LOTUS CORONAVIRUS UPDATE (04.06)
QUARANTINE RULES CONFIRMED
Despite the threat of a back bench revolt and intense pressure from the media and the UK’s tourism and travel industry, home secretary Priti Patel on Wednesday 3 June confirmed plans for new quarantine measures to be implemented from Monday 8 June, in direct contrast to other countries, who are beginning to lift border controls.
Ms Patel said that the measures will be reviewed after three weeks (29 June) and the Government will work to establish safe "international travel corridors" with countries deemed to be safe in order to get back to “normal sooner”.
The Prime Minister at the daily press briefing reiterated that the government moves were to ensure that the UK didn’t reimport new cases and spark a second wave of infection.
Air bridges
The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday that Britain had opened talks to establish air bridges with Spain, France, Portugal and Greece, but the BBC in its investigations, found that no talks had yet been opened with either France or Italy.
The day’s events overtook the morning’s papers, which had included hopeful headlines from the likes of the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror predicting a relaxation of the quarantine measures amidst government enthusiasm to press ahead with air bridges.
Tory backlash
The statement made to the House of Commons had been delayed from Tuesday and Tory backbenchers including former ministers Liam Fox and Theresa Villiers, and Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 committee, questioned both the timing and the approach of the new measures. In addition, former Prime Minister Theresa May also asked the Government why it wasn’t taking a lead in developing an international aviation health screening standard to save jobs and ensure Britain is open for business.
Travel industry campaign and survey
The travel industry is united against the quarantine policy and a travel industry campaign, backed by 300 businesses, called for the rules to be scrapped or for the Government to provide assurances that it will be quickly replaced by air bridges. The campaign has been led by George Morgan-Grenville, chief executive of tour operator Red Savannah. The campaign gained support and coverage across the media, which published a survey of 124 chief executives and owners of travel and hospitality companies, the results of which predicted mass redundancies if the quarantine measures were not reconsidered.
The survey also revealed that 71% of respondents believe that the impact of the quarantine plans would lead their companies to lay off up to two-thirds of their staff, while 28% said they could be forced to cease trading entirely.
Of those polled, 94% said they expected the new rules to eradicate summer bookings, while 50% predicted future bookings would drop by between 80% and 100%. In addition, 94% of respondents prefer the introduction of ‘air bridges’ between countries and 98% called for greater testing at airports, ports and Eurostar terminals.
Morgan-Grenville told an Elman Wall seminar on 2 June that a combination of the Government’s quarantine policy and the Foreign Office’s ongoing global travel ban risked wiping out any potential summer business, while also leaving the sector with no forward visibility.
"We are an industry in crisis. It’s no exaggeration to say the entire industry is in verge of catastrophe. It’s time for government to wake up and realise what a catastrophe they are about to cause."
Other reaction to the quarantine
John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow, also warned that the new quarantine rules meant that there was now a danger of the “health pandemic becoming an unemployment pandemic”. He said there had to be an 'exit plan' from the restrictions to avert huge redundancies.
Clive Wratten, chief executive of the Business Travel Association added: “If we leave it until the end of June before getting the first travel corridor in place, be it with Italy, Spain or Portugal, many jobs across the travel industry are at risk of being lost forever.”
Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary was also widely reported as branding the legislation ‘unenforceable and unworkable.’
The Times argues that the quarantine policy has been driven by controversial adviser Dominic Cummings; was controversial within cabinet; and was a plan based more on politics than science with polling suggesting that it is extremely popular, despite negative headlines. A follow-up story on Thursday repeated claims that the Government’s Scientific Group for Emergencies (Sage) was not consulted on the quarantine plans and The Times argues that the blanket quarantine is not the right move, either for public health, or recovery and should be reconsidered and dropped.
On Thursday, World Travel & Tourism Council president and chief executive Gloria Guevara claimed that quarantines should not be necessary if “appropriate and effective” containment measures are in place at departure and arrival points.
