Brazilian Variant- could affect travel?

[likeamillpond]

Listening to the radio this morning it seems there is a lot of concern about this particular one.
People getting it twice
Not sure if the vacinne is that effective against it.
It's a real possibility that the government will tighten up on travel in general.
Anybody regretting the mad rush to book a foreign holiday?

If we have a few cases here, there are bound to also be a couple of cases in some of the popular foreign tourist destinations.

Doubt it, the people that got t Glouchesteshire had arrived to the uk before the hotel quarantine.
Also massive testing is been done in north bristol to check whether there is more people affected by it

I hope you're right.
My SIL booked within hours of his announcement but i don't trust BJ.
It's always been a case of one step forward two steps back. Why should now be different?
I lost a fair bit of .oney last year with various events being cancelled and I'm reluctant to take a chance on foreign travel just yet.

I'm just wondering how other people are being so trusting ?

I am booked for August but only because I can easily transfer to next year. Flights are changeable accommodation is fully cancellable up to 2 days before. If I waited until July then no chance of being an affordable seat to anywhere.
I think chances of going are about 40% at best.

I’m only booking flights and hotels that have a flexible cancellation policy, and have a clear travel insurance policy with covid cover. So I’m confident I won’t lose money should I need to change my travel plans, hopefully your SIL has similar plans in place

I'm just wondering how other people are being so trusting?

I don’t think it’s being trusting, it’s being hopeful and booking from places that mean you won’t lose money. I still have travel insurance which covers Covid cancellations as it was taken out before the pandemic started. Lots of travel companies are doing penalty free cancellations if you can’t travel, to try and encourage people to book and stay in business... so most people will be booking fully refundable things, and if they can go, great. If they can’t, they don’t lose anything.

I've cancelled my holiday, we wont be in teh vaccine passport group by summer, i don't want a crappy holiday with swim access limited, SD etc

We are booked for the UK, will see what happens.

Ive booked UK.
Abroad next year.
Hopefully

To me it isn't just the money.
i enjoy the looking forward to going on holiday as much as the holiday itself. It keeps me going most of the year!
Even if I could get a refund I don't think I could stand the disappointment if it were to be cancelled at the last minute.

Boris said during his roadmap announcement that any easing was subject to numbers, hospital capacity, variants. I certainly don't blame people for being hopeful, but it's obvious that any holiday could be subject to cancellation/change.

I think it's crazy to book a holiday abroad this year - worst case scenario you go on holiday and while there border restrictions come down and you are forced to pay thousands upon return for quarantine. Would insurance cover this?? Possibly, possibly not - is it worth the risk?

Well anyone with any sense will only have booked with companies with a decent cancellation and refund process.

I have no sympathy for those that haven't or for anyone who starts to moan about their 'right to a holiday', foreign or otherwise. It seems fairly clear that, if there are other vaccine-resistant variants around, we should not be going anywhere and no-one should be coming here unless it's for some critical reason (i.e not a holiday).

Trustworthiness has nothing to do with it - plans to ease the restrictions are subject to change based on the numbers. That was made clear from the outset.

I think it's a little daft to book a foreign holiday this year personally - not only is/will there be uncertainty around the UK's situation, but also the country that you're travelling to.

Lunchtime news. Bojo downplaying rhings as per usual.

I feel sorry for The travel industry who are trying to reassure people which is understandable.

There's no way I'd be booking any travel abroad this year. There's just so many possibilities for things to go wrong I just can't understand why people are even wanting to take that risk.

• lockdowns
• getting ill
• being required to isolate
• hotel travel quarantine
• cancelled transport
• trouble with insurance claims
• outbreaks at holiday accommodation
• new variants

How could anyone look forward to going away or relax whilst away with all those variables going on.

@notrub

I think it's crazy to book a holiday abroad this year - worst case scenario you go on holiday and while there border restrictions come down and you are forced to pay thousands upon return for quarantine. Would insurance cover this?? Possibly, possibly not - is it worth the risk?

to some not, to some others yes

"Well anyone with any sense will only have booked with companies with a decent cancellation and refund process."

