Should I book a summer holiday to Turkey?
Prices for flights to Turkey on 17 May are soaring, with easyJet charging £284 for a one-way trip from Gatwick to Antalya
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“Mediterranean holiday poker” is well under way as tourism-dependent nations seek to lure travel-hungry British visitors.
Turkey has raised the stakes, with the tourism minister predicting UK holidaymakers will need neither evidence of their vaccination status nor a negative Covid test to enter the country this summer. These are the key questions and answers.
When can I go to Turkey?
Not yet, unless you are heading there for essential reasons such as work, family emergencies or issues related to property. All holidays from the UK are currently illegal, though the government says international travel may be allowed once again from 17 May.
Are flights and holidays on sale?
Yes, starting from 6am on the morning of Monday 17 May: Tui has a dawn departure from Belfast to Dalaman, with holidays in the resort of Marmaris on sale for £387 per person for a week, including flights, transfers and self-catering accommodation at the Sinem Hotel.
Half-an-hour later, Jet2’s first flight from Stansted departs for Izmir, with a self-catering week in Kusadasi at the Happy Apartments for £295 each.
The pent-up demand – particularly from people who have property in Turkey – is evident from the prices charged by easyJet from Gatwick to Antalya on 17 May. The 6.15am departure is currently priced at £284 one-way, with a return leg a week later at £166.
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What needs to change before I can go on holiday to Turkey without too much hassle?
First, the government must lift its ban on overseas holidays. Next, Turkey will need to remove the two weeks of quarantine imposed on anyone who has been in the UK within the previous 10 days.
Britain’s arrival rules will need to be eased. At present anyone travelling to the UK must present a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours of departure, self-isolate for 10 days on arrival (in a hotel if they travel direct to Scotland) and take further tests on days two and eight following arrival.
Assuming that a pre-departure test for UK-bound travellers will continue, many Turkish hotels are preparing facilities for testing homebound tourists. Tests can also be carried out for around £25 at the main Turkish airports.
What is Turkey likely to demand in terms of medical status?
Nothing beyond the passenger locator form that has become common worldwide – allowing public health officials to trace people who are thought to be at risk of infection.
Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Turkey’s minister of culture and tourism, said: “We will not require vaccination passports from international travellers when entering the country.” A decision will be taken on 15 April about the current requirement for a negative PCR test certificate for travellers arriving from the UK.
Mr Ersoy said: “We will re-evaluate the situation and then decide if we will continue to require negative PCR test results from British citizens entering the country.
“I expect there will be no such requirement from British visitors as the UK government is rapidly, and impressively, rolling out the vaccination programme for the whole nation and a significant portion of the population will be vaccinated by early summer.”
Will I be safe there?
Unsurprisingly, the Turkish government assures visitors that they will. Ahead of the main summer season, which begins in May, staff in hotels and other tourist facilities are to be prioritised for vaccination.
Currently Turkey is seeing a sharp rise in infections – up by half in two weeks to a rate of 180 new cases in the past 14 days per 100,000 people. Some corresponding rates are: UK, 141; Cyprus, 280; Greece, 256; Italy 445; and Malta 833.
Turkey will offer an optional insurance package for arriving holidaymakers, priced at around £12. It covers Covid-related expenses such as treatment, medication and emergency care.
Because Turkey is not covered by the Global Health Insurance Card (Ghic), proper travel insurance issued in the UK is essential.
Wasn’t Turkey in trouble last year?
Yes. Turkey was removed from the UK’s “travel corridor” list last October because of concerns about the way the country was reporting its data. While many nations in the region were reporting strong increases, Turkish figures were strangely flat with very little variation.
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