The government’s effective stifling of the only mainstream winter sun destination left by removing travel corridors to the Canary Islands has led to widespread industry condemnation.
Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said described the measure as “absolutely devastating” for agents and operators.
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland warned that removing the Canary Islands travel corridor this close to the winter sun season “is going to send some holiday companies bankrupt”.
Webcast: ‘Travel agents are having to become so resilient’
Keith Herman, chief executive of Trending Travel, blasted transport secretary Grant Shapps’ “moronic decision” and warned that operators would be forced to cancel millions of pounds worth of holidays.
Operators are waiting to see if Foreign Office travel advice changes as expected in line with the new measures.
Programmes to the islands will have to be cancelled if the FCDO advises against all but essential travel as most insurance policies will be invalid.
Tui said last night: “We’re aware of the UK government’s recent decision to remove the Canary Islands from the travel corridor list.
“Holidays are currently operating as planned. We would like to assure customers that we will contact them directly if their holiday is affected.
“Any customers due to travel from Friday 11th December up to and including Thursday 17th December have the option to amend for free to any holiday that’s currently on sale.”
The requirement to quarantine on return to the UK from the Canary Islands was lifted on October 25.
Under the UK governments’s new ‘test and release’ scheme people will be able to take a Covid test after their fifth day of quarantine and no longer need to self-isolate if negative, against current 14-day quarantine restrictions for countries without travel corridors.
The islands’ government ruled that it would accept antigen tests as proof visitors are Covid-free from yesterday (Thursday).
While Covid-19 case numbers in Tenerife are high at 96.1 cases per 100,000 over seven days, the rest of the Canaries have relatively low case numbers – all below 50 per 100,000.
This would have enabled individual islands to be assessed individually like the Greek islands, rather then being grouped together.
Lo Bue-Said said: “Given the limited number of destinations suitable for winter sun holidays that are also exempt from self-isolation upon return to the UK, the majority of departures over the next few weeks would have been to the Canaries, particularly since the UK lockdown has been lifted and in the lead-up to the Christmas period.
“Travel agents will now have the difficult task of re-booking and cancelling passengers, while the majority of their workforce remain on furlough.
“Without a travel corridor the FCDO advisory will kick in and advise against all but essential travel, meaning any passengers who are able to travel and quarantine on arrival will need to check their travel insurance.”
She added: “The ONS October data place travel agents at the top of the list of businesses most impacted by the pandemic, trading at -90%. At what point will the government recognise that tailored support is needed?
“The travel industry is vital to economic recovery but continued changes to the travel corridor measures, blanket FCDO advisory and a testing regime that still hasn’t been implemented is causing devastation and misery to many businesses.
“The travel industry had started to feel like it was turning a corner, however the removal of the Canaries is hugely damaging.
“We strongly urge the government to advise at their earliest convenience their plans for the test and release scheme as well as a much needed review of the FCDO advisory.”
An Abta spokesperson said: “The removal of the Canary Islands from the travel corridor list is extremely disappointing and will create more uncertainty for consumers, particularly as we head into the Christmas period.
“We should remember that customers in England will have the option of test to release from 15 December, which could shorten self-isolation requirements to five days, but we recognise this carries additional costs and does not apply to all parts of the UK.
“This decision demonstrates once again the urgency of government providing some tailored financial support for the travel industry.
“The latest economic figures from the ONS say travel agents and tour operators are down 90% on where they were in February – far worse than any other services sector.
“Yet as other industries, like hospitality and the arts, have had specific support the travel industry has received no specific support packages.
“Jobs are going at an alarming rate and businesses are struggling to survive. Specific help from the Government is long overdue.”
Cosmos Tours chief executive Giles Hawke tweeted: “This was always going to happen and shouldn’t surprise anyone. This hokey cokey approach is not fit for purpose and will continue to damage consumer confidence and the whole travel industry.”
Boland said: “Many people who have booked trips to the Canary Islands could now have a fight on their hands to get refunds. It also again reinforces the advice that you shouldn’t book travel for departure in the near future unless you are able to quarantine for 14 days. It’s not the time to take a holiday.
“The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the travel industry, and urgent help is needed to keep it afloat during the winter months.
“We are urging the government to introduce a travel guarantee fund to ensure travel companies who are ordinarily in good financial health can meet their obligations to customers.”
The Department for Transport said: “Ministers’ decision to remove the Canary Islands from the list of travel corridors has been based on a sharp increase in test positivity, currently at 7.1% for the Canaries collectively and 8.8% for the island of Tenerife.”
EasyJet Holidays is allowing customers booked to travel to the Canaries in December the chance to either travel as planned or cancel in return for credit with the operator.
Chief exceutive Garry Wilson said: “This is yet more disappointing news for customers who were looking forward to a well-deserved holiday, especially so close to the festive period. And it’s a confusing situation as we wait to see if there will be any change to FCDO advice alongside the travel corridor lists update.
“We couldn’t leave our customers with uncertainty though, particularly where Christmas bookings are concerned, so we believe it’s the right thing to do to give our customers a choice about their holiday plans.”
He added: “We’re looking forward to seeing more detail on the test to release scheme when it’s announced. We hope it’ll mean some customers will be able to take advantage of it and still be able to travel as long as FCDO travel advice allows.”