Meath holiday makers are booking holidays for next year, but nobody wants to travel abroad this year, according to Martin Skelly of Navan Travel.

Despite the governments publication of a greenlist of countries to which people can travel without quarantining for two week, people are still reluctant to book a foreign holiday this year.

“People are booking holidays for 2021 but they are reluctant to travel this year.

“People who had already booked were trying to change dates to later in the year, but are now looking to change to next year,” he said.

Mr Skelly said a major issue for travellers is that if flights are operating to a country that isn't on the green list, travellers who have already booked those flights won't get a refund if they decide not to travel.

“This is a big dilemma for people. As well as that if you travel to a country against government advice – to a country not on the green list - you won't be insured.

“Travellers to EU countries will still have their health care, but there is a huge difference in that and your insurance which would cover you for everything including an air ambulance home.

“There are still a lot of questions to be answered. We need clarity for our customers.

“We are very busy working for customers who have been contacting us by phone and e-mail.

“In the worst case scenarios, where people lost money on a booking they made before the pandemic, we expect to either get refunds or vouchers to use at a later date.

“Very few people made bookings for holidays this year since the pandemic,” he says.

There are anomalies in that Spain isn't on the greenlist, but walking the Camino is one of the healthiest outdoor holidays you could have.

“Outward travel and inward tourism are interdependent on each other and very few people coming from non greenlist countries will want to come if they have to quarantine for two weeks when they get here.

Mr Scally said that his staff have been tremendous over the past few months.

“They never stopped working from behind closed doors or from home, keeping in touch with and communicating with our customers.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Darren O’Rourke has called on the government to step in and prevent airlines punishing people for taking the decision not to holiday abroad this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Sinn Fein Transport spokesperson said: “Thousands of people have already missed their summer holidays abroad due to the ongoing pandemic.

“The Irish Travel Agents Association estimates that over €800,000 a day is being lost by people who had foreign holidays booked in advance of this pandemic, but now cannot go.

“People want to do the right thing and protect their families and wider communities from Covid-19. They are rightly taking a cautious approach, but they are being financially punished for this, as some airlines are refusing to provide refunds or flight vouchers, while others are charging exorbitant rescheduling fees.

“I’ve been contacted by hundreds of people about this issue, with one individual losing €3,000, another losing €6,700 and one family telling me they lost €12,000 on a holiday that they had to cancel.

“The airline sector is facing a huge challenge, and the state does need to address this in a proportionate and fair way. But the sector’s recovery cannot be based on taking money from families who make the decision not to holiday abroad this year, in line with advice from public health experts.

“Airlines should be offering refunds, flight credit or free rescheduling, while travel insurance companies should be compensating those who have already lost money due to the restrictions on travel.

“If airlines and travel insurance companies refuse to change tack, the government must take action, they cannot sit on the side-lines and allow this rip-off to continue.”