(Newswire.net — April 30, 2020) — Britons are ready to get back on a plane and travel. France, Spain and Italy announced that they would ease the lockdown soon, but will that include letting UK travelers in?
Britons Looking for Warmer Climates
British citizens love to travel. In a recent survey, 75% of them believed they would be getting back on a plane before the end of this year, while 16% said they would catch the first one, once they reopen the airline routes. In truth, many Britons own property in Spain, France and Italy, from Mallorca to the city of Annecy, France and parts of Sicily. As they look to catch a little bit of the sun this summer, lots of them hope for a return to some kind of normalcy in the weeks to come.
However, it might not be so easy to get into these countries for a while. Most of them are not even entertaining the idea of moving from one region to another at this point, for its own citizens. The suggestion that the Schengen zone would be closed till September has been circulating a lot too. That would render travel for UK citizen to all the EEU countries impossible, since it left the group a few months ago.
Different Countries, Different Priorities and Different Dates
France
In France, the priority on May 11 (official date of the end of the complete lockdown) will be to get kids back to school. However, parents are not so enthusiastic about the idea, and two-thirds said they would not send them back. Other priorities will include getting public transportation up and running as well as returning people to work (those that cannot execute their work from home only).
Today, the Prime Minister announced that bars and restaurants would remain closed at least until June 1st and that a decision would be made then regarding their reopening and what measures will need to be taken by them if they want to greet customers again. Until then, beaches are also still off limits and French citizen have been told to withhold on their summer holiday plans.
Italy
In Italy, the first signs of getting back to normal life have already happened. Flower shops and library were granted the right to reopen a week ago. Today, some companies involved in manufacturing and export of goods have been granted permission to go back to work and citizens are being allowed to visit families. Parks and building sites should reopen in the days to come.
As in France, bars and restaurants are expected to reopen for dine-in service from June 1st, as well as hairdressers and beauty salons. Retail shops will be able to open a little earlier, on May 18, along with museums and public libraries. Parts of the country depend heavily on tourism. It is the case in Sicily where the regional government said they would invest 50 million to attract tourists back. When will that happen? No dates have been mentioned yet.
Spain
As for Spain, officials have whispered that they might not let British tourists in for a while. This may well be a long summer for the ones who were hoping to get back to their second home.