Europeans say they want a ban on British tourists this summer because of the coronavirus
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Europeans in a new YouGov poll largely opposed allowing British tourists to visit this summer without having to self-isolate.
Majorities of respondents in seven of eight European countries that were surveyed were opposed to unrestricted tourism from the UK. Italy was the exception.
Sixty-one percent of Spaniards said they didn't want arrivals from the UK without quarantine.
Only visitors from China and the US were less welcome of the countries people were asked about.
Europeans want British tourists to stay away this summer, according to a new poll that found the UK at the bottom of a list of countries that were welcome on the continent.
People in Spain, Germany, France, and Italy were all less receptive to unrestricted travel from the UK than they were for the other European countries they were asked about, perhaps reflecting the fact that the UK has recorded the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe.
The YouGov poll surveyed people last week in nine European countries including the UK. It found that majorities in seven of the eight other European countries said they were opposed to allowing in UK tourists who did not have to spend any time self-isolating.
Sixty-one percent of people in Spain were opposed, a figure roughly 15 percentage points higher than Spain's average opposition to tourists coming from France, Germany, or Italy. In Germany, the figure was 58%, while in France the figure was 55%.
Italy was the sole European country where a majority was not opposed to UK tourists, though it was still opposed on net, with 44% opposed, 39% supportive, and 16% saying they didn't know.
Only tourists from China and the US were more unwelcome than Brits, according to the poll. Seventy-five percent of Spaniards and 70% of Germans said they opposed unrestricted tourism from the US.
More than 44,000 people with the novel coronavirus have died in the UK, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, compared with nearly 35,000 who have died in Italy, nearly 30,000 in France, about 28,000 in Spain, and about 9,000 in Germany.
The UK government announced last week that people in England would be able to travel to 59 countries without having to quarantine for 14 days upon their return. The list, which takes effect Thursday, includes Germany, Italy, Spain, and France.
Visitors from those countries will also not be required to quarantine when they visit the UK, as had previously been the case, as part of a plan for "travel corridors."
The poll also found that Britons were opposed to foreign visitors coming to the UK.
Pluralities or majorities of British respondents opposed visitors from Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and even Denmark, which has counted relatively few coronavirus cases.
Visitors from China and the US were by far the least welcome. Seventy-two percent of British respondents said they opposed tourists from China, with just 13% in favor, while 76% said they opposed visitors from the US, compared with just 11% in favor.
The poll also found that few Brits had any interest in vacations abroad this year anyway, with no destination supported by more than 21% of respondents.
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