Red list of countries could grow with Kenya 'highly likely' to be added

mount kenya and giraffes
Kenya's addition to the red list would be a blow for tourism across Africa Credit: Getty

A conspicuously clear window on the map of sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya could soon be joining the UK Government’s “red list”of countries demanding mandatory hotel quarantine for all UK arrivals. A source working for the British High Commission in Kenya has revealed the East African nation is highly likely to be added from March 29.

The decision would deliver yet another devastating blow to tourism not only in Kenya but across the continent. With South Africa, Ethiopia, Qatar and UAE already on the red list, Nairobi was the last major hub for connecting flights into the UK.

“Kenya has been a bastion of hope for African tourism this year,” said Jarrod Kyte, Product and Sales Director for tour operator Steppes Travel.

“This would effectively shut down travel from the UK to the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, a region that relies on tourism to provide jobs and opportunities for its people, while also providing the economic framework around which its wildlife can survive.”

For weeks, red list rumours have been circulating Nairobi; a refusal to close borders with neighbouring Tanzania, which has not published coronavirus statistics since May 2020, was touted as a key factor. 

Scroll down for the latest travel updates. 

                                                                                                    

What did we learn today?

That’s all for this week, here’s a review of today’s top headlines:

  • Kenya's potential addition to the UK's travel red list has most people baffled
  • Parisians flee the city ahead of lockdown
  • The factors behind whether overseas holidays will return on May 17
  • Thailand to cut quarantine for visitors to revive tourism
  • Croatia's most beautiful seaside destinations to visit this summer
  • Travel corridors linked with increased spread of Covid-19
  • Year in review: How the pandemic left skiers out in the cold
  • Rio closes beaches as virus cases surge

Tune back in on Monday for all the latest travel news, enjoy your weekend.

Glastonbury hopes to host one-off concert

The organisers of Glastonbury festival have revealed plans to hold a one-off concert in September. Emily Eavis, part of the family responsible for organising the legendary festival, shared a post on Instagram that also hinted towards plans to turn the site into a family-friendly campsite over the summer.

Revealed: 2020 air passenger figures

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced that 68.5 million airline passengers travelled in or out of the UK in 2020 – and while many might expect that to be lower, especially as travel restrictions have been in force for much of the past year, this is an alarming 75 per cent down on the previous year.

In April and May, when the nation was in its first full lockdown, numbers fell by a staggering 98 per cent, with 700,000 people passing through airports.

Planes have stood largely still over the past year Credit: Adrian Dennis/AFP

Want to know how to claim compensation if your flight is cancelled or delayed due to the pandemic? Our expert shares his advice here.

'We should have learned from what happened last year'

A government advisor has wanted us to "brace ourselves" for an influx of coronavirus cases once foreign travel opens up this summer.

"We should have learned from what happened last year," Peter Openshaw, professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London, told BBC Radio Four's The World at One. 

"There was a lot of importation of new cases from Greece, from Croatia, from Spain – those were major contributors to the cases that were seen in the UK at the end of last summer. I’m afraid we’re going to see the same again, because the virus is by no means defeated... These will inevitably come back to our shores unless we can get high vaccination rates throughout Europe, and in every holiday destination."

Three out of 10 of top flight searches for Spanish destinations

Flight search engine Kayak has tracked the most searched destinations for flights after June 21. Three destinations in Spain were among the top 10:

  1. Alicante (Spain)
  2. Bangkok (Thailand)
  3. Larnaca (Cyprus)
  4. Malaga (Spain)
  5. New York (US)
  6. Orlando (US)
  7. Amsterdam (the Netherlands)
  8. Faro (Portugal)
  9. Dubai (UAE)
  10. Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

Meanwhile, it found July 1 was the most searched for holiday date, followed by later dates in July and August.

ONS survey: Third of adults will keep avoiding crowds after Covid

Of more than 4,500 UK adults surveyed by the ONS this month, 38 per cent said they were more likely to avoid crowds in the future than they were before the pandemic began. 

Three in 10 people said they would continue to shop online more frequently for non-grocery items.

