A very British summer: UK travel after coronavirus

21.07.2023 - 08:22 / roughguides.com / Patricia Yates

With countries around the world making their first steps towards lifting lockdowns and easing restrictions, tourist boards, hotels, restaurants and attractions are all working overtime to deliver for the summer season. Of course, this won’t be business as usual. While people everywhere will be keen to get out of their houses and book a relaxing break, most will want to keep things domestic this summer – especially since Home Secretary Matt Hancock warned that in the UK “it’s unlikely big lavish international holidays are going to be possible for this summer”. Though things are still unpredictable, staying closer to home – where risks are lower and costs are smaller – will likely be the trend of the season. So what can the UK expect for travel in the summer after coronavirus? The answer is a very British summer holiday.

With the Covid-19 pandemic still shaking British society, the population remains anxious. An Observer poll released at the start of May indicated that only one in five people wanted schools, pubs and restaurants to be reopened. And though schools are due to go back on 1 June, a significant number of schools, teachers and parents remain opposed to the plans, with up to 1500 English primary schools expected to defy the government and stay closed.

But with a stressed economy and unemployment soaring, there’s a delicate balancing act between stimulating business – especially in the travel sector – and simultaneously reassuring our citizens that we can open up safely and securely. The question is as much how the travel industry welcomes visitors back, as when.

The historic castle at Caernafon, Gwynedd, Wales © Lukassek/Shutterstock

Throughout the industry, restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions are all working hard on new measures to reassure visitors they when they are allowed back, they’ll come back safely. Travellers can expect range of hygiene and social-distancing regulations when attractions reopen – visitor quotas, one-way systems, hand-sanitiser stations, protective fear, essential pre-booking, timed slots, and so on. As consumers, it’s important to remember that welcoming us back safely is in the interest of businesses, too, and that there will be government regulations to protect us.

In a bid to bolster travel confidence, Visit Britain have announced plans to introduced a “quality mark” to be rolled out across the country, helping to guide visitors to places that have met key safety measures related to coronavirus. Britain isn’t the only country to be investing in a quality-mark scheme – Portugal has already begun work to introduce its equivalent, the “Clean & Safe” stamp. Visit Britain Director Patricia Yates commented, “A clear ask of us from the industry is to develop a common