United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Quarantine decision has come too late
Noel Josephides, director on industry issues for AITO and Sunvil chairman, says the quarantine decision has come too late for travel businesses and shows a complete lack of understanding by the UK Government.
"The announcement has come too late. The Government prevaricated and promised it last week, then Monday, and then Thursday, and then said it would start from Monday, and now it’s Friday. That one week makes such a difference and will have meant the loss of thousands of bookings.
From the beginning everything about the Government’s reaction to the industry has been disjointed and has shown an enormous lack of experience and understanding of our industry. This was also really epitomised by the way they handled refund credit notes.
Government departments don’t talk to each other and when they do have meetings with the travel industry they don’t listen. This is not the way to run a Government and it’s people’s livelihoods that are at stake.
Lack of confidence among consumers has meant new bookings have only been trickling in. We can only hope we get a bit more movement from now on, but the harm has been done.
A lot of customers due to travel in July and August have not yet paid their balances and only now that we can start asking them will we know if they want to cancel.
We can’t start operating at the flick of a switch, it takes time to market and time for people to get their confidence back. We still don’t know which flights will be flying, airlines don’t know what demand they will have. We don’t know if hotels are open because it depends on demand. Many hotels are telling us they won’t open because the UK bookings haven’t been there. It’s too late and it’s very damaging."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Tony from Gatto’s Pizza on Columbus’s Unique Pizza Trail
Sophia Hyder Hock on Global Social Inclusion in Tourism
Sustainable Tourism: Don Welsh on Community Values and Global Collaboration
Jane Cunningham: Enhancing European Engagement in Tourism
Kristin Dunne: Navigating Destination Strategy
Revolutionizing Mobile Connectivity: Boris Bijlstra on HUBBY eSIM
Capturing Glasgow’s Vibrancy: An Interview with Susan Deighan, Chief Executive of Glasgow Life
Lebua Hotel & Resorts: Rajan Khurana on Hospitality and Bangkok’s Charms
Sustainable Tourism and Growth: Insights from Chiravadee Khunsub from Tourism Authority of Thailand
Revolutionizing Travel: SmartSIM USA’s Dale Takio Unveils the Power of E Sims
TravelMole Interview with Hishan Singhawansa, Deputy CEO of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, Sri Lanka
Unveiling the Essence of Magari Tours: A Dive into Authentic Italian Experiences
EU airports bring back 100ml liquid rule
CLIA: Anti-cruise demos could cause itinerary changes in Europe
Co-pilot faints, easyJet flight issues ‘red alert’
Dozens fall ill in P&O Cruises ship outbreak
Woman dies after getting ‘entangled’ in baggage carousel