“We understand protecting public health is paramount, but this measure, which affects international visitors and those arriving back into the UK from abroad, will have a significant and long-lasting negative effect on the travel and tourism sector,” she warned.
The Financial Times provides an outline of just how haphazardly quarantine measures have been introduced globally, which will impact how quickly the industry will be able to recover.
Consumer sentiment
On Wednesday evening, an Evening Standard poll found that only 23% of the population believe that the UK should lift quarantine to allow UK holidaymakers to travel abroad this summer.
On Thursday morning, figures from TravelSupermarket showed that searches for package holidays to Spain have increased by 52% in the past fortnight; to Greece by 51% and to Portugal by 38%.
Industry roundtable with Secretaries of State
TTG reports that the home secretary and transport secretary will host a roundtable on 4 June with the travel industry to discuss how they can “innovate together” and make a long-term plan for the sector. No further details on the roundtable seem to have been published.
Travel by July?
Despite current quarantine woes, at the end of last week the health secretary Matt Hancock told ITV’s This Morning programme that he was “more optimistic” than before about the prospect of travelling overseas from July.
Speaking on 3 June Edward Argar, a health minister, said he hoped that people would be able to go on holiday this year. He told BBC Breakfast: “I’m not going to say a particular date on when that might happen because we will have to be guided by how the disease behaves, controlling any risk of a second wave and controlling the disease.”
Timetable Surge
The SundayTelegraph has reported that airlines have scheduled a dramatic increase in flights in July.
‘The companies are banking on a “V-shaped” recovery by scheduling 161,200 passenger flights and
29.5 million seats for July, just eight per cent down on last year’s July timetables’, but, says Duncan Craig in The Sunday Times, will consumers want to go on holiday? With new measures in place and an absence of rigor about what is being proposed, holidays this summer look neither relaxing nor reassuring and destinations will have to work hard to ensure they are places people want to escape to.
DESTINATIONS
Northern Ireland
All tourism accommodation in Northern Ireland will reopen on 20 July 2020. Self-catering accommodation such as holiday and home parks; caravan sites and self-catering cottages pose a lower risk than other types of accommodation and their opening may be advanced to earlier depending on scientific advice.
Portugal
2.8 million visits from UK a year
The Times reports that Portugal’s foreign minister confirmed that he was in talks with the UK government over an “air bridge” between the two countries.
Augusto Santos Silva said that an agreement could be in place to allow holidaymakers to travel by the end of June, warning that blanket quarantine measures were the “enemy of tourism”.
At the moment, Portugal’s borders are open to some countries, but not the UK. Right now campsites and hotels are open and bars and restaurants are open at 50% capacity. Beaches are to be open from 6 June.
Augusto Santos Silva also said “Nightlife in Portuguese resorts this summer will be very limited and people will not be allowed to congregate in groups at night”. In addition, hotels and apartments that comply with standards set by the tourism board will be labelled as “clean and safe”.
Spain
15.6 million visits from UK a year
At the beginning of June, Spain reported no deaths from Covid- 19 in a 24-hour period for the first time since early March.
Borders are open on 1 July with no quarantine, but authorities say British Covid-19 figures ‘still have to improve’ before the country will welcome tourists from the UK.
Beaches are opening with restricted capacity. Hotels, campsites, bars and restaurants are slowly reopening too, with restrictions. Pools are now open.
Sweden
As with Spain, Sweden reported no Covid-19 deaths over a period of 24 hours, the first day the nation has been free of fatalities from the virus since March. Sweden banned mass gatherings but allowed most shops, bars and cafes to remain open and only advised people to socially distance. The country’s deaths are more than four times the number in the nation’s Nordic neighbours. The Guardian reported that Norway and Denmark are to drop border controls between the two countries but have excluded Sweden and the scientist behind the Swedish policy has conceded that the policy has led to too many deaths.
Borders will open on 1 July.
Italy
4.3 million visits by UK a year
From 3 June, borders are open with no quarantine required; campsites; hotels; bars and restaurants will all reopen albeit with restrictions and safety and protection measures.
