Travel to the UK: Bookings to South Africa increase 150% ahead of Red List reorganization

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Airlines have reported an increase in bookings to South Africa ahead of the UK government’s final travel rating announcement expected on Thursday.

Travelers are particularly keen to book flights over the festive season, South Africa’s sultry summer, when flight prices typically rise to several thousand pounds.

Getting off the red list means returning vacationers will not have to spend 11 nights in quarantine hotels at a cost of over £ 2,200.

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Virgin Atlantic operates three times a week from Heathrow to Cape Town and Johannesburg. An airline spokeswoman said: “Before the Red List review today, we saw our bookings to South Africa have increased 150% in the last four days compared to the previous four days.

“Most of the bookings are for UK passengers, but we are also seeing an increase in South African passengers. The new bookings relate to trips in November and December of this year, especially during the Christmas season. “

Bangladesh, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana and Malaysia are among the locations for which travel advice has been relaxed due to the coronavirus risk, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said on Wednesday.

Brits are no longer instructed to avoid all but essential travel to countries that are not on the red list for Covid-19 reasons, except in “exceptional circumstances”, for example when the local health system is overwhelmed, the FCDO added.

This should make it easier for visitors to these places to get travel insurance.

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