A further 23 per cent said they were more likely to avoid public transport, and almost three in 10 working adults  said they would continue to do their jobs from home more often.

Privacy in paradise: the new statement holiday for the one per cent

Private island buy-outs by wealthy castaways (with quite a few friends) are booming in the Covid era, writes Jenny Sothan.

No other guests, except for your friends and family, must be the ultimate luxury. Pictured above: The Brando in French Polynesia
This year, Richard Branson’s Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands is once again available for private hire, after an extensive period of closure, initially for post-Hurricane Irma renovations and then coronavirus. With 20 bedrooms for up to 40 guests, it costs US$105,000 (£75,925) a night to live like the billionaire entrepreneur (meals and alcohol included).

A few miles away, Branson’s lesser-known, part-owned Moskito Island is also opening this year, although holidaymakers can only rent individual villas through Virgin Limited Edition rather than the whole 125-acre island. The 11-bedroom Branson Estate starts from $25,000 per night (sleeps 22).

Read the full story.

Norwegian PM investigated for breaking virus restrictions

Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg is being investigated after revelations that she and her family broke the country's Covid-19 restrictions, police said Friday.

For her 60th birthday, at the end of February, Solberg gathered her family in the ski resort town of Geilo, in breach of restrictions and recommendations on limiting social interactions, public broadcaster NRK revealed on Thursday. The police said in a statement:

"Against the background of information that has surfaced through the press, together with the prime minister's own statements, police have decided to initiate an investigation tied to a potential breach of the infectious disease regulation. The matter will then be evaluated by the prosecution authority in reference to a potential legal sanction."

Solberg already issued a mea culpa on her Facebook page on Thursday evening. She wrote:

I am sorry that my family and I have broken the corona regulations, that should never have happened. We of course should have followed all the recommendations, as I have asked you to do. I'm especially thinking of all those who have had to cancel things they have looked forward to, a birthday with classmates, a celebration with friends or anything else that is important. I understand those who get angry and disappointed over this. I have made a mistake and for that I want to say I'm sorry.

Rio closes beaches as virus cases surge

The Brazilian city's beaches will close for the weekend and banning bus arrivals in an effort to contain a surge of Covid-19, said Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes.

Rio's Praia Vermelha beach on Shrove Tuesday in February Credit: Getty

The situation in the iconic beach city was "very critical," according to Mr Paes. He urged residents to stay home to slow the spread of the virus.

He warned that more restrictive measures could be announced Monday, after he meets with the expert committee advising him on the pandemic.

"I am calling on all 'Cariocas'" - the nickname for Rio residents - "this is the moment to stay home," Paes told a news conference. The city of 6.7 million people had already ordered businesses to close at 9:00 pm starting March 5.

Rio also closed its beaches a year ago during the first wave of Covid-19, with limited results. Legendary beaches such as Copacabana and Ipanema were often jam-packed on sunny days, with few police around to enforce the closure. The city had fully reopened its beaches again in November, just before the southern hemisphere summer.

When can I visit Croatia?

Tourism-reliant Croatia seems extremely keen to see Britons back on its shores. This week the Croatian Minister of Tourism and Sports, Nikolina Brnjac, met with the British ambassador to Croatia, Andrew Dalgleish, to discuss the resumption of travel. 

Are you keen to return to the land of a thousand islands? Here’s all the latest travel advice, including those important (potential) reopening dates.

Year in review: How the pandemic left skiers out in the cold (2 of 2)

Just how badly has the pandemic impacted ski resorts? In her report Lucy Aspden reveals the data behind the story.

In Austria demand for accommodation in ski resorts has almost disappeared:

The UK’s leading tour operator faced a mammoth task after resorts closed: 

Year in review: How the pandemic left skiers out in the cold (1 of 2)

This week marks a year since French ski resorts were forced to close in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus – a decision that effectively confirmed the premature end of the 2019/20 ski season. The 12 months that have followed have been turbulent, unprecedented and often confusing.

The pandemic has been the imperfect storm for ski resorts, tour operators and their customers, who are still waiting to return to the slopes. Our ski expert, Lucy Aspden, has documented the year that left skiers out in the cold, with a blow-by-blow look at the biggest headlines, statistics and expert insight.

