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An empty Dublin Airport (file photo) Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie
Staycation

Three in four people in Ireland not planning to travel abroad this year

The government is continuing to urge against foreign travel for non-essential reasons.

THREE IN FOUR people on the island of Ireland are not contemplating a holiday abroad this year, a survey has suggested.

Even fewer are considering an overseas break in what remains of the summer, the research indicated, with 94% expressing a preference for a staycation.

The survey results come ahead of the Irish Government’s anticipated publication of a green list of countries deemed safe to travel to and from.

Only countries that have a coronavirus infection rate the same or lower than Ireland will be included on the list, with Great Britain and the US among the places set to miss out.

People travelling from countries on the list will not be required to quarantine themselves for 14 days on arrival in Ireland.

The Irish Government continues to advise against holidaying abroad amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier this month, the Northern Ireland Executive announced a relaxation of self-isolation requirements for travellers entering the region from more than 50 countries.

There are no coronavirus restrictions on people travelling across the border on the island of Ireland.

The online survey, which attracted more than 22,000 responses, was conducted by the Hastings Hotels group.

It found that 77% of people would not be taking a foreign holiday this year, regardless of further relaxations to official advice on non-essential travel.

There were 4,557 respondents from the Republic of Ireland and 17,748 from Northern Ireland.

Of those planning to holiday on the island, 67% said they would be heading to a coastal area, 17% were looking for city breaks and 11% said they preferred a countryside location.

The results come ahead of the expected publication of a travel ‘green list’ by the government tomorrow.

The list will allow Irish people to travel abroad to without having to restrict their movements for 14 days afterwards when they return.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said these countries won’t “be any different to travelling to Kerry, Connemara or Donegal for your holidays”.

However, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan insisted this afternoon that the list would not send out a signal to people to engage in non-essential travel.

“This is the summer, and autumn, to spend your holidays here at home,” he told This Week on RTÉ Radio 1.

With reporting from Stephen McDermott.

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