Summer holidays abroad?

[TheRedBalloon]

I've just been reading that various Sage members have said international travel is unlikely this Summer.
We booked our holiday for the end of July to the Canaries (booked it last Summer.) Just wondering has anyone else booked for abroad and still expects to go, or is it more likely to be cancelled? DH and I have both had our first jabs and will have had both in May/June. We booked through TUI so I know we'll get a refund but the thought of going away has kept me going through lockdown!

(I know this is trivial compared with the illnesses / deaths due to the pandemic)

[quote Totallyfedup1979]@MarshaBradyo

There are always variants. There are variants of flu, the common cold and now Covid.

How long would you like us to be held prisoner in the UK for? Eternity perhaps?

Europe is having problems now, but have plenty of time before the summer to lower their numbers and improve their vaccine programme. It took us just a few months didn’t it.

I personally have plans to go long haul to the US, where the vaccine programme is equally successful and cases are looking good. I am also in the fortunate position where I can spend a few weeks on another country en-route if necessary.

I think by July, like it or not, some holidays will be viable - threat of variants or not - and people like myself will be more than happy to take those holidays.

You’re welcome to have a different opinion which I totally disagree with. Just as I disagreed with naysayers last year who said that foreign travel wouldn’t happen.[/quote]
Oh course I don’t want us to be held prisoner.

I’ve been pro economic stimulus generally but if we have to reverse the road map the economic damage is great.

I don’t know what it will be like in a few months, neither do you. Most commentators would also be cautious and say wait and see.

There will always be variants but right now we are vulnerable to reverse of a road map. After the vaccination programme we won’t be as much.

Personally I think we’ll accept a death rate each year, comparable to flu and have vaccine tweaks.

The question of whether travel will lift on May 17 or we’ll see some delay, to try and preserve our opening up, we’ll see.

By July it may well be ok. By August even better. Which is why I said that late summer could be different.

It’s a changing situation.

I agree. May is looking too early. July is probably the earliest we are looking at for foreign travel to resume. And then, I’m realistic to know that certain countries will be on or off the table.

My holiday was booked in 2019 for 2020 and rebooked for 2021, but fully refundable. I’m prepared for it to not go ahead, but I’m also hopeful it will.

I’m not willing to believe the blanket statement that there will be no holidays in 2021. And I won’t feel guilty for going if I am able to travel.

@Stokey

I think it's one expert who has been quoted across papers. Rightly or wrongly the government has not always listened to the advice from the scientists. I'd say it's too soon to say at present given the current situation across much of Europe. Holidays abroad in May are looking less likely, but by the summer who knows? There's a great will among governments to support the travel & hospitality industries and get the economy moving.

I agree with that. I think a lot of these 'experts' are quite enjoying the attention and sometimes forget that however highly qualified they may be in their own field, they don't actually make policy. The government does that.

The peak tourist season is still at least 3 or 4 months away. A lot can change in that time. Much of Europe does seem to be going through a '3rd wave' right now, but hopefully, even with their crap vaccine roll-out, that will peak quite soon. Summer may look very different, hopefully in a good way.

Totally I don’t think anyone should feel guilty doing anything we can legally do. I don’t, and I don’t blame anyone travelling if they can.

I agree with your timings

If I had something booked I’d be looking forward to it. I’m a bit more cautious as I’d have to actively book right now (and I couldn’t deal with hotel quarantine with young dc)

This worries me as my mum lives in a nursing home abroad. She is blind and broke her hip just before Christmas 2020. I haven’t seen her since 2019. I usually go every summer for 10 days to see her. Both of us have had the vaccine. Going to see her is NOT a holiday but it is being lumped in with “holidaying abroad” category. I am so fed up!!! She is 85 and saying “oh, well, I’ll see you next year.” Well, who knows??? I have had cancer treatment (recurrence) during the pandemic, so yes, we need to see each other, damn it!

Sorry, just letting off steam.

I actually think the US could be a good option.

If you told me last April I’d be on a beach in Menorca in July I wouldn’t have believed you. Even in June it wasn’t looking likely. Then everything opened up. Even if it was briefly.

If they don’t let the vaccinated go I really can’t see the point of the vaccines!

I’ll post this again for those who didn’t see it earlier.