Look back at the historic year for ski holidays here.

The pandemic has impacted ski resorts, which have sat empty, for two seasons Credit: Jan Hetfleisch/Getty

Customer confidence on the up

Britons are feeling more confident in booking holidays and travelling in the future, a study has found.

In results from its most recent customer survey Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have revealed confidence is at its highest level so far this year, with over half of holidaymakers saying they feel confident in travelling, compared to one in four, who do not.

Following announcements from the likes of Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and Portugal about the prospect of summer holidays, Jet2 has seen a dramatic increase in interest – booking to these destinations jumped by 200 per cent following the announcements.

“Understandably, customer confidence has risen and fallen significantly over the past year, however we are hugely encouraged by the rising levels of confidence of the past few weeks. This consistent and continued sense of positivity is translating into the demand that we are seeing, which tells us that our customers aren’t just dreaming of getting away to the sunshine this summer, they are getting their much-needed holidays booked in,” said Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays.

Winter is back!

Winter has returned with a bang in the Alps, with heavy snowfall in a number of major ski resorts this week. Britons may be currently banned from travelling to the slopes, but locals are enjoying the epic conditions.

Revealed: The most civilised slice of France

Colmar has a rich history Credit: Getty

I met a fellow recently who had never been to Alsace. He’d been pretty much everywhere else – Bali, Sri Lanka, Ulaanbaatar, Peru – but not Alsace. “Get a grip,” I said. “Plodding around the planet, leaving a carbon footprint the size of a soccer pitch, when Colmar – Colmar! – is only a few hours from London by train, that’s madness.” And so it is. 

To be clear, Alsace is the most civilised slice of France, and the Colmar district its best bit. It is also – talk about having it all – the wine capital of the region. As such, it’s handy with food, too, writes Anthony Peregrine.

Here he reveals the secrets about the fairy-tale French region that British tourists rarely visit.

Rain uncovers bull idol in ancient Olympia

Rain has helped to reveal a small bull idol in ancient Olympia, Greece in what the culture ministry on Friday said was a "chance discovery".

The ministry said the small bronze idol, found intact, was spotted by an archaeologist inside the sprawling ancient site that inspired the modern Olympic Games during a scheduled visit by ministry officials. It was found near the temple of Zeus and the Altis, the sacred enclosure and core of the sanctuary, the ministry said in a statement.

"One of its horns was poking out of the ground following recent heavy rainfall," it said.

According to a preliminary evaluation, the idol has been dated to the Geometric era (1050-700 BCE).Burn marks suggest it was likely part of thousands of votive offerings to Zeus, the leading ancient Greek deity, the ministry said.

The ancient Olympics were held in Olympia every four years from 776 BC to at least 393 AD, with Greek city-states setting aside their conflicts to take part.

Views from elsewhere

Here are some snapshots from around the world as England looks forward to spring and the next stage of the roadmap out of lockdown, which is due on March 29.

Cherry blossoms in bloom in Nanjing, China Credit: Shutterstock
Parts of Germany had a good smattering on snow on Friday, seen here with the National Security Agency (NSA) radar tower on top of the Teufelsberg in Berlin Credit: AP
A close-up of the hairstyle of a 'fallera', a female resident, wearing the regional costume, on St. Joseph Day: the Fallas festival was cancelled in Valencia, Spain, but locals still marked the occasion by getting dressed up Credit: Shutterstock

Brittany Ferries begins five-year plan for recovery

Brittany Ferries revealed the worst traffic figures in its history for 2020 and is now planning a recovery strategy.

Passenger numbers fell to less than a third of normal levels in 2020.

The French ferry firm carried 752,102 passengers,down from almost 2.5 million across all routes compared with the previous year. It has started on a five-year recovery plan.

London-based consultancy LEK's analysis of the market suggests that passenger volumes are expected to have recovered to 2019 levels by 2022.

How the world is preparing for the impending tourism explosion

From crowd-control on Skye to a war room in Venice – measures are in place to avoid a return of overtourism, writes Greg Dickinson.

