The government will discourage holiday travel to risk areas

Traveling abroad is a risk in the current situation. People who want to go on holiday abroad must take into account that the health situation in a country can change quickly, causing the holiday destination to suddenly turn orange, with all the associated consequences. With regard to a holiday trip to an area with an orange or red travel advice: do not go.

In a letter to the Lower House, Ministers Blok (Foreign Affairs) and Van Nieuwenhuizen (Infrastructure and Water Management), together with State Secretary Van Veldhoven, announce actions to reinforce this message.

Discourage
On the website Nederlandwereldwereld.nl of Foreign Affairs, the message is: ‘do not book holiday trips to areas with orange travel advice’. This message will also appear in the separate travel advisories for the respective areas. Advertising space is purchased on travel comparison sites with a reference to travel advice.

Minister Van Nieuwenhuizen uses online traffic management to approach motorists directly. Via the navigation tool ‘Waze’ and social media, motorists are informed of the orange travel advice and the consequences if you do go, such as quarantine.

State Secretary Van Veldhoven has agreed with NS International that they will not promote tickets for international train connections, including the new international train connections to Vienna and London, when it comes to areas where an orange travel advice applies.

In addition, various members of the cabinet will enter into discussions with various parties from the travel and transport industry to make agreements about not promoting travel to risk areas and a consistent reference to the travel advice of Foreign Affairs.

It has been agreed with the Dutch Association of Insurers that they will actively ask insurers to bring information about travel to areas with an orange travel advice to the attention of their customers.

In addition, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets and the Advertising Code Committee were asked whether the promotion of travel to areas with an orange travel advice was not a misguidance. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets and the Advertising Code Committee have indicated that they include this signal in their supervisory duties.

Falling number of trips
Holidays abroad have decreased significantly since the outbreak, which is also reflected in the occupancy rate at transport companies. For bus trips to and from the Netherlands, Flixbus, the largest European bus operator, accounted for 41 percent of the number of travelers in July and August compared to the same period in 2019.

For Schiphol, the numbers in July and August are even lower than in 2019: 24 percent of the number of passengers, 43 percent of the number of movements with an average occupancy rate of 54 percent.
According to the Netherlands Bureau for Tourism & Conventions (NBTC), the number of Dutch holiday plans will continue to decline for the rest of the year.