All aboard?

Everything felt rather civilised on Saturday morning as I caught the first Eurostar of the day to Paris from St. Pancras. Those boarding the 08.01 service seemed in good spirits (despite that famous sandwich purveyor being the only choice for your first caffeine hit of the day).

There were couples off to the French capital for a romantic getaway, solo skiers with their alpine kit heading on to the Alps for the season, and a chic group of ladies escaping for a weekend of fun without their husbands and kids in tow.

As we pulled out of the station, I felt a sense of positivity after a week that saw our industry bear the brunt of yet more muddled Government communication. Another year of damaged Christmas trading for restaurants was not on anyone’s wish list.

Despite the scaremongering headlines on Omicron and the new Covid testing obligations for both France and the UK, this busy train showed that people are still wanting to travel and, more importantly, are very happy to do so. This is the thing with Covid – we quite simply have to learn to live with it. We have to be sensible and respect other people’s choices, but knee-jerk reactions to certain situations by countries’ leaders don’t help anyone (the Swiss u-turn on quarantine for UK passengers is a fine example). Uncertainty is damaging for all business, but especially travel and hospitality.

To get the latest industry news and insights direct to your inbox sign up here