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Here is Spain's plan (which I imagine will be closely watched by lots of other countries)
https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/gobierno/councilministers/Paginas/2020/20200428council.aspx
Our view (from a small holiday company) is that we'll be doing no business overseas this year. We are expecting UK business to be up on last year as no one really wants to travel. (Our demographic is late 40's to death(!) and those folks won't be going anywhere because of the risk if they catch the virus).
Jesus, i am late forties, don't write me off yet!!
That article is interesting article Eskay. Read through rose tinted glasses from a personal perspective, our enclosed all-inc (hotel x 38 apartments around a large pool) could actually be functioning almost normally in August in that:
a) It has two restaurants at opposite ends, so 1/3rd capacity and 2m spacing could be observed easily by phasing meals
b) It has an open air auditorium, so in-house staff could put on kids show as there won't be more than 400 people seated
c) Apartments - so socially distance there is easy
Yet, Bar, general milling about and Sunbeds will be restricted to social distancing rules and we may have to wear a facemask, which will result in a very odd tan...
Fingers crossed Kryton!
EFE were reporting that the 30% occupancy of bar/restaurant terraces has been increased today to 50% when Phase 1 kicks in on 11th May.
Strange to think I'll be sat outside my local having a pint after work next Monday. Blimey.
Hadn't thought about the facemask tans, there are going to be some very odd looks at people when they get home with that
Germany have gone further than anyone with setting the path to “normality” and they’ve said no large public gatherings till 31st August. And they’re miles ahead of everyone with testing/death rates
Germany generally isn't as dependent on tourism as its southern neighbours. However, the Oktoberfest being cancelled is a big thing. It brings millions upon millions to Munich and the surrounding area. One girl I know takes holiday to work there as a waitress and takes home around 15k for the two weeks and she's not even one of the long termers there.
Booked to go to Bike Republic Solden beginning of August, they have announced today that the lockdown finishes this Thursday but they have no idea when the trails may open. All mass events in Austria cancelled until September.
If Austria is still closed then look to Italy assuming they've opened up. Paganella is a much better park with nicer surroundings, better food & coffee and friendlier locals.... 😉
There is some talk between Austria and Bavaria /Germany of letting the inhabitants of each travel to the other country. In reality this means Germans travelling to and spending money in Austria. Not many Össis going north for their holidays. And I'm sure if the Italians see the Austrians profiting from German tourists they too will want some of the action.
We’ve come to a decision. We’ll cancel and watch what happens. If it’s viable we’ll pick up a last minute deal, there should be plenty around. If not, wait til next year.
we’ll pick up a last minute deal, there should be plenty around
Or will there be A LOT of people desperate to go on holiday?
🤷🏻♂️
Dunno.
No
I don’t think so. I should have been clear - I don’t just mean overseas but taking the kids to a nice place in the UK. Some place away from home for a bit.
Yeah, but away from the riff-raff, right?
Although I guess the big question has got to be what sunglasses you're going to wear on your holibobs... Ya.?
You really think there will be plenty last minute deal in the UK? Not a chance.
There will be a clamour for the few places that weren't booked up before this shitstorm started.
And the few bars and restaurants around (if you're talking about going to somewhere nice in the lakes or the islands), if they're only open to 30 or 50% of covers, you'll struggle to even get out for a meal.
I did say “if it was viable...”
We had a Motorhome trip to France planned and a couple of sites booked, for ice wasn’t that organised which has helped somewhat ! Took the opportunity to book a couple of sites further north for mid August in the off chance we can visit them. We’ve got our own Motorhome so easy enough to get away. Some talk sites will open for self contained vehicles only but could be nonsense.
A lot of bookings for chalets, houses, motor homes, caravans etc have simply been moved into the latter part of the year, on the assumption it'll be OK to travel within the UK. I don't see a whole lot of spare capacity.
As soon as we're allowed I'm taking a month or so off and road tripping it to Finale, a couple of bike parks in Trentino and then over to the other side and chilling at a wild spot on the Adriatic.....