The Welsh Government aren’t currently feeling terribly optimistic about non essential international travel this year. See pages 11 and 12

gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2021-03/coronavirus-control-plan-revised-alert-levels-in-wales-march-2021.pdf

I think we’ll accept a death rate each year, comparable to flu and have vaccine tweaks

So do I, and FWIW this is what Boris said in the "Road Map" presentation (yes, I know he lies, but it's what he said anyway )

The difficulty is that some now seem to want tweaks for known variants to be in place before opening up travel - which is a nonsense to my mind, because others will appear as fast as they can adjust the jabs and we obviously can't stay home forever

The other thing I'm expecting to hear is "We can't open up until the NHS has dealt with the massive backlog". It's perhaps a bit early for that one, but I'm confident it'll come ...

@Thewiseoneincognito

Please tell me no one here was foolish enough to book a trip abroad for this year? Europe’s third wave has started and by the time that’s calming down ours will just be starting up too. Although by summer we should have more data on the strength of the vaccines and how effective they are in preparation for the fourth wave in the late autumn early winter.

In December 2019 I booked to see my parents, who live in France, during Easter 2020. Initially postponed to august. Then again postponed to July 2021. I desperately hope I will be able to see them in July, it will have been almost 2 years and half of their grandson's life. So yes, I'm foolish enough!

[quote Muchtoomuchtodo]I’ll post this again for those who didn’t see it earlier.

The Welsh Government aren’t currently feeling terribly optimistic about non essential international travel this year. See pages 11 and 12

gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2021-03/coronavirus-control-plan-revised-alert-levels-in-wales-march-2021.pdf[/quote]
Hopefully they’ll be gone in May.

Yes it doesn’t really matter what governments are saying now. It’s only March. Who knows what the situation will be in July. Nothing is set in stone.

@Puzzledandpissedoff

I think we’ll accept a death rate each year, comparable to flu and have vaccine tweaks

So do I, and FWIW this is what Boris said in the "Road Map" presentation (yes, I know he lies, but it's what he said anyway )

The difficulty is that some now seem to want tweaks for known variants to be in place before opening up travel - which is a nonsense to my mind, because others will appear as fast as they can adjust the jabs and we obviously can't stay home forever

The other thing I'm expecting to hear is "We can't open up until the NHS has dealt with the massive backlog". It's perhaps a bit early for that one, but I'm confident it'll come ...

I agree that we can’t keep closing off borders to wait for tweaks as they take time

Not sure if we’ll be a bit more cautious on May 17th to say June due to still vaccinating.

After that we’re going to have to deal with variants and keep going.

I do think there’s a lot of pent up demand for travel so when we can we will, a lot

I think mostly I want this to be a one way out of this dire situation. Forward direction only

And I agree July could be very different

Grant Schapps has said today it is looking unlikely we will be able to go on holiday abroad this summer.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56467813

Still I would rather wait a bit longer than risk another round of harsh restrictions.

Thanks for posting the Welsh Gov document. Useful to see some straight talking on international travel this summer from politicians.

It’s not just one scientist saying international travel poses a problem as a pathway for importing Covid cases/new strains. Ferguson was quoted yesterday & from Sky article above:

"Failure to restrict travel to and from Greece seems to have led to the unnecessary importation of a large amount of virus," said Simon Clarke, Associate Professor in Cellular Microbiology at the University of Reading

"It's like shutting the door but leaving the skylight open," said Stephen Griffin, Associate Professor of Virology at the University of Leeds

"It seems that little was learnt from the widespread seeding of infections across the UK by returning travellers early in the first wave," said Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

@tenterden

Grant Schapps has said today it is looking unlikely we will be able to go on holiday abroad this summer.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56467813

Still I would rather wait a bit longer than risk another round of harsh restrictions.

Grant Schnapps isn't saying that. It's the same 'expert' being quoted.

According to your article:

"Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it was "too early to tell" when holidays abroad would be allowed."

Stay positive holidaymakers!

Booked for Egypt in July. Still hopeful at the moment. My husband and I will be fully vaccinated by then. If not will move it to next year.

@tenterden

Grant Schapps has said today it is looking unlikely we will be able to go on holiday abroad this summer.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56467813

Still I would rather wait a bit longer than risk another round of harsh restrictions.

@tenterden

Did you bother to read the link you posted?

This is the extent of what the article says about GS

* Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it was "too early to tell" when holidays abroad would be allowed.*

Moved mine to next year a while ago and booked U.K. instead.

Could see which way the wind was blowing and didn’t want Uk holidays to be all booked up!

I think I we all know it’s ‘too early to tell’.

Doesn’t mean holidays are definitely off the cards no matter how much some posters want this.

If it is a choice I'd much rather we get and keep things as close to normal here even if we have to forego summer holidays. I'm late twenties, at low risk of the virus and would love nothing more than to get away. But I'm not sitting at home for another year, going six months + at a time without seeing family and friends, with the economy gone to absolute shit, just for people to have a week away in the sun.