Agents have questioned why the entire Canary Islands region has been removed from the UK travel corridor list when the government could take an individual approach for each island.
They said they were “shocked” at the latest change to the ‘safe list’ yesterday, which had been “devastating” and “immensely frustrating” as they are once again left having to cancel and rebook customers.
The Canary Islands were added to the corridors list in October, sparking a boost to the winter market across the industry. They were also added in early July when the corridors list was first revealed, but removed later that month.
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Speaking on a Travel Weekly webcast, Tony Mann, managing director of Idle Travel, said: “My daughter called me to say the Grim Reaper had been on the telly again, and dropped the Canary Islands off the travel corridor list and I was just totally shocked.
“I wasn’t expecting it. I’d read the news before from the Canaries that they looked like they were going to move to the easier antigen test, which was really positive. And then you’re thrown completely off with this news from our government. It’s just a nightmare, to be honest. Totally devastating.”
Mann, who’s one-branch agency in Bradford had 17 Canary Islands bookings in December, said he had been dealing with customers already abroad, those due to travel in the coming weeks, and especially over Christmas – and had even taken calls from people with holidays booked to the Canaries next May, wanting to swap destinations on the back of the announcement.
He said: “It’s just so frustrating. How come it’s all the islands? Not like they’ve done for Greece where it’s just specific ones?
“I honestly came on here today thinking, ‘right Tony, positive pants’. But now I’ve started talking about it, I’ve got my narky knickers on instead. It’s a real blow.”
Amanda Matthews, managing director of Designer Travel, agreed: “I was in complete shock. And not just because the Canaries had been taken off the corridors list, but also the fact that the Canary Islands are totally independent islands, and to just implement a broad-brush approach again is crazy.”
Designer Travel had “45-50” Canaries bookings due to depart in December affected. Matthews added: “What’s really frustrating is we’re letting people go shopping to the Trafford Centre, and to London, where the risk is so much higher than going on holiday. On holiday, in the main, people in the Canaries that are testing positive will not be from leisure, because most people are going there on holiday will have to have been tested before travel.”