What's actually happening with holidays this year?
On April 5, and then again on April 12, the Department for
Transport's Global Travel Taskforce will be announcing the plan for restarting
overseas holidays, as we've known since Feb 22. It is likely they will announce
the resumption of overseas holidays to a limited number of destinations on or
around May 17.
OK, so why does the news say "holidays banned until
July on pain of a five grand fine?"
On Feb 22, Boris Johnson announced that holidays would be
banned until May 17 ("at the earliest").
Currently, that ban is achieved through the "stay at
home" rule - the one that says you can't leave your house except for
specific reasons, and holidays aren't one of them.
That stay at home rule comes to an end on Monday (29 March).
Thus, the government needs a new rule to stop people going on holiday between
Mon 29 March and Mon 17 May. Without a new rule, we could all have hopped on a
plane on Monday. That's all it is - a little gap in the legislation that they
needed to fill with a new rule, doing what they always said they were going to
do.
Why does the new law last until July then?
Just in case. The thing that could still cause a problem is
a new variant that's resistant to the current vaccines. But right now, there
doesn't seem to be one. As soon as overseas holidays start again, which we
expect to be on or around May 17, we expect they'll either repeal or supersede
the law that coming in from Monday.
What should we do for the moment?
We understand the UK government still advises holidaymakers
to wait until their report in early April before changing any travel plans.
Matt Hancock, the Health Minister, said to Sky News on last week "the
questions of whether people will be able to travel abroad this summer are going
to be addressed by the Global Travel Taskforce, which is reporting around 12
April…the earliest date by which we will allow for international travel…is 17
May. That has not changed."
So, it's up to you whether you want to book ahead for the
summer now. There are arguments for and against - with the main argument in
favour, of course, being that once the announcement is actually final, everyone
will want to book at once, prices will likely go up and packages will likely
sell out.
If you do book now, it’s recommended that you make sure
you've booked with as much flexibility as possible and that your holiday can be
cancelled or amended easily if your plans need to change.
Once you’ve booked, then of course it’s time to think about
what to pack so don’t forget your essentials – Techniblock sunscreen andPeaceful Sleep insect repellent. And
even if your plans change, our products have no expiry date because they are
aerosols (except for the face cream and lip balm) so you don’t have to worry
about use by dates if that much-needed holiday gets pushed back a few weeks.
