As new coronavirus travel restrictions kick in across Europe, a survey has showed at least half of German, British and French travellers 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 travellers 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.
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 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 travellers 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, 70% would cancel their trip, while 65% of French respondents said they would do the same.
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Rubbish! I was in Majorca from 14th to 25th July and we all wore a face mask while walking in the streets and shops and restaurants before sitting down at a table. The people who weren’t wearing them were locals. I’d rather wear a mask and go to this beautiful island than not go at all.
We've been in Majorca for 2 weeks. The outside mask wearing is ridiculous. I've seen people walking down roads, literally miles from any other pedestrians wearing masks. The locals bump elbows in greeting at bars and then sit down, take off their masks and chat for an hour. We've mainly kept to our own property for the 2 weeks because wearing a mask in this heat is pretty unbearable. We'd probably have spent about an extra €1000 in bars and restaurants if it wasn't for the requirement to wear a mask while walking between them (in the open air, many metres from anyone else).
I just returned from Mallorca and found that most people wore a mask, however those who didnt were generally the younger people. The same age group who dont wear them in shops and public transport in uk, where it is mandatory. I felt very safe in playa de palma's Negresco hotel and the surrounding area, they are taking safety much more seriously than many places in the UK.