Travel agents have seen a big surge in interest and bookings for holidays overseas since Cyprus and Portugal announced last week that they’d be open to British tourists this summer.
The most recent holiday bookings are for July and August, however, with a very few in May, which is when Cyprus has mentioned it can begin to welcome UK guests.
“Cyprus has at all times been a favorite for our customers and we’ve seen a real uptick in bookings,” mentioned a spokesperson for Tui, the package holiday firm.
Thomas Cook saw 1 / 4 more searches for Cyprus on Friday than on Thursday and people were spending 40% longer on hotel pages, suggesting they were extra likely to book, according to a spokesperson. “Thus far, Portugal has not had as many bookings as normal. I feel we will see a rise in interest this weekend.”
The Cypriot government mentioned on Thursday night that those who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can enter the nation without restrictions from 1 May, whereas on Friday Portugal mentioned those who tested negative or were “immune” could visit.
Individuals are also booking summer holidays to different locations such as Greece, Mallorca, Turkey, Spain, and France, as well as further afield to the US and Maldives.
A spokesperson for the Association of Specialist Travel Firms mentioned that “Greece has been top of the pops” since the nation’s minister for tourism, Haris Theoharis, mentioned last month that UK guests would be welcome. Theoharis mentioned that the nation is working on a plan to make this happen from May.
Currently, travel overseas from the UK isn’t allowed till 17 May at the earliest, beyond a small number of exceptions. This is subject to a review by the Department for Transport into whether to permit more travel at an earlier date.
