Filenews 10 March 2021
For a short time in January – with vaccinations against Covid-19 disease gaining momentum in the US – telephone lines at travel agencies were inundated with questions with most "pointing" to the same destination: Europe and in particular the Mediterranean.
At the end of the same month, however, that window was closed, Bloomberg reports in today's report. As he points out, the new rise in cases of coronavirus and concerns about virus mutations led France to close its borders on 29 January. Germany followed shortly afterwards by extending the lockdown. For its part, the UK has rekindled hopes by presenting a roadmap for recovery in mid-February. In the same week, Italy called for stricter restrictions.
The EU has proposed a vaccination passport as a means of protection this summer, a proposal that has faced backlash at first but is still gaining ground. And while in the US the Biden administration has announced that the US will have enough reserves to vaccinate all adults by May, the much slower vaccination process in the EU appears to cover about 70% of adults by the end of the summer.
Many travellers, however, are optimistically starting to bet on a summer in Europe. In the worst case scenario, they'll postpone their plans for a while. At best, they will be among the first to be at the gates when the border begins to open.
"People just throw darts at the map," comments Paul Tumpowsky, founder and CEO of online travel agency Skylark.
Traditional destinations such as Positano, Saint-Tropez and even Majorca may remain out of place this year, as Italy, France and Spain appear to be taking a more conservative approach to opening their borders. Of these countries Spain seems to be the most optimistic: the country's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez hopes to be able to allow entry to travellers from the EU from June 21st and give more access in July to other countries.
"We love Italy - it's our favourite place in the world," says Jack Ezon of travel company Embark Beyond. "But based on what we hear from there, I'm not sure the country will be open to Americans this summer."
"It doesn't seem certain for France or Spain, either," Ezon adds.
Instead, Ezon encourages its customers to make reservations by providing for a refund to villas and resorts in Greece and Turkey. Just this week, Greece announced plans to allow vaccinated travellers to travel to the country from May. In Turkey, the border has been open since mid-2020.
One destination that also appears to have potential is Cyprus, which has announced that it will allow entry to vaccinated Britons this summer – and Portugal which is expected to do the same soon.
"Emirates restarts flights from the US to Greece on 1 June and we want our customers to be the first to have the room when they realize that nothing else is opening. If this is the only place people can travel, it will become a real race," Ezon predicts.
Hoteliers on the Greek islands are hoping for this: Daniel Kerzner, owner of Santorini Sky, is not fazed by the recent rise in infections, which he says are confined to the mainland.
"Greece did a fantastic job last year in preparing for the tourist season and organizing things before it started. The same is happening now," he says. "We are the perfect place to restart tourism in 2021," he adds.
Skylark's Tumpowsky notes that Greece has many advantages this summer: "Greece has many hotels with outdoor areas and also did not have many problems last summer when they opened". He believes Greece's decision to allow travellers in could pressure other EU countries to follow suit. But he is hesitant to imagine Americans traveling widely in Europe before August.
Ezon, for his part, suggests booking "safe holidays" in the US, Greece or Turkey and another destination, such as Italy or France, for as long as a refund is possible. "When we see what happens with the border, we will make our final decisions."
Kerzner, for his part, is seeing a prolonged tourist season this year. "With 2021 starting late and travel so limited in 2020, we expect the season to last longer than usual - even the whole year," he says.
Tumpowsky stresses that travellers should be ready to act immediately, regardless of where they want or when they want to travel.
"The approval of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine will really change the data for everyone," he says. "In six weeks, this whole thing will be over. The world will enter at fourth speed – and really fast."
"If you know what you really want, it's a good idea to move on immediately now - otherwise there's a risk that it won't be available even for the next two years," he adds.
Source: Capital.gr