They include: 

A real-time app to manage crowds on Skye

The Inner Hebridean island of Skye has been busy preparing for an influx of tourists after the pandemic.

The Fairy Pools attracted the tourist hoardes pre-Covid Credit: Getty

Simon Cousins, a spokesperson for Skye Connect, told Telegraph Travel that they are working hard to ease congestion at the island’s most popular destinations such as Neist Point, the Old Man of Storr and the Fairy Pools.

“We are collaborating with Edinburgh University on a project to provide real-time information on visitor and vehicle numbers at key locations. An app will enable visitors to receive updates, suggestions of quieter times to visit or alternative, less congested sites on that day. In addition, we have a new website – myskyetime.com – which will provide visitors planning a trip to Skye with ideas for getting off the beaten track and experiencing more of what Skye has to offer.

“At the same time, public investment in key infrastructure such as new car parks and toilets, along with the creation of a 'Park and Ride’ service to some popular destinations will all help to reduce congestion when we warmly welcome tourists back to Skye."

Read the full story.

Travel corridors linked with increased spread of Covid-19, say researchers

Allowing quarantine-free travel to Greece last summer may have had a significant contribution to the spread of coronavirus, according to a Public Health England study, reports PA.

Travel corridors, which exempted people from needing to self-isolate when returning, were linked to higher rates of onward transition of imported cases, the researchers said.

They argued the genomics study demonstrates the effectiveness of travel restrictions in reducing the spread of Covid-19, with restrictions linked to a 40% lower rate of contacts. The mean number of cases of a specific genetic variant detected four weeks after likely import was 11.3 when travel restrictions were not in place, compared to 1.2 when they were.

Travel from the European countries accounted for 86% of imported cases between May and September, according to the study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed. Greece, which had quarantine-less travel for the entire period, was "the source of greatest imported" Covid-19 cases, accounting for 21% of travel-linked cases, or 882 infections in the study of 4,207 cases. The next highest were Croatia, which was taken off the exemption list on August 22 and accounted for 16%, and Spain, removed on July 26 and accounting for 14%.

Further details of the study and its methodology were not provided in the initial PA report.

Parisians flee the city ahead of lockdown

Packed stations and trains were seen in Paris today as residents left the capital ahead of a new month-long lockdown. 

Parisians arrive to catch trains leaving from the Gare Montparnasse serving the west and southwest of France on Friday Credit: AFP/Getty

The measures were announced late on Thursday and will affect Paris as several other regions in the north and south. They will come into effect at midnight.

This has caused many to travel elsewhere to parts of France where lockdown will not be applied, including Brittany, the south west Atlantic coast and Lyon.

A spokesperson for national rail operator SNCF told AFP that trains for those destinations were now fully booked after having a 60-70 percent level of occupancy on previous Fridays.

'A decade ago Syria was among the world's top travel destinations'

Ten years on from the start of the Syrian War, Mark Stratton considers whether the country’s tourism heyday will ever return.

I adored Aleppo too, although my memories of this once cosmopolitan city and later rebel stronghold, annihilated by the war, now feel like rose-tinted fiction. I recall Aleppo’s labyrinthine souk where a friend haggled for a carpet while sunrays perforated the semi-darkness beneath the covered souk’s holed iron-roof and intensified the sheen of hanging silks and damask. Later we drank G&Ts at the famous Baron Hotel, where Agatha Christie wrote Murder on the Orient Express in Room 203, and where the faucets groan like the overburdened donkeys on the Aleppine streets.

Nowadays, however, this Syria feels like a stranger, all memories subsumed by a conflict of savage barbarity that has claimed 500,000 lives and displaced over 12 million people.

Perhaps I was just plain naïve as to any other outcome when visiting as Syria’s popularity surged throughout the 2000s and it truly became a tourist destination? The writing for troubles ahead was quite literally on the wall, in every shop and on every street, portraits and posters propagating the Orwellian omnipotence of the cultish Ba’athist rule of the Assads – the flinty stare of Hafez al-Assad, who died in 2000, and then latterly, his son and successor, Bashar, who has a British wife. 

