UK families are avoiding Spain for half-term holidays over vaccination rules

Many UK families have cancelled half-term holidays to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands because children over 12 must be double vaccinated to enter the country. Hoteliers in the islands say the restrictions have lost them millions of euro’s worth of trade, and are calling on the Spanish government to relax its restrictions to allow in more British holidaymakers.

Europe's largest tour operator TUI says that Mexico and Turkey are proving popular alternatives, as from tomorrow (February 11^th) people travelling to the UK will no longer need to take any Covid tests if they are fully vaccinated, and will only need a pre-departure and Day 2 PCR with no 10-day quarantine.

However, Brits going on overseas holiday still need to follow the rules that apply at their chosen destination. There are still more than 80 holiday destinations around the world that require travellers from the UK to take a pre-departure PCR test before entering.

The arrival of the Omicron variant in November meant a lot of people re-arranged Christmas trips for half-term instead, and the Canary Islands is the number one destination in Europe in February for families wanting good weather without too long a flight.

However, because the Spanish Government has maintained the requirement for anyone travelling from the UK over the age of 12 to be double-jabbed, many people have had no choice but to change their plans.

The main reasons are because they're not double vaccinated or because they've had Covid in the last six weeks, which means they haven't been able to have their second jab, so they are switching destinations or postponing their trips until Easter.

The president of Ashotel (the Tenerife Hoteliers Association), Jorge Marichal wants the Spanish government to change its rules so that more British holidaymakers can come, as businesses in the Canary Islands have lost a significant number of bookings at what is usually a crucial time of year.

He said: "The loss could be nearly 400 million euros for hoteliers in the Canary Islands, but if we take into account the hospitality economy too, it has had a huge impact.”

"For us, the British market is the biggest one. We usually have more than 2.5 million British tourists coming to Tenerife every year, this part of the year is one of the most important. All these profits will be lost."

TUI said that recent rule changes are a huge leap forwards in getting travel back to normal. "We're already seeing a trend of 'test-free holidays' for customers who are fully vaccinated, as people look to go abroad with ease and without the added expense of testing."

The firm said bookings for February half-term and Easter holidays are comparable to 2019, with Mexico, Dominican Republic, Cape Verde and the Canaries the most popular destinations.

At the moment there has been no movement from the Spanish Government on this matter, but it is now something that every region of Spain is questioning as to when it will be lifted or why hasn’t it been lifted.