Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte may have said no travelling till May, but there is a loophole — if you’re part of a scientific study. In April, holidaymakers from the Netherlands will go on a test trip to a resort in Rhodes, Greece.
These 189 lucky tourists will be flown out for an eight-day all-inclusive holiday, according to RTL Nieuws. It seems that after test festivals and football games have been allowed, the tourism industry wanted to get in on the action.
The aim of this experiment is to see whether holidays can go ahead safely in the future. Holidaymakers can sign up from today to fly out on April 12.
What’s the catch?
Before you start thinking this sounds too good to be true, or like a prize from a game show, you should know there are some conditions to this heavenly holiday. Participants must pay for their stay and are not allowed to leave the resort while on holiday. Of course, there are worse places to be in lockdown right?
Participants will have to be tested for coronavirus before and after they travel to the resort and will have to complete ten days of quarantine when they get back to the Netherlands. The cost of the quick tests will be covered by the travel company. The trip can also be cancelled by the RIVM at any point if it’s deemed unsafe.
General travel warning
If you were hoping to go on holiday anywhere else this spring, bad news: in last night’s press conference, Rutte advised travellers to stay put until at least May 15.
The Dutch cabinet is making an expectation for these trials so it can assess the safety of travelling in the future. An independent agency will assess the findings of this experiment, which will help the government provide accurate travel advice for the summer holidays.
What do you think of a test holiday? Would you jump at the chance? Let us know in the comments!
Feature Image: Myroslava/Pexels