Britons can enjoy huge discounts when they book winter vacations with holiday companies and airlines. This is despite concerns about changes in the UK’s travel regulations.
To encourage uninformed Britons to take advantage of this offer, holiday agencies are giving away up to 80 Percent off Spain holidays this month.
Meanwhile Ryanair has released thousands of cheap seats, including £20 return flights to popular winter holiday destinations such as Tenerife – where January highs reach 68F.
Ministers will likely approve the removal of quarantines in hotels for arrivals on red lists.
However, the Government’s demand that holidaymakers undergo expensive PCR testing upon returning to the UK is expected to be maintained.
Britons can enjoy huge discounts when they book winter vacations with holiday companies and airlines. This is despite concerns about changes in the UK’s travel regulations. TUI cut prices on Cape Verde (pictured), which can see temperatures of up to 75F in January.
In an attempt to persuade uninformed Britons, some holiday companies are offering discounts up to 80 percent on holidays to Spain. (pictured: Poniente beach at Benidorm).
Meanwhile Ryanair has released thousands of cheap seats, including £20 return flights to popular winter holiday destinations such as Tenerife (pictured) – where January highs reach 68F
The measure, according to bosses at travel agencies, is causing huge uncertainty in the winter destination market because holidaymakers are afraid of being negative and getting stuck overseas.
TUI Holidays, UK’s largest tour operator is cutting prices in an attempt to lure Britons into booking a winter vacation.
One of the biggest discounts on its website is on holidays to Benidorm, on Spain’s famed Costa Blanca, where average January temperatures are around 61F.
One three night stay at Hotel Rio Park, full board, flying out from Cardiff between December 18 and December 21 has been slashed from £657 down to £127 per person.
According to current laws, no double-jabbed Britons are permitted into Spain. Upon their return to Britain, holidaymakers will have to undergo a PCR test. These can cost up to £100 – nearly as much as the holiday itself.
TUI is also cutting more than 35% off some Mexico-bound all inclusive vacations in January.
Holidaymakers must also take a PCR testing upon their return, just like any other incoming travelers to the UK.
TUI has also reduced the cost of trips to Morocco where January average highs hover around 65F by 50 percent.
Similar discounts are available on Canary Islands trips, like Tenerife or Lanzarote. These are popular choices for UK winter sunseekers.
Some trips to Cape Verde, a popular winter holiday destination where temperatures regularly reach up to 75F, have also been slashed by £300.
The airline prices have been slashed in January, and this is not surprising.
Google Data shows that the average flight price to the Canary Islands is lower than for the following month.
TUI Holidays, Britain’s largest tour operator is cutting prices to Mexico. (pictured:Mexico’s Rio Grande). This will encourage Britons to take a winter vacation.
TUI has also reduced the cost of trips to Morocco by approximately 50% (pictured: Morocco’s Ait Benhaddou), which sees an average temperature of 65F in January.
Similar discounts are available on Canary Islands trips, like Lanzarote and Tenerife (pictured), that are popular with UK sunseekers.
A round trip from London to Tenerife next month is currently priced at £20, without luggage, while a round trip to nearby Fuerteventura from London on the same dates is currently £40, again without luggage.
A Jet2 round trip to Gran Canaria, another of the Canary islands, this time with luggage, is currently priced at £77.
The decline in flight prices between Manchester and popular winter destinations is also evident.
Seats from Manchester to Gran Caneria in the second weekend of January cost an average of £105 three weeks ago, but cost £77 now, according to Google.
Similarly, Manchester to Faro has also dropped in price from £51 to £33 over the past 21 days.
And flights from Birmingham to Benidorm have also dropped in price, from £59 to £40.
According to Google data, current prices for flights to Mexico or the Caribbean range from an average price to slightly more than average.
It comes as ministers were last night accused of ‘playing with people’s Christmases’ as they were poised to axe the travel ‘red list’ hotel quarantine scheme.
Furious tourism chiefs pointed out that thousands of travellers cancelled trips to see loved ones abroad after the ‘No-Go’ list was revived little more than two weeks ago.
South Africa, ten African countries and 10 others were also added in an effort to stop the Omicron variation spreading. However, the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly in the UK as well as around the world.
Anybody arriving in the UK from countries on the red list were required to quarantine in hotels for 11 nights at a cost of £2,285.
A round trip from London to Tenerife next month is currently priced at £20, without luggage, while a round trip to nearby Fuerteventura from London on the same dates is currently £40, again without luggage
A Jet2 round trip to Gran Canaria, another of the Canary islands, this time with luggage, is currently priced at £77
The decline in flight prices between Manchester and popular winter vacation destinations is also evident. Seats from Manchester to Gran Caneria in the second weekend of January cost an average of £105 three weeks ago, but cost £77 now, according to Google
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is believed to have persuaded colleagues that testing should be done at home while you quarantine.
Data suggests that with Omicron spreading rapidly worldwide, draconian travel restrictions will have a limited impact on countries’ infection rates.
Get fully vaccinated for foreigners before you arrive in England.
A meeting of the so-called ‘Covid O’ committee of cabinet ministers will take place this week, with an announcement potentially as soon as today.
