Britons rush to book trips to Portugal ahead of up-in-the-air summer season

The mailbox of a well-known hotel in the heart of Lisbon was bombarded with queries as soon as Britain announced it was including the country on its travel “green list” this summer. Manuel Pinto, Mundial Hotel director, is over the moon that British holidaymakers, who are essential to Portugal’s tourism industry, will be able to return after a five-month travel ban, providing a much-needed boost to the struggling sector. “I was delighted, not only on a personal level but for our country,” Pinto said, standing in Mundial’s rooftop bar, adding that British visitors had already booked around 4,000 room nights at the hotel this year. Portugal was one of just 12 countries and territories to be added to Britain’s “green list”, allowing Britons to visit the country from May 17 without needing to quarantine, but still requiring two COVID-19 tests - one before returning to the UK and one on arrival into the UK. Travel search website Skyscanner said there was a 616% increase in bookings to Portugal last week compared to the previous one, prompting airlines to add capacity to existing routes and, in some cases, launch news ones to meet demand. Easyjet is adding more flights to Portugal for this summer, putting an extra 20,000 seats on routes including London Gatwick to Faro and Lisbon over the May-October period.<br/>