Having been cooped up indoors due to the coronavirus lockdown for the best part of the past two months, many of us will no doubt be looking forward to getting out and about and not least to some sort of vacation this summer. But where and how?
And after 7 weeks in lockdown with my lovely family in London, I am now back at work in Switzerland, which opened shops and restaurants again on 11 May, at the same time as some schools were opening their classrooms again. Having said that, social distancing measures still apply, which means often queueing to enter shops and restaurants and cafes only able to work to 50% of their capacity (figures just published in Switzerland show that 2/3 of restaurateurs feel they are unable to make a profit under these restrictions, with some already having closed their doors again). So how is all this relevant to our summer holidays?
Airlines are preparing to get their planes off the ground again in coming weeks, which would be a good thing, were it not for the British government having imposed a 14-day quarantine for all travellers including Brits arriving from abroad fron 8 June onwards. This leaves many of us longing for a break (I never thought I would write that, having just been furloughed for the best part of 2 months) but not quite sure where to go and how to get there. Spain is gradually opening its beaches again, but the tourist minister voiced concerns only a few days ago about allowing British holidaymakers into the country now that Spain clearly has the coronavirus more under control than the U.K., and if you’re British and going for some sand, sea and sun abroad, you may have to self-isolate upon your return. And with the quarantine requirement I doubt that many foreign holidaymakers are considering a trip to the British isles at the moment.
So are the British then going for a break in the West Country this summer? Your guess is as good as mine, but if only a quarter of them are, expect social distancing to be quite a challenge in Devon and Cornwall. Here in Switzerland the resorts try to open again from this weekend onwards, but particularly places which rely on groups from India and Asia will be struggling this summer, as these highly lucrative travellers stay away. On a more positive note, recent surveys show that many Swiss plan to spend their summer break in Switzerland. As far as my family and I are concerned, we are still hoping to get to spend some time in our holiday home in southern Spain, if they let us into the country that is….
The grumpy older man 