Italian Tourist Board UK and Ireland manager Flavio Zappacosta said: “We know how popular Italy is for Brits and hope we can inspire them to start to plan and book an Italian holiday this year.” However, the Italian ministry told the BBC that there had been no talks yet with the UK Government about establishing a travel corridor.
A senior Italian doctor has said the coronavirus has lost its potency and no longer clinically exists in Italy. Head of Milan's San Raffaele Hospital Dr Alberto Zangrillo said Covid-19 has become much less lethal, with newly infected patients having weaker symptoms than a couple of months ago.
France
8.5 million visits by UK a year
The French foreign ministry has told the BBC that there had been no bilateral talks about lifting the quarantine plans and establishing travel corridors with the UK. "If the UK imposes a quarantine period, we will apply it too," a French official said.
Borders are closed to tourists until at least 15 June. Travellers from the UK will be asked to go into 14 day quarantine.
Hotels, B&Bs, campsites and gites across most of France are open from 3 June. Museums and monuments are open and French bars, cafés and restaurants reopened on Tuesday 2 June, but in Paris, only those with outdoor space can open. In the provinces it is back to business as usual, with the exception that tables have to be at least one metre apart.
Greece
2.4 million visits from UK per year
Borders re-open from 15 June, but not for Britons. People from high risk destinations, including the UK face tests on arrival and must self-isolate for seven days (14 days if tests are Covid-19 positive).
Hotels, restaurants, tavernas and bars are open with restrictions. Beaches are open and ferries to the islands are open.
Germany
Germany will lift a travel ban for Britain and the EU states from 15 June as long as their Covid-19 infection levels meet the government’s strict conditions and as long as there are no longer any entry bans or large-scale lockdowns in the respective countries.
Thailand
Travel Weekly reports that Thailand is to lift its lockdown measures and reopen the country from 1 July.
Australia
493,000 visits from UK a year
Only Australian citizens, residents and family members can enter the country and even then they have to quarantine for two weeks. International travel from New Zealand could start from September.
Since 1 June up to 50 people have been able to dine in cafes and restaurants. Pubs are also allowed to open their dining areas. Some beaches and historic sites are also open.
New Zealand
128,000 visits from UK a year
Only New Zealand and permanent residents can enter but must quarantine for 14 days. It is expected that travel links will open with Australia and possibly some other Pacific nations in September. There is speculation that all social distancing will end next week, allowing life to return to something close to normality. Currently businesses can open but gatherings are limited to 100 people.
UAE
1.4 million visits from UK a year
Borders are closed to all travellers and residents must seek permission to fly back to the UAE before 14 days of quarantine. Tourists could be allowed in from July.
Beaches and parks reopened at the end of May. All visitors must wear facemasks (not in the water) and adhere to social distancing rules. Shopping malls and restaurants opened in May.
South Africa
440,000 visits a year from UK
Borders are closed except for trade. International tourism unlikely to resume until February 2021 with domestic holidays unlikely until the end of 2020. With one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, the buying of alcohol was only allowed to resume at the end of May. Parks, wildlife reserves and beaches are all currently closed alongside tourist attractions, restaurants and entertainment activities.
USA
3.9 million visits from UK a year
People from the UK and EU were banned from entering the USA from mid-March, but the President has said that the USA will open to the Europeans soon. Commercial airlines continue to fly between the UK and US. Restrictions vary. In New York they will not start to lift until the week beginning 8 June, but in LA restaurants, beaches and mountain trails are reopening. Face coverings are required in many areas.
The Florida Keys reopened for tourism on 1 June and Universal Orlando’s three theme parks – Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal’s Volcano Bay – will reopen to the public from 5 June with hotels opening with new health and safety protocols in place and guests urged to follow state health guidelines.
The Maldives
The Maldives has announced plans to reopen to tourists in July and the Indian Ocean destination will not charge visitors additional fees.
The World Bank has forecast the Maldives would be the worst-hit economy in the South Asian region due to the pandemic.
