Published on : Friday, January 25, 2019
“I’m holding my breath,” says Lawler-Baack, a retired investment adviser from Vacaville, Calif. This summer, she’s going to Berkshire and the Isle of Wight, and like other travelers with plans to visit the United Kingdom, she is not quite hopeful.
“Will there be long lines for immigration in both directions?” she wonders. “What about the exchange rate? Should we buy pounds before we leave? Will Brexit even happen?”
In 2017, almost 4 million Americans visited Britain for which numbers are available, as per VisitBritain, the tourism-marketing organization of the UK. That’s a major growth of 13 percent from the last year and the highest number in 19 years. Even though, most of the visitors arrive and depart by air, 1 in 10 leaves through the Channel Tunnel to discover the remaining of Europe.
Considering the controversial exit negotiations, it’s no shock that official sources of information have been silent on the Brexit issue. The U.S. State Department, generally a reliable source of information for travelers, doesn’t talk about Brexit on its information site for Americans or its most recent travel advisory, dated Dec. 17. Nevertheless, British authorities have printed numerous helpful guides for inbound travelers, together with a roundup of the anticipated changes post-Brexit. “There is no change in travel relations between the U.S. and the U.K.,” says Ninan Chacko, CEO of Travel Leaders Group, a travel agency chain based in New York.
Tags: Britain bound travelers