Read the full story.

Croatia's most beautiful seaside destinations to visit this summer

With Croatia paving the way for British tourists to return in May, our expert, Jane Foster, offers a guide to its seaside highlights. They include: 

South Dalmatia

Dubrovnik Credit: Getty

In normal times, you can fly direct to South Dalmatia’s largest city, Dubrovnik, from various UK airports, with British AirwaysEasyJet and Jet2.com.

Dubrovnik, formerly known as Ragusa, was for centuries a wealthy independent city-republic, which slowly expanded to include a stretch of coast and the tiny Elafiti islets.

From Dubrovnik’s Gruž port, you can make day trips by boat to the Elafiti, as well as the island of Mljet, where Mljet National Park encompasses two stunning turquoise lakes, rimmed by dense woodland – rent a bike and cycle around the lakes, or hire a kayak and paddle across.

Northwest up the coast, tiny Ston (famed for excellent fresh oysters and mussels) is the gateway to the rugged Pelješac peninsular, which produces some of Croatia’s top red wines, notably Dingač. Opposite Pelješac, verdant Korčula is South Dalmatia’s biggest island.

Read the full story.

EasyJet holidays introduces Italian lakes programme

Como, Garda and Maggiore will be on offer through the travel companies new packages, with prices starting from £450, reports industry publications Travel Weekly. 

Lake Como could be on your holiday menu this summer Credit: Getty

The new options will be introduced for this summer and 2022. These holidays will run via flights to Milan, with the low-cost carrier claiming more flights to the Italian city than any other airline.

EasyJet holidays commercial director Paul Bixby said: “The lakes are some of the most beautiful areas of Italy and we’re seeing them grow in popularity for holidaymakers looking for something a little bit different.

“With holidays available for this summer and bookable all the way through to next summer, we can’t wait to take our customers away of a discovery of the ultimate Italian glamour.”

Poland to go into partial lockdown as third wave continues

The country is battling a new rise in infections, up by 38 per cent on last week, with 25,998 cases reported on Friday.

Poland's health ministry puts the spike down to the UK variant as it accounts for some 54 per cent of new cases.

A partial national lockdown will start from Saturday. This will include closing shopping centres, hotels, cultural and sporting facilities until April 9.

Restaurants, bars and cafes are offering take away service only and face masks are mandatory in public spaces.

Finland world's happiest country despite pandemic, finds report

Covid-19 has done little to change up the rankings of the world's happiest countries, as Finland has taken the top spot for the fourth year running, an annual UN-sponsored report said on Friday.

Helsinki: residents in Finland were happier than those of any other nation, the report suggests Credit: Getty

The World Happiness Report, now in its ninth year, uses Gallup data asking people in 149 countries to rate their own happiness.

It also takes into account factors such as GDP, social support, personal freedom and levels of corruption. It then gives each nation a happiness score, which is an average of the past three years.

The upper end of the table was again dominated by European countries: Denmark was second, followed by Switzerland, Iceland and the Netherlands. New Zealand, falling one place to ninth, was again the only non-European nation in the top ten. Other rankings included:

  • Germany was up from 17th to 13th
  • France rose two to 21st
  • UK fell from 13th to 17th place
  • US fell one spot to 19th
  • Lesotho, Botswana, Rwanda and Zimbabwe came near the bottom of the table
  • Afghanistan was classed as the world's unhappiest nation this year

'Hang on for the Med – a week in a Cornish hovel is not a holiday'

Speaking of Cornwall, the staycation scramble hasn't left many spots open in the best accommodation this summer, suggests Laura Fowler.

I have failed to find so much as a campsite within an hour of the seaside with availability in August. As with other pandemic panic-buying trends (bikes, paddling pools, puppies), I snoozed and I “losed”. There are still some places left to rent, for the very rich or easily pleased. But when it became clear there was not a cottage left in Cornwall for less than a million pounds a week, my husband and I concluded that paying a large sum to stay in some depressing little hovel did not sound like a holiday.

