A reader has pointed out the additional costs suffered by British travellers to France because of Government regulations – specifically, the requirement to have three PCR tests at a minimum of £120 each.
If you want to come back from France to the UK you have to provide a negative PCR test. That costs a very reasonable € 15… in France
But on your return to the UK, you have to undergo two more PCR tests, on day two and day five after you arrive. For some mysterious reason, the cheapest tests in the UK are £120(!) each from Boots (and ridiculous amounts more from other providers). Even the Boots “bargain basement” cost adds an outrageous £360 to the total cost of a trip to France, as, of course, you need a PCR test outward bound too!
My partner and I have written to our MP about this racketeering, but it’s obviously Government policy to deter people from going to deserted beaches abroad and to have them packed on British beaches instead.
We own a gîte in France and hate to think what our fully-booked summer will look like once a party of 10 realises that the Government has permitted £3,600 to be added to their bill!
If the Government sincerely wants to free us from our shackles, it should clamp down on this cynical profiteering and set up a simple system, as for the lorry drivers.
As Lord David Blunkett recently pointed out, travel restrictions imposed by the Government impact not only tourism (the topic which receives the most attention from the broadcast media) but also trade and aviation.
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