23/03/2021
You may have seen in the news today talk of a new law banning holidays until July. Since I am a Travel Counsellor and I believe holidays are coming back before then, I wanted to provide a bit of context for the latest holiday news.
*What's actually happening with holidays this year?*
On April 12, the Department for Transport will still be announcing the plan for restarting overseas holidays, as we've known since Feb 22. It is likely they will announce the resumption of overseas holidays to a limited number of destinations on or around May 17.
*OK, so why does the news say "holidays banned until July on pain of a five grand fine"?*
On Feb 22, Boris Johnson announced that holidays would be banned until May 17 ("at the earliest").
Currently, that ban is achieved through the "stay at home" rule - the one that says you can't leave your house except for specific reasons, and holidays aren't one of them.
That stay at home rule comes to an end next Monday (29 March). Thus, the government needs a new rule to stop people going on holiday between Mon 29 March and Mon 17 May. Without a new rule, we could all have hopped on a plane on Monday. That's all it is - a little gap in the legislation that they needed to fill with a new rule, doing what they always said they were going to do.
*Why does the new law last until July then?*
Just in case. The thing most likely to cause problems or delays is a new variant that’s resistant to the current vaccines. But right now, there doesn’t seem to be one. As soon as overseas holidays start again, which we expect to be on or around May 17, we expect they’ll either repeal or supersede the law that's coming in from Monday.
*Why do government ministers keep going on TV saying not to book holidays?*
Quite reasonably, government ministers appear to have all been given the same brief on summer holidays - “be very cautious, don't leak anything and don't pre-empt the April 12 report". So they all say the same thing "wait for the report on April 12".
*Why did Boris Johnson say "Europe's third Covid wave will wash up on our shore"?*
Some countries in Europe are, very sadly, seeing a third wave, new lockdowns and extended restrictions. When holidays resume, at least at first we'll very likely only be able to go to places that have the virus under control. Happily, more countries are expected to do so as time goes on and vaccines roll out, so that list should grow over time.
*What does the government say?*
We understand the government still advises holidaymakers to wait until their report on April 12 before changing any travel plans. Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said to Sky News this morning “the questions of whether people will be able to travel abroad this summer are going to be addressed by the Global Travel Taskforce, which is reporting around 12 April…the earliest date by which we will allow for international travel…is 17 May. That has not changed.”
I would advise anyone not to panic or cancel any holidays that you have planned.
We need to wait for the Goverment updates on the 12th of April and for anyone who wishes to start looking forward to planning a holiday, please remember it is not illegal to book a holiday.
The best advice I can give is to book with a trusted travel advisor who can give you the latest expert advice and assist you in booking a holiday with full financial protection. I will assist you if your plans have to be changed in anyway.
Don't give up hope it won't be long and you will feel the sun on your face and the sand between your toes again.
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