Ah well, there’s always Wales, we thought. But no, not necessarily. Last week, First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that he would “mobilise his enforcement authorities” to prevent English tourists sneaking in at Easter, only possibly opening up to holidaymakers by summer (all part of the policy my Cardiff friend calls “England +” whereby Drakeford sees what England is doing and makes a point of adding on a bit of extra inconvenience).

But suddenly it doesn’t matter. Suddenly, in fact, I am exalted by my failure to book a staycation, now that our dear European neighbours are starting to reopen. Barely a day goes by when one of them doesn’t throw wide their sun-kissed arms to welcome back British travellers.

Read the full story.

Cornwall is the most searched-for property location

We do like to be beside the seaside, now more than ever, it would seem. 

Seaside life, such as that available in Port Isaac, Cornwall is attracting Britons Credit: Getty

Cornwall is now top of the league table for property searches, having overtaken London, according to analysis by Rightmove for the BBC

Dorset was the third most searched for destination, and Dorset was up to 10th position (compared to its previous spot at number 20). 

Thailand bars Songkran festival water fights again due to pandemic

Thailand's Covid-19 task force said on Friday it will ban for a second year the street water fights that usually take place during celebrations for the upcoming Thai New Year due to the pandemic.

The Songkran festival takes place from April 13 to 15 and in a normal year crowds pack the streets, spraying water guns or flinging water from pick-up trucks in what has been described as the world's biggest water fight.

"Water splashing will not happen this Songkran. We must ask you to cooperate with us," Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for Thailand's COVID-19 taskforce, told a briefing.

He said foam parties would also be banned, though a tradition of pouring water over the hands of older people, religious activities and travel between provinces to visit relatives would be allowed.

Festival celebrations in a year before the Covid pandemic Credit: Getty

Mexico limits nonessential travel on southern border

Mexico announced restrictions Thursday on nonessential travel across its southern border with Guatemala and Belize "to prevent the spread of COVID-19."

The Foreign Relations Department did not explain why the measure was announced now, more than a year after the start of the pandemic.

The move could help the US handle a wave of Central American migrants reaching its border and it came on the same day the US confirmed it will send 2.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Mexico.

Officials from both countries skirted the question of whether the vaccines were being sent to Mexico in return for its decision to restrict entry on its southern border, though they acknowledged the decision came in the context of current talks on vaccines and immigration.

Related: How a Mexican town became paradise for thousands fleeing lockdowns

Princess Cruises will require vaccinations; MSC Cruises will not

Princess Cruises is the latest line to confirm that passengers will need to have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to join its UK sailings this year.

Regal Princess will sail from Southampton, starting in July Credit: Princess Cruises

The rule was confirmed on Friday, less than a day after MSC Cruises announced a UK cruise itinerary for 2021 and said that it would not make vaccination a requirement for passengers. Saga Cruises, Virgin Voyages and P&O are among other cruise lines to confirm that inoculation against the virus would be mandatory for their passengers. 

Princess will offer 22 cruises from Southampton between July 31 and September 28 this year, sailing on Regal Princess and Sky Princess. MSC is to provide sailings from Southampton from May 20.

"Given the advanced progress of the UK vaccination programme, and strong expressed preference on the part of guests for this limited series of UK coastal cruises, these sailings on Regal Princess and Sky Princess will be for UK resident Covid-19 vaccinated guests only," Princess said.

Antonio Paradiso, managing director MSC Cruises UK & Ireland, said: "We will welcome both vaccinated and non-vaccinated guests. All guests will be tested prior to embarkation, while non-vaccinated guests will also be required to show proof of negative test done within 72 hours prior to embarkation."

Covid-19 certificates may help large events return, says Culture Secretary

The UK's Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: "From June 21, if all goes to plan in the way that I described, we hope to get people back in significant numbers.

"We're piloting the different things that will enable that to happen - clearly it will have to be done in a Covid-secure way.

"You would expect, and we will be testing these things, things like one-way systems, things like masks, things like hand hygiene and everything else.

"Another thing that we are considering is a Covid certification, and we will be testing whether we can use Covid certification to help facilitate the return of sports."

