Category Archives: Travel & leisure

Which European countries are easing travel restrictions?

Posted on by

As some countries in Europe restart tourism, we round up lockdown-easing measures and restrictions country-by-country. Information will be updated as the situation changes

The UK Foreign Office (FCO) is currently advising against all but essential international travel for an indefinite period. However, countries across Europe have begun to ease lockdown measures and border restrictions, and to prepare for the return of domestic and international tourists.

At the UK border, all arrivals must self-isolate for 14 days from 8 June, or face a £1,000 fine. Arrivals must also provide contact and accommodation information, and the authorities have said they will carry out spot checks. Failure to supply an address may result in a £100 fine. They will also be strongly advised to download and use the NHS contact tracing app.

Continue reading...

From the end of the pier to the circus, UK seaside resorts in lockdown hope to salvage a summer

Posted on by

Norfolk’s picture postcard destinations were set for a bumper year – now they are fighting for survival

On a cloudless May morning, the seaside resort of Great Yarmouth on England’s east coast looks postcard perfect, but it’s deserted – the shops are shuttered and the beachside carparks closed. A scattering of lone joggers and cyclists make their way along the promenade, known as the “golden mile”, while one beach hut serves takeaway coffees and ice-creams.

While the UK has begun its first tentative steps towards easing lockdown restrictions, foreign leisure travel is still expected to be off the table for some time. Could a gradual reopening of the economy throw a lifeline to Britain’s struggling tourism industry, provided the virus is brought under control when the peak school summer holiday season begins?

Continue reading...

World tourism faces worst crisis since records began, says UNWTO

Posted on by

Travel industry could see an 80% decline in international arrivals for 2020 amid crisis that threatens livelihood of up to 120 million people

International tourism faces its worst crisis since records began, with up to 1.1bn fewer people taking trips globally in 2020. The scale of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact is outlined in a report by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which predicts a decline in international arrivals of between 58% and 80% this year.

This is due to widespread travel restrictions and the closure of airports and borders worldwide. The prediction of a 58% decline is based on the gradual reopening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions in early July; the 80% figure is based on early December.

Continue reading...

Spain and Germany deal blow to hopes of tourism revival

Posted on by

Minister rules out imminent reopening in Spain as Germany extends travel warning

Spain has ruled out any early reopening of its tourism sector and Germany is set to extend a travel warning for all leisure trips outside the country until mid-June, casting further doubt on when would-be holidaymakers will be able to venture abroad again.

With airline fleets mostly grounded, cross-border train traffic slashed and many EU countries, including France, requiring all arrivals bar their own citizens to formally justify their journey, leisure travel within Europe is at a near standstill.

Continue reading...

Greece preparing new tourism rules with EU in wake of coronavirus

Posted on by

Packed pools, beaches and tour buses will not return immediately as country plans for scaled back 2020 season

Packed pools, beaches and tour buses, as well as middle seats on planes, hotel minibars and scrums at airport check-ins, may all be a thing of the past as Europe’s tourism industry attempts to reimagine the holiday in the wake of the coronavirus.

Travel will take place only under “specific new rules”, Greece’s tourism minister has said as he prepares to propose ways of salvaging the sector with his EU counterparts in the era of Covid-19 on Monday.

Continue reading...

‘Time is running out’: airline industry warns government

Posted on by

EasyJet and Ryanair to stop flying on Monday and less than 5% of passengers expected at airports amid coronavirus

Airlines and airports have warned that time is running out for the government to enact promised measures to help the aviation industry, with EasyJet and Ryanair set to stop flying after Monday and less than 5% of normal passenger numbers expected at major airports.

Further talks are expected between ministers and the industry on Monday as the government wrestles with how to keep critical infrastructure functioning.

Continue reading...

Markets plunge despite coordinated action by central banks

Posted on by

Sharp losses recorded after US interest rate cut, as Bank of England hints at further support to combat turmoil

The FTSE 100 fell below 5,000 points on Monday and trading on Wall Street was suspended for the third time in a week as markets were gripped by mounting concerns over the threat of a global recession, despite a coordinated effort by central banks to protect growth and jobs.

