Is it Time to Go Abroad Again?

A lot has been said about travelling abroad after Covid, with many people feeling it is all too confusing to even consider going on holiday. The reality, however, could not be simpler.

Having travelled to Mallorca recently, it was a nice surprise to discover things were much easier than they had been described.

Filling in a passenger locator form for ten minutes on the Spanish Government’s website and taking proof of vaccination to the airport was about as different as the journey to the island got.

On arrival to Palma Airport, a quick scan of the QR code on the locator form was all that was needed in terms of things Covid related. In fact, the biggest change noticed about the whole journey was now getting a stamp on your passport at customs.

Plane for the outbound journey. *Source: Matthew Davidson*

When speaking to the staff in the hotel, José, a hotel receptionist said: “It is just nice to see people back on the island. We have missed getting to meet so many people and our island desperately needs people to return.

“I’ve seen a number of bars and restaurants that have now closed permanently because of the lack of tourists.”

This seemed to be a recurring theme when speaking to locals, with many bars and restaurants thanking people for going over and supporting them.

This even extended to the tour operator staff. Sarah, a Jet2holidays customer service agent said: “We are loving being able to do our roles again and get people back on holiday.

“The island has been so quiet over the past year and a half without tourists and it has been sad to see so many resorts that would be busy in the summer look like a ghost town in comparison.”

The feeling around the resort of Port de Pollenca was one of happiness, seeing the slow and steady return of people going on holiday again.

Firefighting model sea plane in Port De Pollenca. Source: Matthew Davidson

The resort had nowhere near as many people as normal and even for October it was quiet. However, it felt completely safe with nearly everywhere having hand sanitisers and masks still being mandatory, the same way they are here in Scotland.

The trip home was straightforward, all that needed to be done was the UK passenger locator form and taking proof of vaccination to the airport again.

A day 2 PCR test was also needed after arriving back home, but since the results of the test didn’t come back until day 4, it’s safe to say the effectiveness of this is minimal, and with testing after arrival being scrapped at the end of October, it seems the Government agrees.

The trip as a whole had been about as stress free as you could ask for and it showed that going abroad is not as scary a prospect as we have been told. Not only that, but the owners of bars and restaurants were simply glad to see the return of tourists at last.