Thailand to cut quarantine for visitors to revive tourism

Thailand is to reduce the mandatory quarantine period for foreign travellers from April, but has yet to make a decision on whether it will recognise vaccine certificates.

A panel chaired by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on Friday approved cutting the quarantine time to 10 days from two weeks, starting April 1, Traisuree Taisaranakul, a government spokeswoman, told reporters in Bangkok.

The country may stop quarantine altogether from October, but the group delayed a decision on taking the isolation period down to seven days for vaccinated tourists, as recommended by an expert group last week.

Reducing quarantine is expected to make Thailand more attractive to millions of foreign tourists. The pandemic and resulting travel curbs have devastated the country's tourism industry, which provided more than $60 billion in revenue in 2019.

A government campaign to boost domestic travel through hotel and air travel concessions has failed to make up for the drop in earnings as strict quarantine rules kept most foreign visitors away.

Pattaya beach in Thailand last month: local businesses have struggled under the loss of tourism Credit: Getty

German Covid cases rise to two-month high

Germany’s coronavirus cases rose by the most in two months, just days before Chancellor Angela Merkel decides on how to proceed with the country’s lockdown restrictions.

The number of new cases reached by 28,489 in the 24 hours through Friday morning, the most since January 21, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The country’s seven-day incidence rate per 100,000 people climbed to 95.6, the highest in more than a month and close to the level that triggers an “emergency brake” at which regional restrictions need to be reimposed.

Ms Merkel and regional leaders are due to meet Monday to decide on the next steps in the fight against the pandemic. Germany’s remaining lockdown restrictions expire on March 28.

50 towns and cities set to lose £18bn as quarantine slashes tourism

Fifty towns and cities are set to lose £18 billion this year because of the quarantine restrictions on travel, a new study shows.

An empty Piccadilly Circus during the third lockdown Credit: Getty

The research, based on Visit Britain and Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, shows London will lose £12 billion due to the collapse in international visitors with the remaining 49 losing £6 billion.  

Projections produced by Visit Britain show that the number of international visitors is expected to fall overall by 71 per cent with European tourists expected to be only 34 per cent and non-European tourists expected to be just 18 per cent of 2019 levels. This will see the amount spent by international visitors fall by 77 per cent.    

While London bears the brunt, other big cities including Edinburgh and Manchester will lose more than £500 million. The figures are:  Edinburgh set to lose £917 million; Manchester £551 million; Birmingham £280 million Glasgow; £293 million; Newcastle £170m; Cardiff £160m .

Read the full story.

The factors behind whether overseas holidays will return on May 17

Four countries were added to England's travel ban list from 4am on Friday, while two were removed. The number has increased from 33 to 35. 

However, foreign holidays could be permitted as early as May 17. We are now only just over three weeks away from April 12 – the date when the Government’s Travel Taskforce is due to report to the Prime Minister. Nick Trend has taken a closer look at the hurdles facing the restart of travel, including: 

The prevalence and location of any ‘variants of concern’

There are some reasons to be cheerful on this score. This week Portugal was removed from the Government’s red list (requiring compulsory hotel quarantine for passengers arriving in the UK) because the risk – in particular – of a Brazilian variant being imported from that country “has reduced”. The bad news is that Ethiopia, Oman, Somalia and Qatar were added to the list, though these countries are obviously not major tourist destinations. 

Verdict: Looking up

Read the full story.

Prof. Ferguson: 'Important decisions' to be made on foreign travel

Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London, said there needed to be important decisions made on how the UK can trade with France as the country faces a third lockdown. He said it was important to keep the South African variant out of the UK: some countries, including France, are seeing the variant in 5 to 10 per cent of its cases.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "I think there are important decisions coming up, and it's always a balancing act. How much we relax the current ban on international travel except for essential services.

"As a lot of essential travel between ourselves and France for business, commerce and trade, how can we reduce the risks associated with that travel. Those are policy decisions, I'm just raising the issue that we are doing so well with the vaccination campaign, we are driving down deaths at a faster rate than I ever thought was possible and that will allow us to open up."