Paul Charles, chief of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: ‘The government has to create a long-term strategy for when new variants emerge.
‘They can’t keep switching the industry on and off because it damages the sector every time.
‘The government is responsible for cancelling and playing with people’s Christmases when it comes to foreign travel. Many people had to cancel Christmas trips. They can’t continue to behave in this way.’
Pre-return testing has been reinstated since Omicron was created. However, post-arrival swabs must be performed by day two and should be more expensive PCR tests than quick lateral flow devices.
It has been criticized by the travel industry, who claim it will endanger travel in the crucial Christmas period.
Yesterday night, CEOs of airlines met with Treasury officials to protest the measures. They are some of the most severe in Europe.
The changes mean the ‘red list’ is a policy likely to remain in place in case needed in future, but the eleven African countries currently on it will be removed.
Grant Shapps, transport secretary (pictured), has reportedly convinced his colleagues to replace the red list for fully vaccinated Britons with home testing and quarantining.
Paul Charles, chief of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: ‘The government has to create a long-term strategy for when new variants emerge. ‘They can’t keep switching the industry on and off because it damages the sector every time’
Travel industry has condemned the move, claiming it would kill travel during the Christmas season.
The revival of the system has been plagued with issues, including travellers being unable to book hotel rooms because not enough have been acquired by ministers and reports of ‘grim’ food while quarantining.
It comes as TUI earlier this month revealed a slump in demand for winter bookings due to fears over the Omicron variant as it reported an annual loss of more than £2billion after Covid travel curbs hit the tourism industry.
According to the travel company, it is evaluating whether or not to reduce its winter schedule due the possible spread of the virus and the possibility of a new pandemic.
Fritz Joussen is the chief executive. He stated that most people contacting him prefer to schedule to later 2022 than to cancel their holidays. But he also stressed the fact that affected bookings still make up a small percentage of overall customers.
The group said it is close to breaking even in the final three months of its financial year, to September 30, with a quarterly underlying loss of £82.7million (€97million).
The comments came as TUI revealed worse-than-expected annual group losses of £2.1billion (€2.47 billion) for the year to September 30, although this narrowed from losses of £2.7billion (€3.15billion) in 2019-20.
The company is still expecting next summer’s bookings to rebound close to levels seen before the pandemic, with the first quarter of the new financial almost fully sold – at 93 per cent – and running at 69 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
easyJet stated last week that they have also noticed signs of demand slowing down in their current quarter. This is due to winter bookings beginning to fall and travellers shifting to next year.
TUI believes summer 2022 will be a rebound close to 2019. However, stressed customers continue to book later than usual and often at short notice.
Fritz Joussen (the chief executive of the group) stated that “TUI’s operating businesses are back” and had seen significant recovery in the past financial quarter 2021.
However, he said that there will be flexibility to decide whether to provide winter programming capacity at the lower range, depending on the “fourth corona wave” and other policy considerations regarding Omicron.
“Capacity plans are periodically reviewed and modified.”
The group plans to offer winter programs at 60-80% of the pre-pandemic level.
Are 12-year-olds required to have jabs in order to travel on holidays? Javid says Covid is offering travel passes to those under 16 years old
Sajid Javid, a 12- to 15-year old from India, has confirmed that they will have access to the NHS Covid Pass for their international vaccination status.
According to Health Secretary, the children will get the pass starting from today.
This will enable more people to show their vaccination status when it’s needed, Mr Javid stated.
Steve Brine (Tory ex-health minister) said that the announcement was welcome because it will make international travel easier for families.
The announcement will likely raise questions about the possibility that the requirement to show the pass to children at re-entry could be made mandatory.
Sajid Javid, a 12- to 15-year old boy from Pakistan, announced today that they will have access to the NHS Covid Pass for their international travel vaccinations.
According to the Health Secretary, children aged between 18 and 24 years old will have access to the Pass starting today
Mr Javid told the House of Commons this afternoon: ‘From today I can confirm that the NHS Covid Pass is being rolled out to 12 to 15 year-olds for international travel, allowing even more people to be able to prove their vaccine status where it is needed.’
Mr Brine asked Mr Javid: ‘Can I ask him about the NHS Covid Pass being rolled out to 12 to 15-year-olds which is such a welcome announcement and something that the Secretary of State promised this House that he would bring back and I thank him for that.
How will it work exactly? Many constituents of mine will travel within the next few weeks, and most likely within the week before Christmas.
“How can they get this pass, if they don’t have the NHS app access like adults?”
Javid responded: “He’s right, it’s a very crucial issue around the Covid Pass.
“We will soon publish on the website how this will work. However, it is currently being used as a digital card in the same manner it works for adults from today.
Children between the ages 12-15 in the UK have received their first doses of the coronavirus vaccination.
This announcement was made as Javid stated that there were now 4,713 Omicron cases in the UK.
He told MPs: ‘And the UK Health Security Agency estimates that the current rate of, the current number of daily infections are around 200,000.
“Omicron is a Covid 19 variant that represents more than 20% of all cases in England. However, it has already risen to 44% in London. We expect it to be the most dominant Covid 19 variant within the next 48 hours.