Latin America
Journalist Chris Moss has put together a detailed report on the region for The Daily Telegraph and challenges the label that the region is now the epicentre of the virus. In fact, he says, the picture across Latin America and the Caribbean is nuanced.
South America
Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay have all registered very few deaths from the infection, whilst in Brazil, a combination of a febrile political situation, densely populated cities and poor management of social distancing has meant that the situation in the country’s urban centres looks grim and infection and death rates are high. While Covid-19 has spread rapidly in urban centres along the coast and in densely populated states, notably São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Pará, far-flung Acre and Mato Grosso do Sul
– home to the Pantanal wetlands – have seen relatively low numbers of cases and deaths.
Argentina has closed its borders to international commercial flights until 1 September, while Brazil is open.
Mexico
Moss reports that it appears that infection rates in Mexico seem to be peaking now and tourism areas will be open from around 8 June.
Central America
Death rates in Central America appear to be low, with Panama worst affected. Costa Rica is beginning to open its wildlife parks, but foreign tourists won’t be allowed to visit until 15 June.
Belize’s borders will be closed until 30 June.
Travel trends in Latin America for post-pandemic
Journey Latin America predicts that it is unlikely travellers from the UK will visit the region until autumn.
Queries for self-drive; bucket list holidays and once-in-a lifetime experiences are being asked for in 2021. The tour operator also said early bookers will bag a deal and confidence in long-haul is likely to come after domestic and short-haul returns.
Caribbean
Relatively few cases have been recorded across the region. Most of the smaller Caribbean islands plan to open their borders in June. Autumn and winter sun is looking popular.
China
China Travel News reported that domestic travel has recovered in China, but with little international travel currently happening. Over Labour Day weekend, 115 million Chinese went on a domestic holiday (60% of last year’s total). Capacity on Chinese domestic flights was down by only 10% year-on-year in the first week of May. Gloria Guevara of the World Travel and Tourism Council believes that Chinese people may feel stigmatised by the pandemic, so will only travel to countries where they feel welcome and where contagion has been largely eradicated.
Other tourist sites and landmark re-openings can be seen here
Global Safety and Hygiene Stamp
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched the world’s first-ever global safety and hygiene stamp. The specially designed stamp will allow travellers to recognise governments and businesses around the world that have adopted health and hygiene global standardised protocols – so consumers can experience ‘Safe Travels’.
The landmark move by WTTC, which represents the global travel and tourism private sector, has also received the backing of the influential United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
In a parallel move, the UNWTO, has released guidelines which it hopes will help the industry form a “strong and sustainable” recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.
International Civil Aviation Organisation guidelines
Airlines have been told to restrict access to lavatories and ban passengers from carrying large bags onto flights under international rules to promote “Covid-proof” air travel.
The new guidance has been issued by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), an agency of the UN, which has agreed the measures as part of an international effort to allow airlines to operate. The UK Government has already said that it is seeking to implement the ICAO recommendations.
AVIATION
Air Traffic
New figures from Eurocontrol, which co-ordinates air traffic across the continent, showed that the number of flights in Europe topped 6,000 on Tuesday 2 June for the first time since the end of March. There were 6,009 in total, although traffic is still 84 per cent down on normal levels. In the UK, there were 819 flights on Monday, which was the second highest daily total since the lockdown started.
London City Airport
The Times has reported that London City Airport announced that it would resume scheduled flights in and out of the capital by the end of June - three months after it was shut due to a collapse in passenger demand. There will be compulsory temperature checks on all passengers.
British Airways
The FT has reported that BA has come under new government scrutiny after aviation minister Kelly Tolhurst was asked a parliamentary question by transport committee head Huw Merriman who accused BA of effectively sacking its 42,000 workforce and replacing it with 30,000 jobs on inferior terms.
Mr Merriman accused the company of using the coronavirus pandemic as a “justification to slash jobs and employment terms”. He urged the Government to request an urgent review into the possibility of reallocating landing slots, from “companies like BA who indicate they are downsizing” to those “that wish to expand and take on workers”.
