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said: “We need baby steps and it starts with governments lifting travel bans.” The UK quarantine was “a blow


to an industry already reeling”, said Clive Jacobs, chairman of Travel


Weekly parent Jacobs Media Group. i Business, back page


28 MAY 2020 5


outbound destination, confirmed it would end its quarantine for arrivals from July 1 and followed this up with guidelines for a “safe reopening”. Airports in the Canary Islands are preparing to handle flights operating on ‘safe corridors’ from countries deemed at low risk of Covid-19. Portugal and Britain are


in talks over an ‘air corridor’ that would allow Brits to avoid quarantine upon returning home, Reuters reported. Speaking via video during


the Global Travel & Tourism Resilience Council Summit on Tuesday, Portugal’s secretary of state for tourism, Rita Marques, said: “We are open for business again. I’m thrilled to say that”. Portuguese island Madeira,


meanwhile, pledged to pay for Covid-19 tests for arrivals. Greece was due to release


Gran Canaria


a list of 20-25 countries it would welcome visitors from this week. However, the UK was expected to be left out when the country reopens on July 1. Tourism minister Haris Theoharis told ITV News the UK’s record on coronavirus was not up to Greece’s standards. France was ready to retaliate to


the UK’s quarantine measures from June 8. Its UK embassy tweeted: “All those travelling from the UK will be asked to place themselves in quarantine on their arrival in France as soon as the quarantine system in the UK comes into force.” Tui chief executive Fritz Joussen


said Spain’s move was a “good signal” and “provided clarity for the start of the holiday season”, adding to similar moves by Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Croatia and Bulgaria. Ryanair also welcomed the


move as it confirmed plans to resume 40% of its schedule from July. Jet2holidays updated the date of its resumption to July 1. EasyJet plans to resume


domestic UK services and flights to France from June 15. On Wednesday, it began surveying customers on which destinations


they would like it to fly to first. i Comment, page 14


PICTURES: Shutterstock; iStock


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