Want to sell the T5 but no one wants to buy right now.... As soon as we can travel I too will want to travel but it will probably be a great time to sell the van.
Should I buy a Ducato now and hope that I can convert it in time whilst having the T5 up for sale or just plough on with the T5....? 🤔
Been done?
BBC News - Coronavirus: What global travel may look like ahead of a vaccine
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-52450038
I'm not surprised but I'm still disappointed, Neilsons have just told me that our week's holiday on a Greek island in June has been cancelled.
Bits of the Travel Ind seem to be writing off up to mid-June at the moment. (TUI, EasyJet and others) they all seem to being offering various types of recompense, but Martin Lewis of MSE fame has concluded that if they can't provide a service because they're locked down, or your not able to use it because of travel restrictions then they have to offer a full refund including all fees. You might have to ask though.
Personally I've got a trip booked at the end of June (based on the original Passportes date), AirBnB are only currently cancelling until the end of May, but if the French bill to ban travel until July the 24th passes then I guess they'll have to refund which suits us.
I've also got a trip to Eurocamp booked completely by accident for the 25th of July, the day after the proposed French travel ban. I'm on the fence with that one, on one hand my Wife really needs a Holiday, her Dad passed from Covid a week ago, on the other I don't fancy a Holiday under lock down rules, even less restrictive ones. The virus ironically doesn't phase me much. We were all exposed to it, but we were very lucky with almost not symptoms and with the science now as certain as you can be with it that we're no likely immune and cannot contract or pass on the Virus, it holds little risk to us.
cannot contract or pass on the Virus, it holds little risk to us.
You can still pass it on.
Just because you are not carrying in your body, you can still move it from another infected person to an unaffected one. A lot less likely but entirely possible.
I’m not surprised but I’m still disappointed, Neilsons have just told me that our week’s holiday on a Greek island in June has been cancelled.
im holding out hope for an autumn neilson - given that you dont leave the hotel apart from on a bike ride (where you dont stop), and the customer facing staff live on site; could be a relatively normal holiday once the airlines are sorted...
Gonna call the insurance company, rest of our balance is due next week for the ferry crossing, see what they say.
I can't see European travel this summer.
I do a fair but of work with airports and most of our clients have a base case assumption of no flying for between 4 and 6 months i.e. April to July/September.
UK travel - yup - but you'll find it super hard to get any spots in hotels or campsites, most bookings have just been moved and who knows what restaurants/cafes will be able to open. Hospitality runs on SUPER tight margins and most won't be able to open with social distancing.
Yesterday the UK had 4339 new cases declared, France 297, Belgium 361, Holland 199. Until all of those number are in double figures and reliable test and trace systems operating I can't see governements being keen to open borders to tourists. In France the country is divided into red, orange and green areas with appropriate lockdown levels as of 11/5. Travel within the country will be limited to 100km from home and will remain so into June which is as far as we really know anything for sure for the moment.
We're all being psychologically prepared for holidays in France and near to home, reservations are booming in some areas where people are sure to ba able to travel. People in my town have noted the mountain resorts, Hossegor and Cap Breton are within 100km and are planning accordingly.
The Spanish plan is similar to the French one with limits on inter-provincial travel, with most restrictions being lifted by July or so. If all goes well...
Neilsons have offered to change to another week this year and pay the difference (or they'll refund us if it is a cheaper option)
They also offered the holiday in 2021.
Unfortunately, neither of those options is available to us so they'll be refunding us (I'd been told that would be in September)
I've just read this thread with interest (yup, all 6 pages of it) as we have two holidays planned this year, one week in Italy in August and Xmas break in Finland. These were meant to be our first abroad holidays with all three of us.
The Summer one is flights with EasyJet who are cancelling on a rolling 7 day basis, accommodation is a small independent owner. Flights paid by CC, accommodation by BACS (we know the owners). We do have pre-COVID insurance but only because I kept an eye on the news and bought it just before the situation got bad.
