Spain holidays heartbreak: Travel before Christmas officially cancelled after new rules

Martin Lewis discusses travel refunds and PCR tests

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Covid travel restrictions have crushed many holidaymakers’ dreams of a winter holiday. One of the most popular holiday destinations for Britons, Spain, has some stringent entry requirements.

The latest update for travel to Spain was devastating for holidaymakers.

The country did not change its restrictions for Britons wanting to travel in time for Christmas.

Spain’s current requirements only permit entry to fully vaccinated travellers.

The restriction includes holidaymakers from the country’s “risk list”.

In the latest update, Spain continued to include 28 countries on its “risk list”, with travellers coming from a country on the list able to enter Spain as long as they meet all entry requirements.

The risk list was comprised of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Slovakia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden.

To enter Spain from one of these countries, holidaymakers will have to show proof of full vaccination, which means two jabs.

Britons wishing to enter Spain will have to show proof of vaccination.

A full course of vaccination is required, with jabs having been administered at least 14 days before arrival in Spain.

Spain is effectively barring all non-vaccinated travellers from the country.

Many were hoping the restrictions would be relaxed before Christmas.

Spain’s latest update has crushed those hopes.

Britons have been cancelling holidays like never before due to the rise of the Omicron variant.

LuxuryHotel found searches for “cancel holidays” skyrocketed to three times the average volume in one hour after the UK Government’s announcement of new Covid travel restrictions.

A spokesperson for LuxuryHotel said: “The spike in interest for holiday cancellations shows that people’s worries about the pandemic are far from gone.

“With new restrictions being imposed again it leaves a lot of uncertainty for next year, and it seems that many holidaymakers don’t want to take any risks.

“The travel industry is also feeling the effects of the restrictions with mandatory PCR tests for those wanting to travel abroad.

“If the Omicron variant spreads further we can only expect these numbers to rise even more.”

The UK has since scrapped the red list.

While the UK removed its red list, and the need to quarantine when coming back to the country, Britons are still largely uncertain about travel.

Mark Tanzer Chief Executive of ABTA – The Travel Association commented: “The removal of countries from the red list is a sensible step.

“With the testing measures now extending over the Christmas and New Year period, and the industry quickly approaching peak-booking season for summer 2022, travel businesses are facing a very serious situation.

“Consumer confidence in travel has suffered a significant setback, which will outlast these restrictions.”

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