Bookings for Portugal holidays are surging, despite the country’s borders remaining closed to tourists. In the wake of the green list announcement, tour operator Jet2 is reporting a 1,300pc week-on-week rise in holiday reservations, while Ryanair has released an additional 175,000 seats on its UK-Portugal routes this summer.
Holiday agency Not Just Travel is experiencing a ‘frenzy of activity’ for Portugal bookings, according to co-founder Steve Witt, and Tui has also announced new flights between the UK and Madeira and the Algarve.
However, mainland Portugal remains off-limits to tourism, with no indication of when holidays may resume. As the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office warns, ‘If you are travelling from the UK, you can only enter [Portugal] for essential purposes, such as to live with immediate family members, or for professional, educational, health or humanitarian reasons.’
However, tourism to Portuguese islands Madeira and the Azores is currently permitted, with only the requirement for pre-arrival PCR tests.
Travel agencies are selling…
