President Macron will address the French Nation tonight with ski resorts on the agenda. The big questions of ‘if’ and ‘when’ could be answered in the President’s speech this evening?
This morning’s news from the UK government was very positive. After December 15th private testing will be available after five days of quarantine which could cut quarantine down to 6 or 7 days. (Results back in 24 to 48 hours) The price of a private test would be between £65 and £120 pounds per person. That’s quite a lot of money and certainly adds up for a family of four, but it does open the door for those who can afford it.
If the government is so keen on helping out the travel and airline sectors I don’t know why the government isn’t funding the testing? Paying privately is fine for the wealthy. But, it doesn’t help those who save up for their ski holidays, especially after such a tough economic period. The extra cost may be just enough to price many skiers out of a much needed break. (That’s my socialist side coming through! When I first wrote this early this morning I thought the price was between £100 and £150 but the above price is slightly more reasonable!)
Will the news from the UK affect Macron’s decision tonight? Having the Brits potentially back in the game could make a huge difference to the French tourist industry and he may want to take advantage of it. Some Swiss resorts are already open on the weekends and are planning on opening for the winter. I don’t think that the French will be overly amused at the Swiss cracking on while they are keeping their resorts closed. It should be an interesting speech tonight! Stay tuned!
PS Tchenko from Snow Fun just told me that the French will make a decision on ski resorts in 9-days. The uncertainty continues!