3 Travel Stocks That Surged After Portugal and Cyprus Reopen to UK Tourists

Source: stockphoto mania, Shutterstock

Summary

• Cyprus and Portugal have confirmed the resumption of UK travellers from May.
• Other European countries are also planning to introduce vaccination passports.

Portugal has joined Cyprus in reopening its boundaries for UK travellers from May this year. The European country is the latest in the list welcoming British visitors this summer. Following the announcement last week, travel agents witnessed a huge surge in interest and bookings for holidays overseas.

Rita Marques, Secretary of State for Tourism, Portugal, said that the country wants to welcome back Britons from 17 May. The travelling was obstructed due to the emergence of the new UK variant of coronavirus. She said she is optimistic that Portugal will also be permitting restriction-free travel in the near future for people who have been tested negative, along with the vaccinated population.

At present, it is one among the 33 countries that are on the high-risk list of the UK due to the existence of the Brazilian variant in Portugal as well as nearby countries. The travellers arriving from these countries have to undergo a 10-day hotel quarantine.

Related Read: How will new hotel quarantine rules impact aviation and hospitality sectors? 

However, Portuguese officials are hopeful that the country will be removed from the red list by the time the holiday season starts.

A day prior to Portugal’s announcement, Cyprus had also said that it will be welcoming UK tourists, who have been vaccinated with two doses of Covid-19 vaccine, into the country, without any restrictions from 1 May.

Savvas Perdios, Cyprus’ deputy tourism minister, has laid down the plan that stated the travellers need not carry a Covid-19 negative test, and not even are required to quarantine themselves. As per the roadmap released by the UK government, travelling abroad is restricted until 17 May.

Also Read: Roadmap to Recovery: Prime Minister Boris Johnson Unveils the 4-Step Plan

Not just Portugal and Cyprus, people are now booking holidays in other destinations such as France, Greece, Mallorca, Spain, and Turkey.

The increasing pace of vaccination roll out has prompted several countries to plan vaccination passports.

Against this backdrop, let’s have a look at how the UK travel stocks are reacting to the news reopening of travel restrictions:

EasyJet PLC (LON: EZJ)

The shares of the low-fare European airline showed strong uptick since Cyprus and Portugal said they would reopen their borders. EZJ shares closed on 8 March at GBX 1,012.50, up by 3.76 per cent.

The flight bookings have skyrocketed, surging by 337 per cent since the last week of February after PM Boris Johnson unveiled the four-step lockdown easing plan. Johan Lundgren, Chief Executive Officer at EasyJet, said that the company is consistently witnessing pent up demand for travel.

The airline company’s share has given a positive return of 21.99 per cent on the price to its investors on a YTD basis.

Ryanair Holdings PLC (LON: RYA)

The shares of the budget airline rejoiced with the announcement of the unlocking of travel restrictions. RYA shares on 8 March 2021 closed at GBX 16.64, up by 5.52 per cent.

Ryanair has been successful in launching many new destinations because of the massive shift in demand and bookings. The airline company has revealed that eight new routes will connect Belfast this summer. The company also released a statement last week that destinations such as Greece, Italy and Spain have seen an increasing interest.

The airline company’s share has provided a positive return of 1.06 per cent to its investors on a YTD basis.

TUI AG (LON: TUI)

The shares of the travel and tourism company also reacted positively to the announcement and closed up by 5.66 per cent on 8 March at GBX 436.70.

The company said that not only have the beach holiday destinations seen a mass surge in bookings, but there has also been an increase in demand for ski holidays. Chris Logan, Managing Director at TUI, said that the company has been seeing significant demand for next season, with bookings ahead of the Board’s expectations.

A spokesperson of TUI AG said that Cyprus has a holiday hotspot for its customers and that the package holiday company has been observing a real uptick in bookings. People have already started to plan their holidays, and the most recent holiday bookings are for July and August.

The shares of the company have given a positive return of 51.42 per cent on the price, to its investors on a YTD basis.