AFAIK no travel insurance covers quarantine - so for example if you book a 2 week holiday in Spain and the week before travel, Spain changes the rules to state all incoming travellers must isolate for 2 weeks, then you won't get a refund unless you actually test +ve for covid-19 AND your policy covers you for covid-19.

And if the country you are staying in suddenly goes on the restricted list while you are there, you'll have to choose between paying for earlier flights back to avoid quarantine on return, or continuing the holiday and then quarantining in the UK - neither of these costs would be met by travel insurance.

im the strange one of the thread, planning to book 2 holidays abroad
1 to spain to see my family, haven't seen them for over a year now... is it worth it for me the risk? def. yes.

And the second one to a country that has barely had any covid, was one of the latest ones being added to the quarantine the last year and one of the first ones to be removed from it. ii'd not be going to France where the numbers are high and the vaccination slow. but there are countries around the world that allowing tourists and that are more secured than where I live

@Lindy2

There's no way I'd be booking any travel abroad this year. There's just so many possibilities for things to go wrong I just can't understand why people are even wanting to take that risk.

• lockdowns
• getting ill
• being required to isolate
• hotel travel quarantine
• cancelled transport
• trouble with insurance claims
• outbreaks at holiday accommodation
• new variants

How could anyone look forward to going away or relax whilst away with all those variables going on.

Not to mention lots of attractions in tbe. country a person is visiting will either have severely restricted numbers or could be closed altogether And airport delays. Both ends

I am going to travel and see my parents abroad during summer. A family holiday depends on the quarantine/testing requirements. I haven't booked anything yet and I think it's going to be in the last minute.

@ifonly4

Boris said during his roadmap announcement that any easing was subject to numbers, hospital capacity, variants. I certainly don't blame people for being hopeful, but it's obvious that any holiday could be subject to cancellation/change.

Exactly

If the new Brazilian variant does indeed escape previous immunity (wild or vaccine) to a significant extent, this could completely disrupt the timing for the later steps on the relaxation path

If our only defence is going to be quarantine, because the rest of the world isn't going to be vaccinated and high transmission/patchy vax cover is the nightmare scenario for the emergence of risky new variants, then non-essential international travel is likely to remain heavily restricted.

i don't trust BJ.

You think he's doing it for the LOLs

@Vinosaurus

Trustworthiness has nothing to do with it - plans to ease the restrictions are subject to change based on the numbers. That was made clear from the outset.

I think it's a little daft to book a foreign holiday this year personally - not only is/will there be uncertainty around the UK's situation, but also the country that you're travelling to.

I agree. I'm not so bothered about what Boris allows us to do. I'm more bothered about rules/restrictions in the destination country. Most holiday destinations are behind our progress with vaccinations etc., so will they even be letting people in to holiday? What will be open?

One of my friends went to Cyprus last Summer. She said it was miserable - not allowed in the pool, socially distanced very limited hotel restaurant, some attractions closed, etc.

Countries reliant on tourists will probably let you in, but once you're there, you'll find out you can't actually do much besides sit in the sun.

@Whatafabulousday

i don't trust BJ.

You think he's doing it for the LOLs

I never understand this either. The Government (of which Boris Johnson is merely the figurehead, rather than someone making all these decisions on their own) are making it crystal clear that the dates given are earliest possible dates only and are subject to things continuing well.

People seem to think they're so ahead of the curve suggesting that they don't believe this or it's a big conspiracy. No bugger knows yet if we'll be able to stick to those dates. Unless any holidays are booked with adequate insurance (unlikely now) or cancellation policies, it's a risky game. This shouldn't be a surprise, nor a cause for complaining if things go wrong later.

We have cancelled 3 foreign holidays in the past year. Now, we have only booked UK until this is all over.

I know people are desperate for a holiday but if the weather is like the past 5 years our summer will be lovely and we will be one of the few countries with little restrictions due to our vaccination program.

Imagine what we could do for our recovery if we all spent our money here all summer? We could turn this shit on its head.