SINGAPORE, 24 March 2021: Countries in Southeast Asia hoping the British will return on holidays soon will be disappointed. The UK government is urging them to stay onshore and enjoy staycations this summer.
Reuters reports the warning sent travel and airline stocks down by as much as 8% on Monday while the news was not welcome even as far away as Southeast Asia. European destinations will be hit the hardest while the order will help holiday destinations mainly in southern England to recoup losses suffered during 2020
The Reuters report noted that foreign holidays are currently banned in the UK under a government’s four-stage roadmap for easing pandemic restrictions. Some overseas travel could resume as early as mid- May bur the consensus suggests it could be later than that.
Europe’s airlines and travel sector are now bracing for a second lost summer, with rebound hope increasingly challenged by Europe’s slow and chaotic Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Shares in British Airways owner IAG, easyJet, TUI and Jet2 all traded down around 6-7% on Monday, paring some of the strong gains since Feb.22 when Britain announced its ambition to restart travel.
While half of all adults in Britain have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, growing infection levels in France, Italy and Germany, fuelled by variants, means the UK may choose to restrict international travel through the summer. That will push the potential window for destinations in Southeast Asia to attract UK visitors as far forward as October.
Thailand’s long-term recovery plan suggests travellers from the UK would be welcome in October without the need to quarantine for 15 days, but only those who have been vaccinated.
GB is quite right in stopping outbound/ inbound tourists. I think the rest of Europe will follow. Having had the economy shut down for one year, and the hundreds of thousands of deaths, it’s hardly questionable. The vaccination program is reaping results, so why put all that at risk ? Each country has it’s scenic areas, beautiful clean beaches for some and mountains and lakes for others, with populations crying out for home tourism. It’s not the right time to throw open the doors. When you see that Thailand does not demand Covid negative documents from its own citizens , then surely that is off putting to many other passengers ? I for one would not want to sit next to a person who has not been tested for a flight taking 13 hours and more. Up the standard that other airlines follow for a start. Then it’s just a game of patience. Nerve wracking I know, but common sense.