When asked whether he thought France should be added to the red list, he said: "I don't think that's necessarily a practical issue given the amount of trade."

France plans lockdown in Paris area

France is locking down the Paris area as it suffers to contain a third wave of the coronavirus epidemic, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced.

In a bid to contain the resurgence in cases, only essential businesses and schools will stay open, he said on Thursday.

The measures will start from midnight on Friday and will remain in place for four weeks.

Parisians walk the Seine as their city readies for another lockdown Credit: Getty

The 35 countries on the travel red list

The UK Government has updated its 'red list' of countries, bringing the total number of banned nations to 35.

Four countries – Oman, Qatar, Somalia and Ethiopia – were added to the red list from 4am on Friday, while Portugal and Mauritius were removed. Under current restrictions, direct flights from the red-listed nations are banned: Britons currently in these countries must fly home via a third nation. 

Hotel quarantine rules apply to all British citizens who have been in or transited through red list countries in the previous 10 days. Any non-Britons who have been in a red list country within the past 10 days will simply be denied entry to the country.

  1. Angola
  2. Argentina
  3. Bolivia
  4. Botswana
  5. Brazil
  6. Burundi
  7. Cape Verde
  8. Chile
  9. Colombia
  10. Democratic Republic of the Congo
  11. Ecuador
  12. Eswatini
  13. Ethiopia
  14. French Guiana
  15. Guyana
  16. Lesotho
  17. Malawi
  18. Mozambique
  19. Namibia
  20. Oman
  21. Panama
  22. Paraguay
  23. Peru
  24. Qatar
  25. Rwanda
  26. Seychelles
  27. Somalia
  28. South Africa
  29. Suriname
  30. Tanzania
  31. United Arab Emirates (UAE)
  32. Uruguay
  33. Venezuela
  34. Zambia
  35. Zimbabwe

Without tourism, conservation will become an 'inconvenience' in countries like Kenya

The roll-out of vaccines across Europe had led many to believe safari tourism could gradually resume this summer, reports Sarah Marshall

By painting Africa red with their clumsy broad-brush policies, the UK government will dash those dreams, causing great harm in the long term.

“Without tourism, people in countries like Kenya will be left with no choice but to rely on more extractive industries such as logging, industrial farming and the bushmeat trade,” warns Jarrod Kyte of tour operator Steppes Travel.

“Conservation will soon become an inconvenience and local people’s tolerance for wildlife will quickly diminish if it is seen as a barrier to wealth rather than a means by which to earn a living,” he adds.

There are currently 35 countries on the red list of countries from which direct flights to the UK are banned and from which arriving Britons are subject to a stay in a quarantine hotel. 

'Hapless' Government 'inventing damaging' policies, says safari camp boss

Kenya's potential addition to the UK's travel red list has most people baffled, reports Sarah Marshall.

Although Covid cases have risen slightly in the country, figures are minimal compared to Europe, and the death count is still low: 12 people died from the virus on March 17.

Although the South African variant has been detected, it poses no more threat than in countries such as Austria and Belgium which remain off the UK red list.

Paul Goldstein, co-owner of the Kicheche safari camps, said:

Kenya has lost 1937 people from Covid to date; the UK has had more deaths in a single day.

This hapless, desperate government invent these deeply damaging hawkish policies to distract from their appalling mismanagement of coronavirus.

This is not fair on Kenya, tourists and indeed wildlife, and the perpetrator of this plan – one not based on science, medicine, maths or geography – will have blood on their hands.

What happened yesterday?

The main headlines from Thursday:

  • Britons front of the queue for Greek holidays
  • Lockdown roadmap won't be delayed amid vaccine shortage, says minister
  • Eurostar weeks away from collapse without bailout, warns SNCF boss
  • Bali could reopen to foreign tourists in June
  • Etihad latest to retire Airbus A380 forever
  • Holidays in Croatia on the cards
  • Portugal to welcome British holidaymakers from mid-May
  • Thousands of Heathrow workers to strike in April
  • Singapore Airlines to offer pre-departure testing for UK passengers

Now onto today's news.

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