Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO at Advantage Travel Partnership says the changes to PCR testing, due to come into effect on October 24 is “good news for those planning to travel”.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO at Advantage Travel Partnership commented: “The news that England will now require travellers to do an antigen test, rather than a more expensive PCR test will come into effect on 24 October, which is of course good news for those planning to travel in October half term, particularly families. On average, a family of four could now save around £100 on tests alone which shows things are moving in the right direction.
“As for the bigger picture, we now need to aim for frictionless travel and move towards no testing in the future for those who are fully vaccinated. With the success of the vaccine rollout in the UK, international travel is improving but it remains complex with navigating the different destination rules in each country. The need to book with an expert agent whether for business or leisure is key, as these knowledgeable and trusted agents can inspire, advise and provide reassurance for this new era of travel every step of the way. Now is the time for agents to harness these changes and hit the ground running.
“The changes in travel rules has encouraged people to book, and trading-wise we have had the best three weeks since the start of the pandemic and are consistently trading at around 90% of 2019 levels. The mix of travel type is starting to grow but sales are still dominated by short haul ‘familiar’ destinations like the Canaries. Long haul will be slower to recover despite the red list review and agents are reporting prices are high in general. Confidence is definitely increasing all the time and every positive change announced reinforces this and we are seeing a much-needed boost in the sales figures.”
