There are two good reasons for this: above and beyond the aforementioned instinct to plan a break to an alluring destination when the temperatures at home are at their lowest.
Firstly, this is effectively the first ‘Sunshine Saturday’ in two years. This time last year, 2021 shuffled in bearing lockdown and a ban on overseas travel. No-one in the UK was comparing costs on a fortnight in Mallorca, no matter how much we may have wished to.
Secondly, while 2022 may only be days old, it has already served up a significant morale boost for both the travel industry, and anyone who wants to travel in the coming months.
Yesterday saw a formal end to the requirement for fully vaccinated passengers coming to the UK to take a pre-departure Covid test. And as of tomorrow (January 9), these same travellers will only need to take a day-two lateral flow test, rather than a pricier PCR test, to check their status vis a vis the virus that has been shaped our lives for nearly two years.
These are both welcome pieces of good news – but it is the first which will have the most dramatic effect on consumer behaviour. In short, the fear of returning a positive test while attempting to come home from a foreign holiday has been a hugely discouraging factor for British tourists. On Thursday, Steve Heapy, the CEO of Jet2, told the BBC’s Today programme that his company had witnessed a 150 per cent leap in bookings in the space of 24 hours – a direct and instant response to the rescinding of the pre-departure test requirement on Wednesday. That announcement, he said, had given people “the confidence that perhaps they won’t be caught up in resorts quarantining,” adding that “people are desperate to get away. That’s been demonstrated in the past couple of days.”
That last statement has a glorious and unmistakable ring of truth. While it has been possible to travel since the pandemic began, and many of us have done so, there is no question that plenty more of us have chosen to play it safe and not fly the roost. But with the latest peeling back of restrictions sign-posting what we all hope will be a 2022 where travel can resume with something akin to normality, eyes are again scanning the horizon.
So will today be the biggest ‘Sunshine Saturday’ ever? Quite possibly. The pent-up demand is certainly there – not just in wanderlust, but in terms of time and money. Many would-be holidaymakers, who have not travelled since March 2020, are sitting on savings they would otherwise have been spent on a fortnight (or longer) away, and in some cases, they have accrued annual leave in which to use it. Sour news, perhaps, for employers, but good news for tour operators and anyone determined to hit the beach as soon as possible. If you our readers and the travel industry could make a collective noise right now, it would be the exuberant sound of a cork popping out of a champagne bottle at high speed.
So where to go? It should be emphasised that there are still restrictions in place all across the globe – but a 2022 with fewer complications should see traveller interest in all corners of the planet. Earlier this week, Telegraph Travel ran an online poll, asking readers their most strongly held new-year travel resolution. The most popular answer (66 per cent) was to visit a new country. After so long pinned down at home, we are craving adventure and fresh experiences. And if you are seeking inspiration, we have a raft of suggestions here, for skiers, winter-sun seekers, and travellers hoping to be on trend in a year of renewal.
