February news
February News
The big news for the UK is clearly the vaccine roll-out which is now past 15 million people and should be everyone over 50 (and those younger but at risk) by the end of April. That will be another 15 million and take the UK vaccinated to over 50% of the population. Things slow down a bit then as previously vaccinated people return for their second dose but the whole UK population should be vaccinated by Autumn.
Scandinavia and Central Europe are a bit behind on vaccination, but I expect the efficiency of Germany, Austria and Switzerland to catch up fast, Scandinavian countries have low population numbers and a high proportion of people in dense locations so they should be able to catch up quickly as well. Great stats available here https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus
There are new strains out of South Africa, Kent, and Bristol but the scientists have so far been confident the vaccine will be effective on these with or without tweaks.
That is the good news, and it is incredibly positive for travel late in 2021. Short term news is not so great as unfortunate UK government advise to not book summer holidays this year https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56008363 resulted in severe losses in enquiries for agents.
Key news in Scandinavia is that My Planet will be finished this month with the back office integrated into Enchanting Travels for the future. There will be sales staff in Scandinavia but all head office product and marketing will be dealt with by the Enchanting Travels team, new contracts needed.
Australia has made the news with bushfires in WA https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround /55915640 and obviously the tennis in Melbourne which has been a bit of a PR disaster due to Covid outbreaks and the following lockdown even though it is unrelated to the tennis! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-56035668
New Zealand has also made the news due to the Auckland lockdown due to three cases of Covid https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-56059960 but there was also some positive coverage with the tourism campaign getting good coverage https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/55822613
Most of Europe is still in some form of lockdown and this has significantly reduced the infection numbers and spread. The lockdowns are likely to be removed in stages starting in March and finishing in April. This combined with high levels of vaccination should see infections remaining low for Spring and Summer allowing everyone to travel and have vacations within Europe this summer. The only likely issues with this will be rules/restrictions with quarantine on return and the likely very late booking window. At present the vast majority of people are planning and booking domestic holidays but as soon as Europe is open and restrictions are manageable then there will be a massive rush to get away. Hopefully the vacation locations, airlines, hotels, etc will be ready and staffed to cope with the late bookings.
I also hope that infection numbers remain low so that Australia and New Zealand will feel confident enough to open their doors for overseas tourism late in 2021.
I hope you had a great Valentines, not a great year for romance! And you are all well and keeping safe out there.
keith@tailormaderepresentation.com or phone +44 77699 71217
Keith Marsh
Tailor Made Representation – Helping you connect.