Three-quarters of Britons expect to stay home in summer

According to recent data compiled by location technology speciality TomTom, the vast majority of Brits (74 per cent) intend to stay put or travel within the country this summer, whereas only 27 per cent said they were likely to travel in Europe.

Predictably, COVID was the key factor in the changing holiday habits as 61 per cent claimed they would be travelling abroad this year without the pandemic. 

Money was also a factor amongst those staying in the country, with 31 per cent of those staying at home citing it as a reason. More than half (53 per cent) of Brits also said they wouldn’t be going abroad to avoid travel restrictions and quarantine.

The data will be especially concerning to Malta, which has identified the British market as a priority for the recovery of its economically vital tourism industry, with the Government launching an aggressive advertising campaign to bring tourists to the country.

It will only be the latest setback to the country’s hopes of attracting tourists from the country though. Perhaps more alarmingly, Malta failed to make it onto the UK’s green list for international travel when it was first announced on 7th May.

Whilst a new list is set to be released this Thursday, and while stakeholders have insisted that this time, Malta will be on the list, the omission has already seen booking numbers at some hotels stall.

Aside from with British tourists to Malta, which in 2019 were estimated to have spent €514 million out of a total €2.2 billion (the most out of any single country), stakeholders, including President of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association Tony Zahra, have indicated strong booking numbers from travellers from other nations.

“We are seeing destinations, such as Germany and France, going very good [sic]; good bookings are coming in from Italy and then there are other countries such as The Netherlands and Denmark with good bookings”, he told Television Malta.

The UK was placed on Malta’s amber list in April, meaning that British travellers are permitted to enter, with restrictions (a negative PCR test), similar to those required under the UK green list.