British Holidaymakers wanting to Book for the Costa del Sol and the Costa Blanca Warned against Travelling to Spain

FURY erupts across the Hotel and Tourist Industry in Spain as the British Foreign Office warns Britons against all non-essential foreign travel ‘INDEFINITELY.’ It also added that without an end date to the crisis, holidaymakers could find it difficult to get refunds on their holiday.

From Benidorm in the north to Benalmadena in the south of Spain, the tourist industry is suffering, really suffering. Spanish and expat bar and restaurant owners have never experienced anything like it, “not even the last recession comes close” claimed one English expat in Fuengirola.

“It’s a totally irresponsible statement, they don’t know themselves when all this is going to come to an end, everything we have is here, we can’t afford to go back,” said another.

“A tsunami has arrived,” Ramón Estalella of the Confederation of Spanish Hotels said on March 12. “A meteorite has fallen on us and we have to see how we survive.”

Mixed messages, easyJet grounded its entire fleet recently but you can still book a flight to Spain…

The next few weeks and months will determine how deep the virus’s impact will be in a country that depends on tourism for 11 per cent of its GDP, and which was shaken by the collapse of Thomas Cook last year.

Even before the lockdown came into force on March 14, Barcelona’s 10,000 bars and hotels were already feeling the pinch. First the World Mobile Congress was cancelled, depriving the city of the estimated €500m (£460m) that the delegates would usually spend. During the four-day event it is virtually impossible to get a bed or a restaurant reservation.

The tourism industry has already laid off or furloughed thousands of staff and lost millions of euros, will it be able to recover – especially now the UK Foreign Office has sent out this message?

Britons are being warned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) against all non-essential global travel abroad ‘indefinitely’ as the coronavirus crisis continues, the FCO explained that travellers may be unable to return home if they leave the UK.

More confusement as Lastminute.com are still offering rooms all across Spain for June 2020.

The FCO said that travellers could face ‘severe disruption’ and may be unable to return home if they leave the UK at this time.

Earlier this month, a 30-day advisory was put in place by the FCO warning against all non-essential foreign travel until April 15, but it also quietly updated its website to say: ‘FCO extends advice against travelling overseas for an indefinite period.’  

A spokesperson from ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) said: “The FCO travel advice against all but essential travel has now removed the interim review date and could be in place for the foreseeable future, however, this travel restriction can be removed at any time.

“The travel warning should be extended to a definitive date, which can be reviewed if needed, so that travellers have some much-needed clarity around refunds, rebooking or claiming on insurance.

“The government, travel sector and insurers must work together to ensure that any emergency measures introduced in response to this crisis include strong guarantees or protections to prevent consumers from losing their money if a travel firm fails.

“Therefore ABTA’s advice remains the same for managing a similar restriction for an individual country.

“Each company will have its own process for managing future departures and will be contacting customers due to travel imminently. There is no legal definition of ‘imminent travel,’ however, it is generally considered to be within the next few days.

“Our advice to customers with future bookings is to be patient and wait to be contacted by your travel provider.

“Travel companies are extremely busy, given the pressures of the current crisis, and will be looking at imminent departures first and deciding how far in advance they will offer alternative arrangements or refunds.”

To add to the confusion, it has been reported that airlines including British Airways and easyJet are selling tickets for flights in May – despite health officials warning a global lockdown could last for months!

Meanwhile, the FCO says it is ‘ramping up’ efforts to bring home thousands of British travellers stranded overseas due to the coronavirus crisis.

Flights have been chartered to bring home Britons from Bolivia, Ecuador, the Philippines and India.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “Travellers are facing an unprecedented challenge on a global scale, and I know people are understandably desperate to get back to their homes and loved ones.

“We are committed to supporting Britons getting home either through commercial routes we have helped keep open or through specially chartered flights.”

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Written by

Tony Winterburn

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