Ms Tolhurst said the Government was “legally prevented from intervening” in slots allocation, but added that she would seek to “ensure that the slots allocation process encourages competition and provides connectivity”.
EasyJet
In announcements this week EasyJet said it is set to fly 75% of network by August. The airline has said it will operate from Britain to all main European holiday destinations from 1 July and fly 50% of its routes in July. It has launched its biggest summer sale and it will fly with stringent health and safety measures.
Wizz Air expands
Wizz Air has confirmed that it will open four new bases from 1 July and launch in excess of 50 new routes which include the launch of new routes to Palma and Malaga from Luton on 1 July.
Ryanair
The Evening Standard reported that Ryanair has experienced a big surge in bookings out of Ireland and the UK and Ireland to Spain, Portugal and Italy over the weekend that continued into this week, which CEO Michael O’Leary said proves that passengers will be ignoring the threat of quarantine rules if they extend into July, which is when the airline plans to resume flying. He said that he is confident that flights will be 50-60% full.
Lufthansa Group
According to Routes Digest, Lufthansa Group has announced plans to significantly expand its services in the second half of June compared with the previous weeks, focusing on summer tourist destinations. From June 15, it will resume 115 weekly services from UK and Ireland. Eight new routes have been introduced from Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Dublin.
Lufthansa Group posted financial results this week which showed that the group made a first quarter loss of €1.2 billion due to Covid-19.
This compared to a profit of €336 million achieved in the same three months last year.
US Airlines to shrink
Skift reports that all major U.S. airlines have said they will need to shrink in the autumn, once U.S. government payroll aid that bans involuntary job cuts expires on 30 September. American Airlines has said it will reduce staff by 30% and United Airlines Holdings has said it will reduce management and administration staff by 30%.
Emirates
The president of Emirates Airline has predicted the aviation sector could return to “some kind of normality” during 2021.
“Planning for resumption is quite complicated, needless to say, we have a 24/7 watch on it as countries start to relax their access requirements, but I see some difficulties as I don’t believe they will open at the pace we would like.”
CRUISE
New minimum standards introduced for European river cruise lines
New guidelines for a return of European river cruises following Covid-19 have been issued. The measures have been put forward by Swiss-based IG RiverCruise which has been representing the sector for 20 years.
Viking
Viking has told the Telegraph that it is planning to operate sailings around the UK this summer, dates and itineraries tbc.
P&O Cruises
TTG reports that P&O Cruises has extended its pause in operations until 15 October.
President Paul Ludlow said “We are working with government and industry bodies at the highest possible level, such as Public Health England and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to review every aspect of a holiday with us and establish a framework of policies and procedures.”
ACCOMMODATION
Travelodge in rent row
The BBC and The Times report that budget hotel chain Travelodge is proposing a new restructuring plan to end a row with its landlords and protect thousands of jobs.
Travelodge, whose backers include Goldman Sachs, has refused to pay rent in the three months to end-March. But landlords accuse the hotel chain of taking advantage of the virus pandemic to cut its debts at their expense.
Mandarin Oriental to initiate research study on best practices for hospitality industry
Travel Daily reports that Swiss Education Group, the largest provider of hospitality and culinary education in Switzerland, is collaborating with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group on a research initiative to study the effects of the ongoing pandemic on the hospitality industry. This project, which also includes leading Swiss industry partners, will identify best practices in crisis management, operations and recovery strategies through interviews, visits and surveys.
EVENTS
Two-thirds expect live events to return in 2020
C&IT magazine has reported that nearly two-thirds of event planners expect live events to return this year.
The majority of event professionals (56%) will be running 25% or less of their planned 2020 events, according to a survey conducted by Global DMC Partners (GDP).
While that single statistic shows the enormous impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global events industry, only 13% of respondents said their events programmes had been completely wiped out.
On event postponement, nearly nine out of 10 (88%) say that 'some portion' of their 2020 events will be or are already postponed to 2021. Of those, 37% said that at least half or more of their event programmes have been postponed to 2021.
