Hopes for hassle-free summer holidays have been dealt another blow, after Greece tightened the rules on its party islands and Italy extended restrictions on UK travellers.
Extra police have been deployed to popular Greek islands including Mykonos, over fears that tourist venues aren’t complying with Covid measures. A reported 186 officers have been sent to the island, almost four times the usual number stationed there.
The Greek deputy civil protection minister Nikos Hardalias said Mykonos, along with the island of Ios, was “one step” away from authorities imposing further restrictions, and signalled concern over rising Covid rates in Zakynthos, Tinos, Lefkada, Santorini, Paros and Rhodes.
Meanwhile, Italy has extended its quarantine rule for British tourists for another month, even after the UK government’s decision to drop entry restrictions for fully vaccinated arrivals from the EU and the US.
Anyone entering Italy from Britain will have to show a negative Covid test result, self-isolate for five days, and take another swab test at the end of the isolation period, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said in a decree that prolonged until Aug 30 measures that were due to expire on Friday.
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In detail: Italy extends quarantine for UK travellers
The disappointing news that UK travellers to Italy will continue to have to quarantine, has dimmed hopes of holidays to one of the Britain’s favourite destinations.
Here are the key points you need to know about travel to Italy this summer
- Anyone entering Italy from the UK will still need to show a negative Covid test, self-isolate for five days, and then take another test until August 30.
- However, Italy will recognise UK vaccination certificates locally, making it easier for any Briton who complete quarantine to comply with Covid passport regulations, which will from Aug 6 apply to indoor bars, restaurants, museums, cinemas and other venues
- The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the whole of Italy based on the current assessment of Covid-19 risks, meaning travel insurance can be hard to secure.
UK Marriott hotels see 80 per cent rise in interest from American travellers, following reopening announcement
The news that Britain is reopening to fully vaccinated travellers from America and the EU from August 2 is the small step back to normality that the travel industry so desperately needed. And already hotels and airlines are reporting increases in interest and bookings from international travellers.
Neal Jones, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, EMEA, Marriott International:
“Following the excellent news that fully vaccinated US citizens can now travel to the UK without having to quarantine, we’re optimistic that we’ll see an increase in US bookings to the UK this summer.
“Immediately following the UK Government’s announcement, we saw an 80 per cent increase in traffic to our website from Americans searching for UK hotels. It’s abundantly clear that after over a year of restrictions, people are itching to travel again.
“We have already seen some encouraging trends from mainland Europe over recent weeks, and booking activity into Europe has improved by 40pts since early May as restrictions and quarantine requirements have loosened, especially in leisure-driven destinations like Greece, Spain, and Italy. We are seeing that our members and guests from the US are eager to come back to immerse themselves in the incredible culture and beauty of our key destinations once again.
French vent fury at ‘excessive and discriminatory’ UK quarantine rules
Credit:
AFP
France has slammed Britain’s decision to single it out as the only European country for which 10-day quarantine will be required for fully vaccinated travellers, branding the move as “excessive”, “discriminatory” and “scientifically unfounded”.
The decision, which the UK Government has blamed on the supposed prevalence of the beta variant in France, has infuriated British and French expatriates, along with Britons hoping to holiday in France.
Clément Beaune, France’s Europe minister, suggested one reason behind the move could be that other EU countries, which had been waived quarantine, enjoyed “more tourist flows with the UK than us”.
He said he was personally examining the possibility of imposing “reciprocal” measures, even if they would not be implemented immediately.
Spain holidaymakers set to escape quarantine as beta variant cases disappear
British holidaymakers in Spain are poised to escape quarantine next week after ministers received data showing there are no beta variant cases in the country’s main tourist areas.
The analysis, seen by The Telegraph, shows there are no beta cases in the Balearics – the most popular destination for Britons – and none in a huge expanse of the south, from Seville in the west to Granada on the southern coast and Malaga and Murcia in the east.
The variant, which originated in South Africa, is instead concentrated in one region in the north west, but even there it has fallen to below 10 per cent of cases as the delta strain – the dominant variant in the UK – squeezes out the others.
Overall, beta variant cases have fallen to 2.9 per cent of Covid cases in Spain, down from nine per cent.
What happened yesterday?
A recap of the key headlines:
- Government is ‘increasingly confident’ that green and amber lists will grow
- UK faces anxious wait to see if US travel reopens
- Raab: France is ’amber plus’ due to cases on island 6,000 miles from Paris
- Germany tightens entry restrictions in face of Delta variant
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NI to follow England’s rule change on international travellers
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Bookings from New York to London surge, says Virgin Atlantic
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EU warns against travel to Greece’s south Aegean islands
Now, on with today’s travel news