Millions left in limbo over summer holidays: Brits face getaway misery with attractions shut and a ban on foreign travel - while others don't know if trips they've booked will go ahead

• Britain faces a £45billion black hole in tourism spending due to coronavirus
• Hotels, campsites and holiday parks are shut, along with a foreign travel ban
• Tourism lobby group UK Hospitality pleads for clarity about reopening plans

Britain faces summer holiday misery with attractions shut, a ban on foreign travel and a £45billion black hole in tourism spending.

Millions will be unable to take a break while others are in limbo over whether trips they have booked will go ahead.

Hotels, campsites, B&Bs and holiday parks are shut and many fear summer holidays are effectively cancelled.

The Government was last night accused of causing chaos for families desperate to plan a break and tourism businesses on the brink.

Britain faces summer holiday misery with attractions shut, a ban on foreign travel and a £45billion black hole in tourism spending. Britain's biggest airport, Heathrow, has seen a major fall in passenger numbers since lockdown began

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps came under fire after saying he would ‘not be booking a summer holiday’ while chief medical officer Chris Whitty warned ‘highly disruptive’ social distancing controls could run until 2021.

MP Graham Stringer, a former member of the Commons transport committee, said families and tourism needed ‘certainty’ about when and where we can go on holiday again.

He said: ‘The Government needs a plan.’

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps came under fire after saying he would ‘not be booking a summer holiday’

Tourism lobby group UK Hospitality pleaded for clarity about when holiday businesses could reopen, saying: ‘It is absolutely vital that we save the summer.’

And Visit Britain boss Patricia Yates warned some attractions will now not open until next year amid the confusion. She said: ‘Cash flows have completely dried up.’

The Foreign Office imposed a ban on all but essential international travel on March 17 but this is now extended indefinitely.

As a result, Gatwick warned yesterday that it could take up to four years for passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels. Britain’s shutdown announced on March 23 means all hotels, hostels, B&Bs and campsites were closed immediately and there is no indication when they will reopen.

Analysis by Visit Britain predicts a loss of £22.1billion in domestic tourism spending in 2020 compared with last year.

The figures suggest a collapse of foreign visitors will cut tourism spending by up to another £22.3billion in a worst-case scenario.

Fay Jones, who runs a small B&B in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, predicted the entire season could be a ‘devastating write-off’. 

‘It could mean finding another job,’ she said. Meanwhile, some customers who have made holiday bookings have had problems getting refunds.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: ‘If you had booked a package holiday – where any two parts of the holiday were booked together – the law says you are due a refund within 14 days so don’t be fobbed off with credit or the chance to postpone, if this isn’t what you want.’