The tourism board of Tenerife, Abta, and multiple tour operators have confirmed holidays on the island will not be cancelled as a result of tighter restrictions.
Confusion over whether holidays would be able to go ahead from Friday spread after national media reports suggested new border restrictions from December 18 to January 2 stopped tourists from entering the Canary Island.
But the tourist board later confirmed that the decree by the Canary Islands Government didn’t apply to holidaymakers because of existing regulations approved in October.
“These measures do not affect the national and international tourists who have planned to come to the Island of Tenerife,” it clarified.
Tourists over the age of six to must take a diagnostic Covid test within 72 hours of arrival to access accommodation on the Canary Islands, in line with the October regulations.
Tourists must also respect the daily curfew from 10pm to 6am, the tourist board added. It confirmed the cumulative incidence of Covid in Tenerife has been below 50 cases per 100.000 inhabitants in the last 14 days.
Abta said: “The Tenerife authorities have confirmed that UK holidaymakers will be able to travel to the island, subject to providing a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of travel. This requirement is already in place for all foreign nationals travelling to the Canary Islands.”
Jet2holidays, the UK’s largest operator to the Canaries, was quick to quash reports that holidays would be affected. It had said: “We can assure customers that we have received confirmation from the Canaries Government that this is not the case. Holidaymakers can still travel to Tenerife to enjoy Christmas and their well-deserved holidays in the sunshine.”
The operator also noted there had been no change to Foreign Office (FCDO) advice.
An easyJet Holidays spokeswoman reassured customers “we’re continuing to operate as planned”.
Noting current FCDO advice, she added: “Having reviewed the news of a border closure in more detail, it specifies that visitors can still enter the island for tourist reasons and stay in their booked accommodation so long as they provide a negative Covid test taken no more than 72 hours prior to arrival.”
Thomas Cook interpreted the rule similarly. A spokesman said: “Our understanding is Tenerife is still open for tourists who have a negative result and so we will continue to operate as normal.”
The official communication from the Canary Islands government said: “The entry and exit of people to the island of Tenerife is restricted from 24.00 hours a day December 18 (Friday) until January 1, 2021 and it is also recommended to avoid the mobility between its municipalities.”
But it also confirmed: “In the case of national and foreign tourists who plan to come to the island of Tenerife on vacation, you can take advantage of the exceptionalities that the current regulations on the right of admission in tourist accommodation establishments, where you have to present a negative health test that proves you are free from coronavirus.”
The Advantage Travel Partnership said the mix-up had caused “absolute chaos” for its travel agent members and their customers, “both for passengers on the ground in Tenerife and for those departing imminently”.
“With different messages being shared across consumer and social media including a lack of clarity on whether airspace would close, travel agent members were thrown into turmoil trying to advise their customers on whether they should attempt to come home, or indeed travel.
“Despite the Canaries being removed from the air corridor last week, many travel agents still had clients planning to travel for the festive period, and one member had to contact a client on three separate occasions with three different messages. This is not only confusing for everyone involved, but also damaging at a time when consumer confidence is already at an all-time low.
“Thankfully, borders have not closed, but this demonstrates how communication is absolutely key, and early clarification from destinations and governments will help prevent issues like this arising in future.”
Tony Mann, director of Bradford-based Idle Travel, said: “The only way I can describe what happened last night and the confusion around the Tenerife announcement was that it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“Having to admit to my customers that I didn’t have a clue what was going on is not how I work and I did wonder if we needed to totally stop selling last-minute holidays to avoid things like this happening in future, despite the fact we have successfully managed to do this throughout the summer, even with the ongoing issues the industry has faced. What a way to finish the year – an absolute nightmare of stress and emotions.”