Grandparents paying for family holidays in post-lockdown world

After many months of separation from their families, grandparents are bankrolling “multi-generational holidays,” leading travel bosses have said.

Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, and Malcolm Bell, chief executive of Visit Cornwall, were speaking at an Independent virtual event.

Ms Lo Bue-Said, who represents 750 UK travel agencies, reported that most of British families she met on the Greek island of Zante in August were comprised of three generations.

“The majority were multi-generational, with really young children,” she said. “It was so lovely to seen grandparents with young toddlers.”

During the series of UK lockdowns, family gatherings were largely outlawed – depriving grandparents of the opportunity to watch their grandchildren grow.

“Families haven’t’ been together,” said Mr Bell. “People really never thought they would be unable to see their grandchildren.”

He said that grandparents were typically paying to rent a property in Cornwall where the whole family could stay.

The tourism chief said that county’s great popularity in the summer was “a nice problem to have” – but it came with multiple challenges, from staff shortages to soaring Covid infection rates.

“Being oversubscribed is not a walk in the park,” Mr Bell said.

While UK visitors had converged on the county in record numbers, international arrivals were thin on the ground.

Only one-sixth of the usual number of high-spending US tourists travelled to Cornwall this summer – and most had family connections with the county.

He was speaking as new figures from the data analysts ForwardKeys show the UK lost 86 per cent of its summer 2019 arrivals in July and August.

The UK has both the highest coronavirus infection rates of any major European country, and the toughest travel restrictions.

Ms Lo Bue-Said called for the multiple testing requirement – which typically costs anyone arriving in the UK £100 – to be dropped, and for quarantine at home to be allowed for arrivals from “red list” countries.

At present people arriving from Turkey, South Africa and 60 other nations regarded as high risk must pay £2,285 for hotel quarantine.

Looking ahead, Mr Bell predicted that British travellers would take more breaks – particularly if they are working from home some or all of the time.

He said: “Home is no longer a sanctuary, and people who are working from home have had enough of being stuck in the same four walls.”

With another busy summer predicted for 2022, he recommended: “Book early to get what you want at the price you want it.”