Holidays are back on for many Britons thanks to the UK’s travel corridors allowing for quarantine-free transit between certain countries. However, rapid changes can arise at any time, as seen with the likes of Spain and France.
Both nations were rapidly axed form the list over coronavirus concerns, causing chaos for holidaymakers whose impending plans were now left in ruin.
The sudden changes could be worrying for hopeful holidaymakers who are now left unsure of whether it is really safe to book travel.
Luckily, Kelly Cookes, Advantage Travel Partnership’s leisure director works with travel agents across the country and shared her insights into some of the safest ways to book travel with Express.co.uk.
“My advice would be to approach travel with flexibility in mind,” she advised.
We are in a situation where things “can change very quickly, as we’ve seen recently with Spain”.
Though regulations can change suddenly, Advantage Travel Partnership is continually staying up to date on global developments to ensure they send holidaymakers on a safe trip.
“To cut through the confusion of the UK Government’s list of ‘safe’ destinations, we have created a simplified version for our travel agent members to show which destinations don’t require a 14-day quarantine on their outbound or return journey and are free of any additional COVID-19 checks,” explained Ms Cookes.
“This is constantly being updated to correspond with the government’s advice.”
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At the time of writing, countries including Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Gibraltar, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Vatican City are all of the European destinations listed by Advantage Travel Partnership as “safe” destinations.
Outside of Europe Guadalupe, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Pierre and Miguelon and Reunion are listed.
This is thanks to their lack of quarantine requirements and the fact none of them require additional checks.
Some other nations are also listed for their lack of quarantine regulations, however, there are additional requirements that mean travel may be a little bit more difficult for holidaymakers.
Travel Advantage Partnership’s list includes European hotspots Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Germany, Greece Greenland, Iceland and Turkey.
The additional requirements are made up of things such as health forms, as well as screening and mandatory COVID-19 tests on arrival.
Similarly, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, French Polynesia, Jamaica and St Vincent and The Grenadines are listed.
“Every destination has different rules, so travellers now must be mindful about specific entry requirements for their chosen destination such as quarantine measures and other health-related requirements such as temperature and COVID-19 tests,” explained the travel expert.
It can be difficult to predict the Government’s next moves, with officials remaining tight-lipped on potential changes until they happen.
Keeping an eye on coronavirus rates in hotspots in comparison with the UK’s own number of confirmed cases is one way to go.
Speaking to Sky News The Sun’s travel editor Lisa Minot advised: “I think the best thing I can suggest is that if you are going to book a holiday, look at the European Centre for Disease Control daily figures.
“They’ve produced these daily figures that tell you the number of cases per 100,000 in each country and the number of deaths per 100,000 in each country accumulative over the last 14 days.”
For holidaymakers who have booked through a travel agent, they will be able to access the most up-to-date information simply by giving them a call.
“My main piece of advice would be to speak to you your local travel agent for trusted advice,” concluded Ms Cookes.
“We’ve worked hard to ensure our travel agent members have the most up-to-date information in terms of the ever-changing government advice, including a check-list of what travellers need to know before travelling, what they can expect when transiting through the airport and what the experience will be like once they’re in their chosen destination.”
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