Rules requiring face masks on beaches, Covid tests and worse, quarantine, on arrival in holiday destinations may kill the European summer holiday season. Or what is left of it.
Most European travelers will cancel travel plans if they have to quarantine at their destination, wear a mask outdoors, or test for Covid at airports, a British survey has found. The YouGov study shows these measures are a proven turn-off for up to 90% of European holidaymakers.
Here are some of the key findings:
The study comes after British holidaymakers in Spain “were caught by surprise” on July 25. That’s when it was suddenly announced they would have to quarantine for two weeks on their return says project manager Chantel Le Carpentier.
Many had barely rolled out their beach towels ready for a week in the Spanish sun. Dozens then had to cut short their holidays to race home ahead of the new rule coming into effect at midnight.
The tourism and aviation industry has been calling for Covid testing at U.K. airports, to help curb quarantine periods. But going by this latest research, such testing programs, which are being unrolled across Europe, are in themselves an added turn-off.
I have three decades of experience as a journalist, foreign correspondent and travel writer-photographer. Working for print, digital and radio outlets on four continents,
I have three decades of experience as a journalist, foreign correspondent and travel writer-photographer. Working for print, digital and radio outlets on four continents, I am also a veteran hotel industry reporter and author of travel guides and cultural histories to Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Borneo. Very often on the road between my Paris and Australian bases, I write for Forbes with a globetrotters perspective and newsy edge on travel, culture, hotels, art and architecture. My passion is capturing the distinctive people, places and events I encounter along the way, both in words and pictures. I hold a degree in Professional Writing from Canberra University, an MA in European Journalism from the Université Robert Schuman Strasbourg, and am a member of the Society of American Travel Writers. A love for my wild home-island of Tasmania fuels my commitment to sustainable travel and conservation.