I’m a travel editor – but I still haven’t booked a summer holiday

I’ll say it plainly: I’m exhausted.

Anyone engaged in the tumultuous world of travel journalism undoubtedly feels the same way right now. We’ve gone from being told in jealous tones that we have the “dream job” – roaming the world in search of the most tantalising destinations and experiences – to being stuck on this godforsaken isle while our social lives revolve around what time Grant Shapps may or may not drop his tri-weekly traffic light list update.

It’s arguably the most interesting time to work the travel beat – but it’s also the most frustrating and brain-draining. The sheer complexity of the rules, along with the speed at which all the world’s countries are flung into the air, to land afresh in amber, green or red categories in seemingly random fashion (the government has yet to provide any transparency on its decisions when it comes to these designations), is such that the thought of booking a of holiday abroad for myself is simply beyond me.

Don’t get me wrong – I want to. But the phrase “busman’s holiday” springs to mind every time I start to contemplate the chaotically complex web of tests, locator forms and potential quarantine requirements needed in order to get away. I had to laugh when Boris Johnson spoke earlier this week of creating a travel system that was “simple” and “user-friendly”. Perhaps Mr Johnson and I have different ideas about what the word “simple” means.

I say this as someone who is immersed in these rules, with every new twist and turn etched on my brain after writing thousands upon thousands of words on the subject. I can only imagine how confusing it must be for literally anyone else in the UK.

I have at least now been double-jabbed, which should make things easier. But as France and its ludicrous former “amber plus” status showed us, nothing can be trusted in this ever-evolving hot mess of travel red tape. When a brand new classification can be created at a moment’s notice – based on the rates of a Covid variant on an island located 6,000 away from the mainland – how on earth can you book any kind of international travel with confidence?

The answer is: you can’t. So I haven’t. I want to help lift up our beleaguered travel industry, which so desperately needs people to buy holidays after more than a year of being stymied at every turn. I really do. But it turns out I’m just too tired to go on holiday.

Yours,

Helen Coffey

Travel editor