Escape S1
Daily Mail, Saturday, June 6, 2020
If President Trump’s G7 summit had been able to go ahead at the end of the month, the British Prime Minister would have faced 14 days of quarantine on his return. At the very least, it would have added to the farce that is rapidly becoming a tragedy for the travel sector. No one is happy and the clock is ticking. What’s more, we are at odds, for a change, with our European neighbours, who are slowly easing travel restrictions and, eventually, will be keen to welcome tourists from the UK. So, what do we do by way of encouraging them? We dig our heels in and confirm that, as of Monday, the two-week quarantine rule will apply. Then, the increasingly lightweightsounding Home Secretary Priti Patel said in a video meeting with travel bosses that ‘we share one aim; to keep people safe and get Britain moving again’ and all ideas about how to do this will be most helpful. Not withstanding the threat from Willie Walsh, the chief executive of BA’s parent company IAG, to take legal action against the Government, those ideas may well be winging their way to Whitehall next week. But it’s become such an unnecessarily complicated picture, involving
‘air bridges’, testing for coronavirus at airports and the threat of fines for those not doing what they’re told. It’s no wonder a Greek hotelier called me this week to say: ‘You British are good at looking in both directions at the same time.’ We’ve tried to make sense of this on Pages 60 to 61, while keeping you posted on what’s happening in Europe and places further afield, such as the Maldives (pictured). There are some great deals on offer, but paying up front is not for the faint-hearted while the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice is that we should go nowhere unless it’s absolutely essential. That could change but the quarantine rule won’t be reviewed until the end of June. Our cover story picks up on a growing trend for ‘doing-somegood’ holidays, a chance to volunteer on environmental projects around the world and here in the UK. Some people think a kinder society will emerge from this crisis but, for now, we want the Government to come to its senses and offer some clarity both to travellers and travel companies.
travel editor
Page 57
t bargain aler
o t n r u t e r 0 £30 r e b m e t p e s new york inageS 60-61 p
You could make a world of
difference Marine mission: A snorkeler with stingrays
Combine adventure with saving the planet on one of these life-changing conservation breaks
Y
ou MIGHT fancy protecting humpback whales alongside marine biologists in Mozambique, or falling asleep in a forest chalet to the howls of rescued wolves in Portugal.
How about tracking elusive snow leopards in Kyrgyzstan, or mighty silverback gorillas in Rwanda? Or you might prefer to clean up your nearest beach here in the UK or rewild a historic forest in the Highlands. If so, you are not alone. Last year’s
Picture: getty
by KATE JOHNSON sustainable travel report from booking.com shows that nearly three quarters of world travellers are looking for ‘authentic’ experiences that reflect the local culture. The STA Travel (statravel.co.uk) inaugural
trends report reveals an 11 per cent jump in ‘voluntouring’, with Thailand and Cambodia being the most popular for student and youth travellers looking for a trip with ‘meaning, culture and purpose’. Justin Francis, founder of the company Responsible Travel (responsibletravel.com), says: ‘Post-Covid-19, many of us will think about holidays differently. We’ll want to do some good. So volunteering definitely has a chance of rebirth.’ And don’t worry, wherever you choose,
turn to next page