In an escalation of the worst turmoil since the 2008 financial crisis, stock markets suffered further sharp losses on Monday despite dramatic action taken by the US central bank late on Sunday in an attempt to limit the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Continue reading...

Airlines make dramatic cuts to services and call for state bailouts

Posted on by

Aviation consultancy warns that international industry could collapse within months


Major airlines including British Airways, Ryanair, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic announced a dramatic scaling-back of their operations on Monday, including plans to cancel the majority of their flights and ground thousands of planes, with experts and industry executives calling for government bailouts to avoid bankruptcies.

The moves came as an aviation consultancy warned that the international airline industry will collapse within months, with the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, unless states worldwide inject billions of dollars of emergency funding to see it through the coronavirus “catastrophe”.

Continue reading...

BA says jobs will go as airline industry faces crisis ‘worse than 9/11’

Posted on by

Coronavirus memo says British Airways will be ‘parking aircraft in a way we never have before’

British Airways has warned staff it is in a fight for survival and expects to make job cuts and ground an unprecedented number of planes, as it said the coronavirus pandemic has caused a crisis “worse than 9/11” for the airline industry.

BA’s chief executive, Alex Cruz, said in a message to 45,000 employees entitled “The Survival of British Airways” that the airline would be “parking aircraft in a way we never have before” after the drop in demand was compounded by the shock US travel ban from Europe announced on Wednesday night. It came as the German media reported that the country’s flagship carrier, Lufthansa, might ground most of its fleet and ask for state aid in the wake of Donald Trump’s surprise move.

Continue reading...

Mass monkey brawl highlights coronavirus effect on Thailand tourism

Posted on by

Fewer visitors mean less food for troops of wild monkeys at Prang Sam Yod

The coronavirus outbreak has left Thailand’s hotels empty, its tour guides without work and its markets unusually quiet. The country’s wildlife may also now be noticing the lack of visitors.

A video filmed this week in Lopburi, north-east of Bangkok, showed large crowds of monkeys brawling in the streets, apparently fighting over a yoghurt pot. Residents in the city, which is famed for its monkey population, say the fall in tourist numbers means there are far fewer people offering food.

Continue reading...

Lie-flat beds in economy class: Air New Zealand unveils bunks for budget travellers

Posted on by

Airline which operates some of world’s longest flights is considering ‘Skynest’ sleep pods with pillows, sheets and blankets

Air New Zealand has announced it could have flat beds in economy for some of its long-haul flights, but it will be more than a year before customers could get the chance to sleep in one of the new pod beds.

Continue reading...

‘I’m a stranger in my own city’: Prague takes on Airbnb to dam flood of tourists

Posted on by

Joining a battle already being waged by many other cities, the Czech capital’s mayor wants new laws to limit the lettings website

For decades, its mesmerising blend of baroque and gothic beauty was closed to mass tourism by the iron curtain that divided the communist east from the capitalist west during the cold war.

Now Prague, which has gained an unenviable reputation as a destination for stag nights and pub crawls, has become the latest European city to propose a radical assault on Airbnb and other short-term letting platforms as over-tourism threatens to overwhelm it and drive out residents.

Continue reading...

British Airways slumps to near bottom in passenger survey

Posted on by

Which? finds BA ranks badly for both long and short haul, but Ryanair still props up table

British Airways has taken a nosedive in UK passengers’ opinions and is now rated just above Ryanair at the bottom end of the airline rankings.

The flag carrier was among the worst rated for food, seat comfort and value for money on both short and long-haul services in the annual Which? poll.

Continue reading...

Tourist trade counts the cost as separatist riots blight Barcelona

Posted on by
Hoteliers, restaurants and shops say takings fell up to 50% after the violence, and future bookings may be hit

Catalonia has been counting the political cost after protests swept across the region following the decision by Spain’s supreme court to impose heavy sentences on Catalan separatist leaders found guilty of sedition. Now it faces a new cost – a slump in the lucrative tourist business in its hugely popular capital, Barcelona.

