The uncertainty about the presence in the air corridors generates “instability” for tourists

The announcement was made by British Transport Minister Grant Shapps at the end of the day: for now, Portugal remains on the list of safe countries, the so-called air corridor. Therefore, British people traveling to Portugal are not subject to a 14-day quarantine period upon their return home. “We continue to constantly review the list of air corridors and will not hesitate to remove countries if necessary. However, today there are no new additions or deletions from the list, ”wrote the Minister of Transport on the social network Twitter.

In the same message, tourists were also reminded that the list of “safe” countries is changing rapidly. “Those going on vacation should remember that countries that need a 14-day quarantine period can change on short notice.”

The Grant Shapps reveal came a few hours after the remarks by Health Minister Matt Hancock, who told Sky News early in the morning that the decision would only be made on Friday. More aligned are the two members of the British Government in notices to travelers. “People should look at the numbers and travel only if they are prepared to be quarantined,” Hancock warned.

However, tourists from Wales will need to be quarantined on their return home, as the country’s authorities have decided to remove mainland Portugal from the air corridor. At the end of this Thursday, the BBC announced that Scotland could follow the same path, also eliminating Portugal from the list of countries in the air corridor.

In recent days, the British press realized that Portugal could be excluded from the air corridor, taking into account the contagion rate of 22.9 new cases per hundred thousand inhabitants for seven days, a value above the metric of the Kingdom of 20 Kingdom considered safe.

On the bright side, the fragility

For Isabel Tavares, director of hospitality marketing at Sonae Capital, the British interest in the Algarve, “which was very positive, is now becoming fragile.” Even before the announcement was made that the UK would keep Portugal on the list, Isabel Tavares explained to DV that the uncertainty about the country’s continuity on the list generated some apprehension. “Clearly we feel the same as the other operators in the Algarve, which is an inconvenience and we believe that above all it generates instability.”

As Sonae Capital owns hotels such as Aqualuz Lagos, Isabel Tavares details that a change has been felt in the behavior of guests in recent days. “It is the concern and instability in relation to tomorrow’s uncertainty, starting to anticipate and change their stay plans, that is one of the biggest disadvantages.”

“The country has always been very stable in reacting to the situation, we were able to react in a relatively agile and fast way. We were, in the hotel business, from the beginning always trying to ensure that the people who traveled and who were with us were safe, we made this investment and we continue to do so ”, he explains. “I think this news, from ‘opening’ and ‘closing’ [dos corredores], they create a lot of instability and the people of today to continue traveling need some calm and tranquility and feel safe “.

The hospitality marketing director of Sonae Capital also considers that what can be seen as a “communication problem” could “bring great disadvantages for the sector.”