Travel agents in Sudbury area report low consumer confidence due to complexity of Covid rules as 'amber list' quarantine requirements set to ease
The easing of quarantine rules for foreign travel has not improved consumer confidence, travel agents in the Sudbury area have argued, with one warning that “catastrophe still looms” for the industry without financial support.
From Monday, holidaymakers will no longer be required to isolate for 10 days upon their return from a country on the ‘amber list’, if they have been fully vaccinated in the UK.
The Government is also removing guidance against travel to amber list destinations, although people still have to pay for PCR tests before departure and after their return.
Ministers say the changes mark the start of international travel opening up, with most countries currently on the amber list.
But, numerous travel businesses believe the rules remain so complex and costly that trade is still well below sustainable levels, as they appealed for an extension to the furlough scheme and self-employment grants.
Sally De Jong, a Long Melford-based agent for Travel Counsellors, said the situation could only be described as “a very partial and limited opening up” for travel.
She told the Free Press it is “even more confusing than ever”, with complications including the risk of an amber country changing to red at short notice, PCR test requirements, and long airport queues as vaccination checks are carried out.
“It is just adding more stress and confusion for everyone,” Sally said. “It’s like being a lawyer, but having to work as a brain surgeon, training as you go and not getting paid for it.
“After 16 months of multiple cancellations and rebooks, neither customers nor agents have more than a smidge of confidence left.
“There is a lot of pent up demand and there are many customers desperate to go on holiday, but most are cautious, having been burned by the constant changes. How can anyone trust there won’t be further changes in the wrong direction?
“Travel agents won’t start to earn pre-Covid levels of income until at least next spring. Nothing makes real sense and it’s clarity and financial support that the industry still needs.
“Travel counsellors will get through this and we are constantly available for those who do want to travel imminently, but until we have clarity and confidence, we cannot trade at a level that gives us a living wage and healthy state of mind in the short to medium term.”
In June, travel businesses sought to meet with South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge to raise their concerns, before this was delayed to this month, with several agents angered by how the matter had been handled.
Sheila Sparkes, a self-employed travel advisor for Holidays Please based in Great Waldingfield, said there had been no whispers of further financial aid, and the change to amber list rules “doesn’t help one bit” with this plight.
“My personal opinion is nothing has changed,” she said. “People think the travel industry will be back on its feet overnight and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Catastrophe is still looming.
“The system can’t cope with the trickle of passengers we have now. There’s no infrastructure to assist with the restart of travel.
“We understand why the procedures are there, but if they’re making it so difficult and costly to travel, they need to support us in the interim, until such a point when there’s some normality.
“In many cases, I’m turning business away, because of the complexities of it. I’m telling customers for the next three months, if you aren’t prepared to quarantine, I can’t take your business, because the rules might change.
“As a company, we’ve got millions of pounds of forward bookings for 2022 and 2023. If we get through to that, we will thrive, as long as we can survive the next 12 months.
“The traditional travel agencies will go first. They have so many overheads. It’s already happening on a small scale all over the place. By September and October, there will be huge collapses.”
Other complicating factors include the significant costs to pay for PCR tests, and issues with passport validity caused by Britain’s recent exit from the European Union.
Diane Buck, manager of the Premier Travel branch in Sudbury, said the change to quarantine rules had seen a trickle of new bookings, but they were still nowhere near the usual capacity for the summer.
“It’s a very stressful time for travel agents,” she added. “It’s not good for their wellbeing, because the goalposts just keep changing, and it’s still so uncertain.
“People want to go on holiday, but are still very cautious. A lot of people have written this year off.
“Although we’re trying to make it simple, every country has its own rules and when you explain it all, people are thinking twice, so we’re not in the position we need to be in.”
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