Getting the deckchairs out!
Everywhere we can travel as soon as holidays resume. 😎
The Holiday Extras Deckchair Index
Updated March 31 2021: Even with overseas holidays yet to restart, the Deckchair Index looks ahead to when we can travel again and all the countries that are either open right now or planning to open up once leisure travel resumes.
Currently, the UK government thinks May 17 is the earliest we might be getting on a plane again, and by then we expect 52% of holiday destinations tp be open to visitors - with plenty more making plans to welcome us back for the summer.
The Spanish islands, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand and Israel are all planning travel corridors. Other countries, such as Estonia, Poland and Romania, are already open to vaccinated travellers. And on top of of that dozens of exotic and fascinating destinations such as Cuba, Mexico, Antigu and Barbuda or Sri Lanka are happy to admit visitors with a negative test.
So if like us your feet are itching and wondering what'll happen at the end of lockdown - rest assured there's already plenty, travel-wise, to look forward to.
Open, but quarantine when you get home - 10% of destinations
Much of the world is already open to UK visitors, once lockdown ends and if you're able to quarantine when you come back. So if you're happy to take a test and stay home (or in a handful of cases in a hotel at the airport) when you get back, here's everywhere that'll let you in.
Open to vaccinated travellers - 1% of destinations
Other countries have said they're happy to waive quarantine for travellers who can prove they've had the Covid vaccine. There isn't yet an international standard for proving this, but we're confident that by May - when the route out of lockdown plan suggests we may be able to fly again - a standard document will have been agreed internationally.
Planning a travel corridor - 41% of destinations
Some of the top holiday destinations are already planning travel corridors with the UK, or simply planning to open their doors to vaccinated travellers later in the year. For all the top holiday destinations we already know about, we've added a note on what they've said so far.
Are you Covid-ready to fly?
Everything you need for a test at either end of your trip.
Find out what tests you need for the top destinations
The science behind the 'Deckchair Index'
Update: March 31 Every day we review what's being said by tourism ministers and the travel industry in all of our major markets - we're not just reading the UK travel news but running news search algorithms over newspapers from all over the world, especially in places like Spain, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus and Italy where we all like to go on holiday. We combine that with the Office of National Statistics' data on where we flew in 2018 (the last full "normal travel" year for which there's data), taking the percentage of trips that went to a country as the index number. That's how we get an index of 52% - everywhere we expect to be able to visit after 17th May which is the first date the UK government has given for the resumption of overseas holidays.
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Your first trip after lockdown
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