France holding Amber Plus status on the government’s travel watchlist has led to significant lost revenue for the coach industry and its suppliers because of a failure to introduce a quarantine-exempt transit corridor between Calais and the nearby Belgian border, one major operator has said.
The issue has been created by the requirement to quarantine upon arrival in the UK from France. No exemption is in place for transiting coach passengers, despite the short distance from the Belgian border that can be covered without stopping.
It has been reported that France may soon move to Amber on the government’s watchlist, which would remove the need to quarantine on return for fully-vaccinated travellers. However, Edwards Coaches Managing Director Jason Edwards says that the South Wales business has already cancelled five September European tours worth a total of around £100,000 in revenue because of a lack of clarity around any such change.
Coach industry forced to cancel because of France situation
Mr Edwards says that while Edwards Coaches endeavours to leave decisions on cancellations as late as possible, it must be fair to hoteliers and other suppliers and give them sufficient notice that a tour will not run. Edwards’ forecast for European coach holiday sales from September onwards is £3m.
He adds that the final four months of the year are typically strong for European tours and that if the issue is not rectified quickly, significant further revenue will be forfeit. While some travellers may accept a shift to a domestic itinerary, there is “a huge appetite for foreign travel.” If that cannot be met by coaches it is likely that it will be lost to air.
“Operators are sitting blindly watching this loss of income. I have had calls with the Department for Transport and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about it, but there is still no clarity.
“France is the gateway to Europe. Customers want to cross from Dover; while there are other options to avoid France, they add significant extra time and cost and make a tour unviable.
“While we accept that transiting France to return from Spain without stopping is impossible, Calais can be reached from the Belgian border in less than an hour and no stop is required.”
The difficulty of transferring overseas bookings to domestic tours is compounded by a paucity of available accommodation in the UK and the high cost of those rooms that are to be had, Mr Edwards continues. He also says that a domestic tour is typically around half the duration of a foreign trip, meaning that achieving the same utilisation of coaches and drivers requires a greater level of planning.
“Having an outlet for tours to Europe gives coach operators more options, particularly with the pressure on UK hotel stock. The inability to transit France without being required to quarantine on return is costing the coach industry a lot of money.”
RHA calls for resolution to issue quickly
Trade body RHA has questioned why transiting France by coach when passengers remain on the vehicle and no others are taken aboard does not qualify for the same exemption from quarantine requirements awarded to international rail travellers passing through the country on the same basis.
Moreover, Operations Manager – Coach Sector Andy Warrender points out that in 2020, an exemption from quarantine was permitted for coach passengers transiting France. “Anyone arriving on a coach from Germany, for instance, and which had not stopped in France, was exempt from the more stringent measures in force then,” he says.
“The same exemptions that are available to rail currently would effectively open up the rest of Europe [to coaches].”
RHA says it has been pressing ministers to extend the rail exemption to coaches. It describes the failure thus far to do so as “perverse.” The government is expected to make the next announcement on changes to its travel watchlist shortly.
