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'NEI
  • 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
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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