The survey also found that virtual is not considered to be a long-term replacement for face-to-face programmes, with live events and hybrid solutions continuing to be in high demand.
Government support still not reaching UK tour ops and DMOs, says UKinbound
Dozens of British tourism businesses are at "grave risk" of collapse if the Government fails to amend its "arbitrary advice" to local councils on eligibility for financial support, UKinbound has warned, reports TTG. The trade association says many of its tour operator and destination management company (DMO) members have been denied business rates relief and grants by their local authorities because the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MCHLG) does not consider these businesses part of the leisure industry.
BUSINESS TRAVEL
BTN Europe reported on a survey of 1,260 travellers worldwide by BCD Travel which revealed that looking ahead to the restart of travel, two-thirds of business travellers say they are most concerned about quarantine measures following their trips, social distancing and the cleanliness of their environment.
The survey revealed that 76 per cent of respondents said their company had suspended all business travel and 32 per cent said only essential travel was allowed. Seven in ten had trips planned during the time the virus started affecting their region, with 67 per cent of those reporting their trip was cancelled or postponed. Thirty per cent shifted their meeting to a virtual platform and only 3 per cent still took place. Of those that managed to hit the road during the pandemic, the majority (72 per cent) said they were able to complete their trips as planned.
The FT has reported on the physical changes to flying that are most likely to stay post-pandemic. The piece highlighted the concern over demand for business travel expressed by airline chiefs.
Research by Citi estimates that corporate travel could be impaired by about 25 per cent versus 2019 levels, driven by the proliferation of virtual meetings and varying quarantining and border rules for the foreseeable future. This will make it a “struggle for a lot of airlines that carry international and business travellers . . . to make money,” said Mark Manduca, aviation analyst at Citi. Corporates are already showing signs of reassessing their policies.
Jean-Sébastien Jacques, chief executive of mining group Rio Tinto, said its spending on long-haul could fall by as much as 75 per cent over six months. “We used to have a big budget for international travel between continents and I am sure that is going to shrink very quickly.”
SimpliFlying’s Mr Nigam believes airlines may need to think creatively about boosting profits — from introducing subscription services to larger premium-economy cabins, which will allow people to social- distance while paying a little more than economy fares. “There will be some impact . . . if everyone's enjoying being on Zoom videos,” Ed Bastian, chief executive of Delta Air Lines, told investors last month. “I personally don’t, but maybe some people do. Maybe that will change the nature of travel a bit. But business is done face-to-face. People enjoy experiences. All the things we’ve seen . . . actually has, in my opinion, caused people to miss travel more than ever before in this lockdown phase. And we’ll get back.”
TOUR OPERATORS
Expedia
Online travel giant Expedia Group has created a fund of $275 million to help destinations and travel suppliers to recover from the coronavirus crisis.
The company said the recovery package aimed to “accelerate recovery for hoteliers, destinations and the wider travel industry”.
Kuoni
Travel Weekly has reported that Kuoni is to offer its first range of UK and Ireland holidays. Kuoni has partnered with UK operator McKinlay Kidd to produce the bespoke collection for Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland
TUI
Travel Weekly reports that Tui UK and Ireland is extending the cancellation of all beach holidays until 30 June and Marella Cruises’ sailings up to 30 July.
365 Tickets enters administration
Global attraction tickets specialist 365 Tickets has ceased trading and entered administration.
The company traded under the names 365 Global Tickets and 365 Tickets International and was registered in Jersey.
CONSUMER SENTIMENT
Skyscanner
Increased optimism about the safety of international travel in Europe and the US is driving down overall anxiety levels, according to metasearch site Skyscanner.
Releasing its latest sentiment snapshot based on the last nine weeks of data, Skyscanner says anxiety levels are now at their lowest point (58%) during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is down from a high of 72%, the firm said, with the greatest lift in optimism coming from European travellers (6% to 15%) and US travellers (7% to 18%).
