Majority of Brits, Germans and French Would Skip Holidays if Masks and Testing Required: New Survey

As new coronavirus travel restrictions kick in across Europe, a survey showed at least half of German, British and French travelers would rather cancel a holiday than quarantine afterwards, take a test upon arrival, or wear a mask outdoors.

The survey, carried out on July 13-23 and whose results were shared exclusively with Reuters by market research firm YouGov, showed two-thirds of Germans who normally travel abroad would cancel a holiday if they needed a test upon arrival.

Germany this week imposed mandatory coronavirus testing for travelers from 130 countries.

In France, which implemented testing upon arrival last Saturday for travellers from 12 countries, half of those who normally holiday abroad said they would cancel rather than take a test. The same proportion would call off a holiday if they had to wear a mask outdoors.

Key Takeaways From Skift Forum Europe

In other countries surveyed – Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and Britain – over two thirds would not tolerate mask-wearing outdoors.

Mask-wearing in public spaces was made mandatory in most places across Europe’s tourism hotspot Spain over the course of July. The Portuguese island of Madeira implemented the policy over the weekend.

Even needing a mask indoors would put off two-thirds of Danes and Swedes, the survey showed, compared to just over 40% of British travelers and half from Germany. Sweden has no rules on mask use.

Needing to quarantine upon return was even more unpopular, with over 80% of Danes, Swedes and Germans saying the trip would be off if they had to stay at home for two weeks afterwards.

Among Britons, who now face two weeks of quarantine if they travel to a number of countries including Spain and Portugal, 70% would cancel their trip, while 65% of French respondents said they would do the same.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, editing by Andrei Khalip and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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