Get Packing For A £4.5bn Staycation

Coronavirus: Big boost for UK tourism

- Giles Sheldrick

Families will get to enjoy staycations this summer while an announcement on foreign getaways is due within days in a huge boost for the nation.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson rescued summer after he said hotels, B&Bs, campsites and caravan parks can open for business, along with pubs and restaurants from July 4.

And a decision on so-called “air bridges” allowing foreign travel is pencilled in for next Monday, June 29.

Here, the easing of restrictions is a shot in the arm for a beleaguered domestic tourist industry praying for the arrival of a £4.5billion summer season.

Welcome

Patricia Yates, VisitBritain/ VisitEngland director, said: “With millions of jobs and local economies across the country reliant on tourism it is very welcome news indeed. It means businesses can get up and running as we work to save as much of the British summer as we can.”

In a direct plea to families, she added: “The tourism industry has been working very hard preparing to welcome you back with many businesses already well underway in their plans for reopening.

“And while things may look a little different and we may no longer see familiar sights such as the hotel buffet, it is going to be fantastic to see our £127 billion industry getting back on its feet.”