No more Dubai breaks for vacation-starved Brits as travel fines of $6,900 introduced

DUBAI: British celebrities and social media ‘influencers’ hoping to swap the grey skies of Britain for the beaches and malls of Dubai will need to start appreciating the comforts of home.
It follows a move by the UK government to issue £5,000 ($6,900) fines for people from England who try to travel abroad before the end of June.
While the return of holidaymakers from the UK to Dubai late last year was an encouraging development for the emirate’s vital tourism sector, tabloid images of social media stars enjoying the high life in the emirate triggered a backlash from a resentful British public forced to stay at home.
Now the UK is hoping the new fines will deter unnecessary overseas travel, although the country’s Health Minister Matt Hancock said the government’s original plan to review international travel in April and possibly permit it from May 17 still stood.
“The earliest date by which we will allow for international travel ...is the 17th May. That has not changed,” Hancock told Sky News.
The news sent travel stocks tumbling on Tuesday.
It represents a major blow for both the holiday resorts of Europe and the Gulf as the aviation sector now prepares for a second lost summer period.
The latest wave of coronavirus infections cast a shadow over European and Gulf stock markets on Tuesday as the pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.7 percent .
The German DAX dropped 0.8 percent after the announcement of an extension of lockdown until April 18 as the government urged citizens to stay at home for five days over the Easter holidays.
The tally of new COVID-19 cases in France also rose while Austria delayed the reopening of cafe and restaurants.