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Summer holiday prices have fallen by up to 52 per cent compared to 2019, new research suggests.
Analysis from price comparison website Travelsupermarket.com found that package holidays to green listed Malta are on average 52 per cheaper than before the pandemic, with trips to Spain around 20 per cent less costly. Greece and Portugal came in at 11 per cent and 12 per cent cheaper, respectively.
The plummeting prices are likely related to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding summer holidays due to restrictions both at home and abroad. Malta, for example, is only accepting fully vaccinated travellers, narrowing its tourist pool and potentially depressing prices.
In the past few days, there has been a slew of announcements tightening restrictions on UK travellers. Yesterday, Croatia became the latest country to impose obligatory Covid tests for all visitors from the UK, including those who are fully vaccinated, because of the surge in cases of the delta variant. Only children under 12 will be exempt, and the measure takes force on July 26. Meanwhile, the US is advising against travel to the UK.
France’s appearance on the new ‘amber plus’ list, which demands that even double-jabbed travellers must quarantine upon their return, may have also shattered the confidence of British holidaymakers .
Scroll down for more updates.
Hotel quarantine bills could rise by £500 to curb trips to red list countries
Travellers face a £500 increase in the costs of hotel quarantine to more than £2,250 under plans being considered by ministers to curb “unnecessary” trips to red list countries.
Ministers are frustrated that the taxpayer is subsidising the costs of putting thousands of travellers up in hotels for 10 days when they “should not be travelling to red list countries”.
About 30,000 people have already stayed in the hotels at a cost of up to £1,750 per person after arriving back from red list destinations. The price also includes PCR tests on day two and day eight.
Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, voiced his frustration in the Commons when he insisted the scheme did not make a profit for the Government but was subsidised.
“I also want to point out that people should not be travelling to red list countries. The only people who should be coming back to government quarantine are British or Irish citizens, or people with permanent rights of residence,” Mr Shapps said.
What happened yesterday?
Here’s a recap of Wednesday’s top headlines:
- Spain unlikely to go ‘amber plus’ imminently
- Heathrow queue chaos: E-gates fail to work for fully vaccinated travellers
- Mandatory Covid tests for fully vaccinated UK travellers heading to green-list Croatia
- Grant Shapps ‘angry’ that he was pressured into adding France to the ‘amber plus’ list