Agents say the unexpected removal of Turkey from the UK’s travel corridor list has left them despairing, with few destinations left to sell and clients questioning whether to book at all this winter.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps announced last week travellers returning to the UK from Turkey, along with Poland, would be subject to 14-day quarantine as of October 3. Turkey had been one of the few mainstream destinations still considered a ‘safe bet’ to book.
Tui, Thomas Cook and Jet2holidays cancelled holidays to Turkey, with the last of these increasing capacity to some Greek islands that remain quarantine-free.
Pole Travel had six Turkey bookings affected. Owner Jill Waite said: “Holidays to Greece doubled in price and there is nothing in the price range for our clients. People are now asking ‘is it worth booking anywhere?’ We can’t disagree; we’ve had discussions as to whether it’s worth taking a last-minute booking.”
Paul Knapper, owner of Spires Travel, which had a “handful” of bookings affected, described the situation as “disheartening”.
“We’ve administered some bookings two, three or even four times this year – each taking time to source, rebook and administer, only for it to end up being cancelled,” he said.
“In the hope of retaining already‑ banked commission, we’ve processed some bookings but still ended up with no income.”
The government withdrew Turkey from its corridors list over concerns around how Covid cases were reported in the country.
Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said said restrictions on Turkey were “the final blow for an industry already on its knees”; SPAA president Joanne Dooey said the move “diminishes, to a point of almost zero, the destinations agents can sell”; and Abta said the loss of Turkey “piles the pressure on a struggling sector”.
Prospects for the winter market as a whole appear gloomy. On the Beach chief executive Simon Cooper said “low levels of bookings” so far this year, combined with a “low appetite to book”, would make for a “hugely loss-making” season for travel firms that choose to operate.
Speaking at last week’s virtual Travolution Summit, he predicted “the same level of shutdown we had in March, April and May”.
