British Travellers Cautious About Paying for Covid PCR Tests
According to a survey, 33% of British travellers would not be prepared to pay for a Covid-19 PCR test – either at home or at the airport – before travelling internationally.
And 40% would not pay for their family to have a PCR test to be able to travel.
Only 4% of the 2,000 people surveyed by travel insurance firm Battleface would be prepared to pay £75 or more for a PCR test if it meant they could travel internationally.
This is despite private tests costing as much as £120 on the high street or more than £200 at some clinics.
However, travellers would pay £22 on average for a Covid-19 PCR test before embarking on international travel.
As the prospect of overseas travel nears, many countries are requiring travellers to submit a negative PCR test result on arrival, taken within a certain time frame before travel.
UK travellers are not permitted to use NHS tests for travel, except for freight drivers in certain circumstances.
Non-essential overseas travel from the UK is currently banned under the government’s Covid-19 roadmap with departures not expected to be allowed until May 17 at the earliest.
Battleface chief executive Sasha Gainullin said: “It’s good news that the majority of travellers will be willing to take a Covid-19 PCR test in order to go on holiday.
“That said, the current costs of PCR testing make this option unviable for most travellers based on what they are prepared to spend on testing.
“Whilst vaccination passports with PCR test results are expected to be the two key data requirements for travel to restart, there is still a high degree of uncertainty which changes the risk profile for travel.
“The data shows that 23% are still prepared to travel without adequate medical cover, which is worrying given that a similar proportion of those asked (22%) said they have been caught out in fees when travelling without insurance.
“We urge travellers to check what the latest FCDO and destination entry requirements are before going away and, in addition to a PCR test or vaccine, ensure they have relevant and adequate travel insurance cover for the country they are travelling to.”