Almasalla news | Arab Tourism Portal News
A POPULAR independent travel agent is reopening its offices early as holiday bookings surge now England’s quarantine restrictions are being lifted.
The government has announced today more than 50 countries deemed low or very low risk will be exempt from England’s quarantine from Friday, July 10.
Included in the countries exempt are Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Germany, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Turkey, Norway, Antigua, Barbados, St Lucia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Japan, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand.
Holidaymakers choosing a getaway to those destinations will not have to spend 14 days in quarantine on their return to England.
Following news of this impending easing of travel restrictions Claire Milby and Lisa Barnes, who co-own Travel The Globe, have experienced a surge in holiday bookings.
And having worked from home throughout lockdown to help customers with all their travel queries, Claire and Lisa are now reopening their offices.
Claire said: “We have just had our busiest day of bookings for the last three months. People are really keen to have a break, and they want to get their holidays booked to ensure they get the best availability at the best prices.
“There are some amazing deals out there at the moment, and people want to ensure they secure the holiday they want, before prices start to rise.
“The surge in interest we have seen shows that the demand has always been there. People were just waiting for positive news about destinations welcoming British tourists and not having to quarantine when they return to this country.
“We were already taking a lot of bookings for 2021 and even 2022, but now the holiday season is back on for 2020 people have been rushing to make bookings.”
It’s a milestone day for the pair and their team who have been working tirelessly throughout lockdown to help customers.
Claire said: “It’s been tough at times, our dedicated staff have been working from home all hours, six days a week throughout the lockdown.
“We know there were customers with some other travel companies who struggled to get through to find out any information.
“It was important to us to offer an uninterrupted service to make sure we were available to help customers with their holiday queries, and make sure they had the best advice.
“It was about sticking by our community during the difficult times and making sure we were there to help them.
“It’s great to finally be coming out of the other side and to see customers, old and new, coming back to us and trusting us to help them with their holiday plans. We really appreciate the support they have shown us, and continue to show us.
“Without people sticking with us and booking their holidays with us, and continuing to support us, business would have been even more tough.”
Lisa and Claire, who have 34 years and 27 years of travel agency experience respectively, pride themselves on offering a personal, trusted, bespoke service. They believe it’s an approach which has stood them in good stead throughout the pandemic.
Claire said: “During this time, customers really seem to have come to value local, trusted, expert, holiday advice from people they know have got decades of experience in the travel industry.
“Because of the relationship we have with operators such as Jet2 we can offer customers a better experience than a purely online service.
“We give our customers full confidence and peace of mind by looking after every aspect of a holiday booking from start to finish. We even link up with Ulverston Airport Services to get people to and from the airport. They have put in their own COVID-19 safety measures in their vehicles to give customers peace of mind.
“It’s been a very emotional time for everyone and now we can all look forward to better days ahead, and to helping customers book the holiday they’ve all been waiting for.
“We and the Travel The Globe team are able to book our own holidays/" target="_blank">family holidays now as well so we know what a boost and a relief this is for everyone and how important it is to have a holiday to look forward to.”
Travel The Globe reopened its newly-revamped offices in King Street, Ulverston, Cumbria on Monday (June 29).
And because of the surge in interest it will reopen its Barrow office in Stollers Furniture World on Saturday (July 4) 10am-5pm; and on Sunday, 11am-4pm. Because of demand Travel The Globe will also open its Barrow office every Sunday throughout July and August.
From the week beginning Monday (July 6) Travel The Globe’s offices will resume normal operating hours, 9.30am-5pm Monday to Saturday at the Ulverston office, and 10am-5pm Monday to Saturday, and 11am-4pm on Sunday at the Barrow office.
Both offices have been fitted out with a range of safety measures including screens, sanitiser and social distancing signage.
Claire said: “Everything has been done to ensure a safe environment for customers and staff. We are now really looking forward to welcoming everyone back through the doors.”
During lockdown Travel The Globe has been named as a finalist in the Travel Agent category at the County Brides 2020 North West Wedding Awards due to take place at The Mere Resort & Spa, near Knutsford on September 9.
For the full list of countries which will be exempt from England’s quarantine from Friday, July 10 go to: https://tinyurl.com/yadqm94c