Speaking to an Italian yesterday she said that talk is that Italy will have internal holidaying only this Summer. We have to pay the remainder by July 4th but we are covered if the owner cancels. If the airline cancels we have to claim it all back through them.
I do not fancy sitting on a plane this Summer to go anywhere to be honest!
As for Winter, I really hope that goes ahead and that everything is sorted out by then. It should be covered by the insurance but who knows what state the travel industry will be in then? Unfortunately the deposit was paid for by debit card not credit, but it's not really that much in the overall general scheme of things. I'd be happy to move it to the following Xmas, even though we'll have waited a year for it if we went this year. We've already had two things moved to next year.
Found out a biking friend took their life over the weekend, which means I'm viewing my lack of a family foreign holiday a bit differently today.
Given that by about the end of the week, the UK is on target to being the second-worst hit country in the world, behind the USA, I can't imagine any countries wanting us to visit any time soon. It'd be like phoning up from Wuhan and asking if there are any vacancies in the village...
You can still pass it on.
Just because you are not carrying in your body, you can still move it from another infected person to an unaffected one. A lot less likely but entirely possible.
Do you mean by say touching a surface with the virus on it and then touching something else thus moving it about?
Do you mean by say touching a surface with the virus on it and then touching something else thus moving it about?
Yes.
Or having contact with someone who has and doesn't know, then carrying to another location/person.
I'll be interested to see (if interested is the right word) how this weekend's Spanish restriction easing manifests in 2 or 3 weeks' time.
I didn't see a lot of social distancing going on last night on my way back from riding, rather big groups of teens, people stopping and chatting, runners getting sprayed with snot rockets etc.
Given that by about the end of the week, the UK is on target to being the second-worst hit country in the world, behind the USA, I can’t imagine any countries wanting us to visit any time soon. It’d be like phoning up from Wuhan and asking if there are any vacancies in the village…
this is my view of late, best keep us lot separate on our island from our EU neighbours, for their safety...
I do not fancy sitting on a plane this Summer to go anywhere to be honest!
We have just postponed our August holiday on Rhodes until next year, for this reason. Greece have done a great job in containing the virus, so it’s a shame, as I wouldn’t be worried about catching it there.
Edit: of course that might change too once the season is in full flow.
I received the following in an email from an airport transfers company that operates out of geneva this morning, might be useful info:-
Summer 2020
Clearly, the situation is uncertain regarding travel this summer.
Here in France, restaurants and bars are expected to open at the start of June and Morzine aims to open the Pleney lift on the 29th June, with other Portes du Soleil lifts opening on the 4th July. The season this year is due to run three weeks later than usual, until the 20th September, due to the MTB World Cup.
We have already seen procedures being put in place to allow for social distancing on lifts and around town and obviously shops already have this in place.
The main problem is whether people will be able to get here! Importantly, France yesterday confirmed that any quarantine measures put in place for people arriving from abroad would NOT apply to visitors from the UK. This means that once travel and flights resume, you would be able to visit Morzine.
As I said, we are waiting for further advice from the government (which is expected over the next few days) and once we have a clearer picture, we should be able to start offering summer transfers...we'll keep you updated.
We've booked a campsite in Northern Spain in August and will be driving down. My sister has a house in the Pyrenees so will stay there for a week as well..... No idea if we'll be able to go but we already have a tunnel crossing from a trip we should have been on in April and if we have to cancel we'll only lose about £50 in a deposit so figured we may as well chance it.....
I received a similar email from mtbbeds about the lifts and as far a I read into it, its the lift companies just pushing to open and nothing official from the Govt
Given that by about the end of the week, the UK is on target to being the second-worst hit country in the world, behind the USA, I can’t imagine any countries wanting us to visit any time soon. It’d be like phoning up from Wuhan and asking if there are any vacancies in the village…
This. Yet there are still those in this country that seem to think we are generally better than everyone else in the world, especially when it comes to a crisis. The "inalienable British spirit" seems to be doffing your cap to empty slogans, singing Jerusalem then having a bit of a cough then dropping down dead.