The violent disturbances left the city with a clean-up bill estimated at €3m (£2.6m), but it is feared that the images of airport chaos, running battles with police and flaming barricades will cost a great deal more.

Continue reading...

Thomas Cook staff and European tourist trade left reeling after collapse

Posted on by
Former staff waiting for pay plan to take protests to Tory conference, and Greek hoteliers face a €500m hit

Staff from Thomas Cook are to hold protests at this week’s Tory party conference in Manchester and later at Downing Street over the government’s decision not to step in and save the company from liquidation.

Staff were due to get their monthly salaries on 30 September but are instead among Thomas Cook’s creditors, and it is now unclear when they will be paid. Some 150,000 UK holidaymakers are being repatriated at taxpayers’ expense following the demise of the world’s oldest tour operator. On 28 September, a further 16,700 customers were set to be flown home.

Continue reading...

Canary Islands hold their breath for Thomas Cook fallout

Posted on by

Tour giant’s collapse leaves big hotel debts and staff fearing for jobs just before winter season

Under a late September sun that blisters white northern European skin with ease, Playa de las Américas offers its visitors a bounteous blend of the familiar and the exotic.

On the palm-lined main thoroughfare of the Tenerife resort town, tourists have an array of choice, from buying a pint for €1.50 (£1.33) to watching football matches, taking jetski trips and even Harley-Davidson tours of the island.

Continue reading...

Thomas Cook collapse: financial regulator may investigate – business live

Posted on by

Failure of world’s oldest travel company leaves bosses facing tough questions over their pay and performance

A lot of people face losses because of Thomas Cook’s collapse.

The companies suppliers could be left with unpaid bills, while employees need to submit claims to obtain the redundancy payments and wages they’re entitled to.

If you are an employee or creditor affected by #ThomasCook, we have useful information about how to make claims in the liquidation https://t.co/UpfHpctze5 pic.twitter.com/E8RfjuVpve

Here’s our news story about the accountancy watchdog sniffing around Thomas Cook’s collapse:

Related: Thomas Cook collapse: accounting watchdog weighs up investigation

Continue reading...

Fallout from Thomas Cook collapse felt across Europe and Africa

Posted on by

Governments are in crisis-planning mode over efforts to repatriate 500,000 tourists

The collapse of Thomas Cook has plunged governments across Europe and Africa into crisis-planning mode as they help with the repatriation of more than 500,000 stranded tourists and begin to count the cost of the holiday company’s demise on already-battered economies.

About 50,000 holidaymakers are stranded in Greece, 21,000 in Turkey, 15,000 in Cyprus and 4,500 in Tunisia. Thousands of tourists are also stuck in the US and dozens of other countries. Most of the tourists are from the UK with an estimated 150,000 people, followed by Germany with about 140,000 holidaymakers.

Continue reading...

UK ministers accused of sealing Thomas Cook’s fate

Posted on by

Offers from Spain and Turkey to save firm reportedly had no support from Westminster

The government has been accused of sealing Thomas Cook’s fate, as claims emerged that the Spanish and Turkish governments had offered to help save the stricken tour operator, only for the deal to disintegrate due to a lack of support in Westminster.

As recriminations flew, government-chartered aircraft began flying 150,000 stranded Thomas Cook customers back to the UK after the 178-year-old tour operator collapsed into liquidation in the early hours of Monday under the weight of its debts.

Continue reading...

Thomas Cook travel chaos: insolvency leaves 150,000 stranded on holidays – live updates

Posted on by

A huge repatriation effort has begun after company ceases trading with immediate effect, causing flights to be cancelled

I’m going to hand over to my colleague Graeme Wearden now. Thanks for following along through the early hours.

A few reports have come through that Thomas Cook staff were not notified by the company of the trouble that the company was in. One said he found out the company had gone bust by reading media reports today. Another, whose family member worked for Thomas Cook, said the company had been telling staff up until yesterday that reports of financial distress had been inflated by the press.

If you know more, please get in touch: kate.lyons@theguardian.com

Continue reading...