British pub owner in the Algarve tells UK authorities Portugal is a "very safe place"

Record ID: 1563759

  • Title: British pub owner in the Algarve tells UK authorities Portugal is a "very safe place"
  • Date: 23rd July 2020
  • Summary: VILAMOURA, PORTUGAL (RECENT - JULY 20, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) OWNER OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB, SAMUEL TILLEY, SAYING: "My name is Sam Tilley and I'm from Weybridge, Surrey. I have been coming to the Algarve for about 10 years now and I have lived here for two which is when I took over the bar." ALGARVE PORT VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SEATED AT TERRACE OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB (SOUNDBITE) (English) OWNER OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB, SAMUEL TILLEY, SAYING: "We made a huge investment before we re-opened the doors, we had to abide by a number of new rules put in place. We have half the amount of tables out at the moment, we have to clean everything to the nth degree, all our staff wear masks and there are many, many measures that have been promoted and we are doing everything we can to ensure that we agree to all of those and obviously we don't have the same amount of people. We are very much affected by the lack of numbers coming to the Algarve." EXTERIOR OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB BLACKBOARD ANNOUNCING THE UPCOMING PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB STAFF INTERIOR OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB WITH NO CUSTOMERS VARIOUS OF EMPTY TABLES (SOUNDBITE) (English) OWNER OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB, SAMUEL TILLEY, SAYING: "Last year we had the problem where the Brexit situation was coming up and people weren't sure whether they could travel or they couldn't and now we have the COVID-19 outbreak. We are here, we are fine, we are here for the long run, but there are lots of businesses around here, family owned businesses, that are really on the edge at the moment and I really feel, you know, that something needs to be done and some things need to be changed to help us get back to our best." INTERIOR OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB WITH NO CLIENTS SPIRIT BOTTLES AT THE PUB (SOUNDBITE) (English) OWNER OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB, SAMUEL TILLEY, SAYING: "We can't wait to have everyone back. We are all set up waiting, we have put lots of hygiene measures in, we are fully, fully prepared and if doesn't happen on the 27th (when the UK revises travel restrictions), I don't know what else I'll do." INTERIOR OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB WITH NO CLIENTS VARIOUS OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB WAITRESS WEARING A FACE MASK AND POURING GINGER ALE (SOUNDBITE) (English) OWNER OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB, SAMUEL TILLEY, SAYING: "It is completely safe. If you look at the statistics you'll find that, if you had the same area in the UK, it would be the safest place to be. And this is why we don't understand the decision (to require Britons to quarantine for 14 days on their return to the UK)." TILLEY WALKING FROM THE OUTDOOR TERRACE TO THE PUB (SOUNDBITE) (English) OWNER OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB, SAMUEL TILLEY, SAYING: "The decision to leave Portugal off the list has meant there are people desperate for a holiday after everything they have been through back home and now these people have gone to Spain and other countries and when they go on holiday this time they are going to make friends, they are going to enjoy their destination and they may not come back to Portugal next year. So, this is not just affecting us this year, this will have an effect going on year on year from now and that is the thing that really disappoints me." INTERIOR OF THE PUB WITH JUST ONE CLIENT CLIENT DRINKING BEER (SOUNDBITE) (English) OWNER OF O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB, SAMUEL TILLEY, SAYING: "My message to the British authorities is that this is a very, very safe place and it is not just me saying that the statistics back it up and I just want you to understand this and allow people to travel here so we can get back to our best and give them a great holiday." O'NEILLS VILAMOURA MARINA PUB OUTSIDE BAR VARIOUS OF CLIENTS SEATED AT OUTSIDE BAR CLIENT SEATED AT OUTSIDE BAR AND SHIP WITH THE PORTUGUESE FLAG IN THE BACKGROUND SIGNS INDICATING THE DISTANCE IN KILOMETRES TO SCOTLAND, ENGLAND, IRELAND AND JAPAN ALBUFEIRA, PORTUGAL (RECENT - JULY 20, 2020) (REUTERS) ALBUFEIRA BEACH PEOPLE BATHING AT ALBUFEIRA BEACH VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT ALBUFEIRA BEACH PEOPLE BATHING AT ALBUFEIRA BEACH PEOPLE AT ALBUFEIRA BEACH
  • Embargoed: 6th August 2020 11:26
  • Keywords: Algarve Britain British in Algarve British tourists Britons Britons abroad COVID-19 outbreak in Portugal Coronavirus Portugal empty pubs tourism travelling restrictions
  • Location: VILAMOURA & ALBUFEIRA, PORTUGAL
  • City: VILAMOURA & ALBUFEIRA, PORTUGAL
  • Country: Portugal
  • Topics: Human-Led Feature,Human-Led Stories
  • Reuters ID: LVA001CO145ZB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Struggling to cope without his loyal customers, the English owner of a pub in Portugal's sunny Algarve has urged British holidaymakers to return to the region's sandy beaches and bars, which were left nearly deserted as the coronavirus outbreak kept visitors away.
    "We can't wait to have everyone back," Samuel Tilley from Weybridge, Surrey in England told Reuters, pointing a finger at the British government for not including Portugal earlier this month in its list of more than 50 countries it considered safe enough for travel without restrictions.
    Last year, Portugal welcomed around 2 million Britons, with 64% of them heading to the Algarve, making it the country's biggest foreign market.
    But with Britons required by the British authorities to serve a 14-day quarantine on their return, numbers have plummeted and without them businesses like Tilley's are struggling to make ends meet.
    Tilley said Britain's decision, which is expected to be reviewed by next Monday, doesn't make much sense as the Algarve, which reported very few cases of the coronavirus, is "completely safe".
    "If it doesn't happen on (July) 27th I don't know what I will do," he said while standing on his pub's wooden deck.
    One of Tilley's fears is that his customers might find the perfect spot in the sun elsewhere this year and will not return to Portugal in 2021, a scenario which could scar the region even further.
    "It is not just affecting us this year but it will have an effect going on year on year from now - and that's the thing that really disappoints me," he said.
    (Production: Miguel Pereira, Catarina Demony, Silvio Castellanos)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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