Is it possible that travel will be restricted according to tracking app usage?
Do you mean by say touching a surface with the virus on it and then touching something else thus moving it about?
Yes.
Or having contact with someone who has and doesn’t know, then carrying to another location/person.
Do you have a source for that? There's so much opinion / fact (based on current knowledge / bullshit flying around at the moment I've not heard that mentioned before.
I received the following in an email from an airport transfers company that operates out of geneva this morning, might be useful info:-
Summer 2020
Clearly, the situation is uncertain regarding travel this summer.
Here in France, restaurants and bars are expected to open at the start of June and Morzine aims to open the Pleney lift on the 29th June, with other Portes du Soleil lifts opening on the 4th July. The season this year is due to run three weeks later than usual, until the 20th September, due to the MTB World Cup.
We have already seen procedures being put in place to allow for social distancing on lifts and around town and obviously shops already have this in place.
The main problem is whether people will be able to get here! Importantly, France yesterday confirmed that any quarantine measures put in place for people arriving from abroad would NOT apply to visitors from the UK. This means that once travel and flights resume, you would be able to visit Morzine.
As I said, we are waiting for further advice from the government (which is expected over the next few days) and once we have a clearer picture, we should be able to start offering summer transfers…we’ll keep you updated.
I'm frankly amazed at that, but that how the News seems to be working at the moment, reporting the headlines (2 week quarantine etc) but not the details for maximum impact.
I'd still need to see the exclusion for UK travelers before I pay the balance for my Holiday in Aug.
It's also only half the Story. We seem to be at least 2 weeks behind mainline Europe, they may be back to (almost) Business as usual from early July, we may not be.
The message about the Portes du soleil is jumping the gun.
French parliament is voting this afternoon on the prolongation of the state of emergency up until July 10th (initially the 24th until the senate dialed it back when drafting the law yesterday)
There won't be any foreign tourists before then, if it goes through.
@julians and @P-Jay - it's still not actually confirmed. The uncertainty is because early reports indicated there would be quarantine for arrivals from the UK, but the French government rowed back (in comments to the press) on that the following day: there's a good account here: https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2020/05/02/quarantaine-stopcovid-abandonne-verbalisations-les-precisions-du-gouvernement-sur-l-apres-11-mai_6038464_823448.html
The proposed law itself is here: https://www.scribd.com/document/459488341/Projet-de-loi-prorogeant-l-etat-d-urgence-sanitaire-et-completant-ses-dispositions#from_embed. The quarantine stuff is in article 3. It provides for quarantine for arrivals from "zones where the infection is circulating", but leaves it to the government to subsequently make the list of where that means. Their reaction to those early news stories is a good indication they don't intend to put us on the list. But they will have the power to and nothing is decided yet. So wait and see is the only sensible policy.
Also worth noting that France is following a geographically variable approach to this - some departments being classified according to their epidemic charactistics as "red" (where stricter controls will continue) and others as "green" where the lockdown will be eased more. 74 (i.e. Morzine) is orange on today's map - a colour that won't exist when the final map comes into force, but also a pretty good indication that it's early to be anticipating international tourism there early in the summer.
Do you have a source for that? There’s so much opinion / fact (based on current knowledge / bullshit flying around at the moment I’ve not heard that mentioned before.
If someone sneezes and leaves the virus on a surface, that you later touch and move to another surface or object. This could possibly increase the spread.
There is a lot of speculation on what surfaces the virus can live on and for how long but from what I have read, temperature and moisture levels are key factors.
Virus transmission
Definition of ‘fomite’
A fomite is defined as an object that becomes contaminated with infected organisms and which subsequently transmits those organisms to another person. Examples of potential fomites are surfaces, toys, mobile telephones or any inanimate objects.