‘The Prospect Of Going Abroad This Year Is The Only Thing Keeping Me On An Even Keel’

Today, the government is expected to announce their ‘green list countries’ where Brits will be allowed to travel to from the 17th of May. According to reports, the prime minister will introduce a traffic light system with countries split into green, amber and red categories based on how high-risk they are.

It’s expected that travel will no longer be banned to any of the countries in the categories, but the rules around testing and quarantine will be different for each. For green list countries, for example, holidaymakers will need to take a pre-departure test before they travel, and then on or before day two of their arrival back into the UK, they’ll have to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. However, they will not need to quarantine at all unless they receive a positive result.

It comes after the government promised extensive research into how foreign travel could resume as we move out of lockdown, something that has been taking place over the past month. With today’s announcement then, many have high hopes that the traffic light system will not only make travelling abroad legally possible, but actually safe. Of course, there’s no guarantee that travelling abroad is ever safe while much of the world still remains unvaccinated, but with more than 34million Brits now receiving their first dose of the vaccine – there is hope it will be low risk.

That hope has of course transcended into excitement online about the possibility of a holiday-filled summer. Where there’s optimism then, there is scepticism too. And while that’s completely fair enough given the incompetence of the government in tackling the pandemic (and foreign travel especially), it’s also descended into contempt.

But the thing is, we shouldn’t judge either way. It’s completely understandable why some people are vehemently against foreign travel after so much loss, new variants and many remaining unvaccinated in the UK. But on the flip side, it’s also completely understandable that some people are grasping on tight to the idea of a holiday abroad.

There are people that have spent a year living alone - some shielding in literal isolation - people losing family members that live abroad unable to say their last goodbye, people that are terminally ill with bucket list trips to tick off. For those of us with ill mental health, the change in routine and isolation has made this period unsurvivable for some, with only the prospect of getting back to normal – and by that we mean ‘old normal’ – pulling many through. Some people are quite literally, living for hope. We have all lost over a year of our normal lives, it’s fair enough that some can’t wait to start living again.

‘I didn’t realise how much of my happiness rested on annual leave until last year,’ explains Amy*, 28 from Manchester. ‘That sounds sad but I think it’s true for most of us, there’s only so much you can love your job. It’s definitely a privilege to be able to go abroad, but for me the hope of it is what keeps me going. The last year has felt like we’re all trapped in the rat race without any prospect of doing the things that make life liveable, that takes its toll. My mental health certainly worsened, it got quite scary for awhile, so I don’t think it’s selfish if people want to believe they can and will get their “normal” summer if that’s what’s keeping them on an even keel.’

Amy says she might still decide it’s too risky to go on holiday abroad, but that at least knowing she can makes all the difference. And that’s what the crux of all of this isn’t it, almost every lockdown-pandemic debate, the fight between the optimists and the pessimists.

Just because people hoping the travel ban will be lifted, doesn’t mean everyone will hop on the next plane. Yes, there will likely be a surge in people booking holidays when today’s announcement is made – but many of us are hoping for the best while still assessing our own risk and making plans when it feels right. We know the government mishandled the crisis, that’s burned in our brain by Boris Johnson’s ‘let the bodies pile high’ comment, but we have to have faith that we will make informed decisions about travel abroad based on the new scientific information about risk.

That’s what Charlotte*, 38, from London is doing. If it feels safe, she says, she’ll be booking a holiday this year while making sure to abide by all of the local lockdown rules wherever she goes.

‘After probably the toughest year of my life, living alone during a pandemic, I – like many people – feel I need a holiday,’ she explains. ‘And yes, I want to go abroad. On a practical level, the prices for staycations are outrageous right now. I just can’t afford to pay a grand for a few days potentially being stuck inside amid the British drizzle.

‘Older and more vulnerable people have had their vaccines now,’ Charlotte continues. ‘Children are mixing in schools, as are the rest of us in shops – to act like getting on a plane is a much riskier thing to do just doesn’t make sense to me. If you don’t want to go, that’s totally your prerogative, of course, but don’t get moralistic about what other people do, once travelling abroad is legal again.’

James*, 32 from Brighton, agrees. He booked an optimistic trip to Malta in June with his friends last year and resigned himself to the fact it was not happening until recently.

‘I will take every precaution,’ he says. ‘It has been a long, long year. I do not have a partner, or children, and I have seen very little of my support network this year. We need a break, and time to reconnect and be with each other, just as many have spent twelve months living with their support networks. I feel like a week away, following all rules, is a reasonable treat, and I honestly don't think I would be criticised as much as I will inevitably be if some people weren't just jealous of the fact that I somehow have a booking. Naturally, I'll resist excessive social media posts: I'm not a dick.’

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