TUI Survey
A survey of 2,000 adults by the UK’s largest operator TUI found that 70% of holidaymakers will “appreciate it more” when they finally get to travel again after the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.
Long-haul destinations also feature strongly on Tui’s Lockdown Holiday list with Florida in fourth place, followed by the Caribbean in fifth and Mexico (8th), Thailand (9th) and Dubai (10th).
Other short-haul options in the top 10 are Croatia (6th) and Turkey (7th).
Tui also reports that all-inclusive holidays are “performing well”, according to search results on its online platforms, while there have been “notable increases” in self-catering and villa holidays.
The tour operator adds that May and June 2021 are currently the most popular travel months, with Greece, Turkey and Florida the most booked destinations. Egypt and Cape Verde are also proving popular for winter-sun breaks.
VisitBritain’s consumer sentiment tracker results
VisitBritain has commissioned a weekly tracking survey to understand domestic intent to take short breaks and holidays both within the UK and abroad. The survey will be repeated across a 13-week period with the first wave of results published on 1 June. The survey results will be published weekly on visitbritain.org. Download the report.
Icelolly spike
Travel Weekly reports that OTA icelolly has experienced a spike in enquiries for September and October 2020.
ECONOMY
The Financial Times believes that the Government is well-aware of the unprecedented economic pain. On 1 June, Robert Shrimsley wrote ‘No one will admit it openly but there has been a decisive shift in the British government’s approach to coronavirus: in the minds of ministers, it is no longer primarily a health crisis; it is now principally an economic crisis.’
Shrimsley continues: ‘Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is warning colleagues that unemployment may hit 10 per cent. He sees unlocking the economy by the summer as his top priority, not least to save the leisure sector and the chancellor is planning a July mini-budget to stave off a collapse in demand.
The difficulty, is that for the economy to pick up, a significant sector of the population needs to believe that the Government is putting health first, hence the insistence that five tests are met, when in fact, the UK has met barely three and when infection rates are still high.
The choice between health and economy though is a false one as economic demand will be stalled by health fears and a second spike.’
No deal Brexit
High Street banks have been warned by the Bank of England to bolster their planning for a no-deal Brexit as worries grow that Britain will fail to strike a deal with the European Union, says The Times.
How Tourism will survive the pandemic
The Economist looks at how summer tourism can work in 2020 and looks at the benefits it brings in terms of creating wealth and happiness – and calls for this summer to be used to make tourism work better with more astute planning to tackle overcrowding; and to speed up the introduction of aircraft with lower carbon emissions.
…AND FINALLY
A window on Scotland
Hundreds of views from attractions and homes across Scotland have been shared online as part of VisitScotland’s #AWindowOnScotland social media campaign. The tourist board launched a social media campaign asking people across the country to open a window on Scotland and spread the love of their towns, villages and cities.
As people across the country stay at home, #AWindowOnScotland is urging residents to share online the sights they can see from their properties.
Twitter users are asked to take a picture of a view from their property and post it using #AWindowOnScotland and their location (i.e #Stirling, #Aberdeen, #Glasgow etc).
It’s hoped the campaign will remind visitors, particularly Scots who holiday here and represent one of the country’s most important tourism markets, of the diverse landscape, vibrant cities and stunning scenery that is waiting for them when this isolation period ends.
Popular posts include images of the coastline at Oban, a video of lawn mowing at lighthouse cottages on Orkney, the sunset from Gourock and a video from a lodge on the banks of Loch Ness. The Big Houses in the Scottish Borders Group, which represents eleven historic houses, is among the organisations that are supporting the campaign.
See more at www.visitscotland.com and www.bighousesgroup.com.
Mauritius’ tourism campaign highlights the benefits and beauty of nature amidst the pandemic
Travel Daily has reported on The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority’s new campaign entitled #MauritiusUnwavering to showcase the destination’s natural beauty and stunning landscapes during a time when the whole world has been forced to pause and reflect while Mother Nature has breathed, healed and regenerated.