The latest flip-flop on travel restrictions, dictating that anyone – British resident or tourist – who enters this country from 4am tomorrow onwards must take a test two days before arrival, is another shattering blow to my industry.
It’s a pointless over-reaction as all the early evidence suggests that Omicron is much less likely to cause death or illness serious enough to warrant hospital treatment.
Omicron may have been present in Britain since weeks, even though it was originally identified in South Africa. Omicron has been detected in a number of individuals across the UK, including one cluster that was found in Scotland.
It’s a pointless over-reaction as all the early evidence suggests that Omicron is much less likely to cause death or illness serious enough to warrant hospital treatment
When passengers traveling from Glasgow to London get off trains at Euston, there is no reason for them not to check their Omicron status.
My 1,000 employees found that only one has contracted Covid overseas, and more than 200 in the United States. Of course, I’m not advocating Covid tests on the railways, I’m just trying to highlight the uselessness and sheer unfairness of the new rules.
And though my business and my customers have suffered bitterly throughout the pandemic, I don’t want special treatment.
I’m simply echoing Professor Mark Woolhouse, a member of the Government’s Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, who says the travel restrictions have come too late to make any ‘material difference’.
They will still have severe long-term implications for the travel industry. Uncertainty is created by every decision made and any change in direction. Uncertainty is the worst news for travelers.
Most people want to plan their holidays well in advance – traditionally, families start to think about their summer breaks at Christmas time. Even people who don’t have a lot of money tend to book flights months ahead.
Kneejerk rules introduced in a futile bid to control Omicron this week are going to have their real impact in the summer – because that’s when people will be missing out on travel that they are disinclined to book now.
Our confidence has been damaged by two years of constant panic. Friends who run restaurants tell me that some customers are becoming wary of eating out at all: they book a table, then lose their nerve and don’t turn up.
The country we have become is so intimidated by the slogans of struggling hospitals and quarantine that they are now risk-averse. Since I was 14 years old, I spent eight in special forces. And I have been in business more than 50 years. So I feel I am an expert on managing risk.
That policy has cost Trailfinders £80million in 22 months, about a quarter of our total cash reserves. And as I own the company, that’s my own £80million
You must assess the risk and then manage it. My company did everything it could to increase confidence and minimize risks from the moment the Covid crisis began in March 2020.
Our policy is to immediately refund customers with no questions and without any 14-day delay. This ensures that holiday cancellations are not a financial embarrassment for our customers. We can’t prevent the disruption and the disappointment, but we can at least ensure they are not out of pocket.
That policy has cost Trailfinders £80million in 22 months, about a quarter of our total cash reserves. And as I own the company, that’s my own £80million.
We were able to maintain all of our offices and shops open despite this huge expense. There have been no forced redundancies. It puts us in a strong position to bounce back when the Covid crisis is finally over – and history tells us that all pandemics do end eventually. It will be back to normal. However, there’s no question that the industry is going to be severely damaged for many years.
The airlines’ fleets, for instance, have decreased by between 20 and 25 per cent, and large numbers of aircrew have seen their qualifications lapse. They can’t just get back on a plane and start flying tomorrow.
My team wants to see the whole world fly again. To my great pleasure and pride, they couldn’t wait to stop working from home and get back to our shops and offices when the rules changed. That’s hardly surprising.
The camaraderie of an office setting is far better than the solitude that comes with operating at your home. Trailfinders is a better place to find romance than Tinder.
So far, I’ve counted 146 marriages between my employees. It’s no wonder that they are so excited to be back.
It is not acceptable to punish travel industries every time a pandemic turns sour. We know from hindsight that none of the international restrictions had any effect on slowing down the spread and spread of Covid.
These businesses are vital to millions of people’s livelihood. Everyone needs holidays. It is important to have some sense of humor when dealing with these ridiculous rules.