UK travellers struggle to understand the Covid-19 restrictions of other countries but most overseas visitors to Britain feel they understand UK restrictions, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Research by the ONS also suggests most UK and overseas travellers feel safer with social distancing and wearing face masks when travelling.
ONS research in June found 96% of overseas passengers felt they understood UK entry restrictions ‘well’ and more than two thirds (69%) ‘very well’.
By contrast, 80% of UK travellers said they found restrictions abroad difficult and one third (33%) ‘very difficult’. Barely one in 10 UK travellers (9%) rated overseas restrictions ‘easy’.
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However, while overseas visitors understood UK entry rules, they lacked confidence in finding the information on restrictions, with 96% not confident and 70% ‘not at all confident’.
The ONS reported: “Most UK residents arriving in the UK found following overseas Covid-19 restrictions difficult or very difficult, but most overseas residents said they understood UK Covid-19 restrictions quite well or very well” – a result that “has remained consistent since February 2021”.
Yet in June, “70% of overseas residents said they were not at all confident accessing information about the UK’s Covid-19 restrictions.”
The ONS also found most travellers embrace social distancing and wearing face masks.
Face coverings when travelling made an overwhelming majority feel ‘safe’ – 84% of UK travellers and 89% of overseas arrivals said masks made them feel ‘safe’ and 69% of UK and 75% of overseas travellers ‘very safe’.
Support for social distancing was similarly high. At least four out of five respondents – 80% of UK travellers and 85% of overseas arrivals – said social distancing during their journey and at airports made them feel safe, with two-thirds ‘very safe’.
The proportion of UK travellers who felt safe due to social distancing rose from 68% to 80% between February and June as more people travelled.
The ONS noted overseas residents were “slightly more likely than UK residents to say face coverings made them feel safe”.
It did not provide details on the number of UK and overseas respondents sampled each month but 17,720 took part in the survey from February to June, suggesting the latest figures reflect the responses of about 3,500 UK and overseas respondents.
The research was conducted as part of the ONS’s rolling International Passenger Survey of arrivals to the UK.
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