TRAVEL NEWS
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THE GOVERNMENT OF FINLAND HAS ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL EXTEND CURRENT COVID-19 BORDER ENTRY RESTRICTIONS FOR ‘THIRD COUNTRY’ TRAVELLERS UNTIL AT LEAST 5 JUNE
10th May 2022
The extension means that all visitors over the age of 16 travelling from outside the European Union (EU) and Schengen area will still be required to present proof of full vaccination or recent recovery, or a negative result for a PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival, for a further month.
The policy does not apply to Finnish citizens or residents arriving from a third country, or arrivals whose travel is considered ‘essential’.
Finland eased Covid border regulations for all EU member states and Schengen area countries in February 2022. The rules had been put into force due to concerns about the Omicron variant. At the time, the Finnish government stated that non-EU, non-Schengen countries would have to abide by the old rules until at least 14 February – however 12 weeks later, the restrictions are still in force.
CROATIA AND BULGARIA REMOVE ALL COVID-RELATED BORDER REQUIREMENTS
10th May 2022
Croatia and Bulgaria have both dropped all Covid-related entry requirements on Sunday 1 May, enabling travellers to enter the country without meeting any testing, quarantine or vaccination requirements.
The Croatian National Tourist Office (CNTO) stated: “All travellers entering Croatia can now do so under the same conditions of entry that were in force before the Covid-19 pandemic, i.e. with valid travel documents.”
It follows the expiry of the government’s Decision on Temporary Restriction of Crossing the Border Crossings of the Republic of Croatia emergency law, which expired on 30 April and was not extended.
US CONSUMERS SPEND $1.72 BILLION ON TRAVEL PROTECTION IN 2020
12th May 2022
This represents a substantial reduction (just over $2 billion) since the prior study from the 2016 to 2018 period due to the impact of Covid-19 on leisure travel. Approximately 36 million people were protected by more than 24.1 million plans provided by UStiA members in 2020. This also represents a substantial reduction in people covered by travel protection by over 28 million and just over 22 million fewer plans sold during the 2016 to 2018 period. Consumers purchased these plans through distribution channels such as travel suppliers, travel agents, travel insurance providers, internet aggregators, and insurance producers.
Trip cancellation/interruption packages remain the most popular choice of plan. Plans that include trip cancellation/interruption benefits account for nearly 88 per cent of the travel protection products purchased in 2020. Forty-seven per cent of trip cancellation claims were Covid-related in 2020, according to the UStiA study.
GAP YEAR INSURANCE – HAS COVID REIGNITED A PASSION FOR TRAVEL AMONG YOUNGER PEOPLE?
12th May 2022
Gap years are unpredictable, and travellers often end up going to a destination spontaneously that wasn’t in their original travel plans. When gap year travellers choose their policy, they’ll most likely be asked to select a group of destinations to have the flexibility to travel to any that are included.
“Flexibility is going to be very important so you can adapt your travel insurance needs to the activities and locations that come your way,” a Spokesperson from Navigator Insurance said. “You might not be planning on doing that skydive when you leave the UK, but after six months experience doing extreme sports around the world, it could become a more enticing prospect. Your policy needs to reflect the need for that flexibility as things can change a lot in a year.”
Even those who are planning on getting a gap year job abroad and staying in the same location need to research their destination thoroughly for the risks and activities they are likely to encounter, and how that affects their travel insurance policy. The nature of their job might also have a significant effect on which policy they should choose, and the costs associated – for example, a teacher’s travel insurance policy will differ greatly from someone who is going to be a scuba diving instructor for a year.
