Reading a novel set in the late '40s. Some English characters are stuck vacationing in Positano, Italy, though they’d rather be in America, because of the “travel restrictions.”
Which restrictions? Fuel rationing prohibiting transatlantic travel? Some other form of regulation? How free was travel, in general, for Europeans and others in the years after the war (e.g., how long before an American could book a holiday in Munich)?
There was a period where British people were restricted from spending more than a certain amount abroad (cite: Agatha Christie mystery, title not in memory). I think this was due to a foreign-exchange problem.
Right up until Margaret Thatcher’s time, the UK had currency exchange restrictions for private citizens (as did many other countries - the exchange rate wasn’t floating but managed). There were no restrictions on travel, but there were restrictions on how much money you could take out of the country or change into foreign currency before leaving. When you bought foreign currency or travelers’ checks at the bank, they would register it in the back of your passport (which you had to produce). Of course, you could just stuff cash down your underpants and go, but above a certain amount that was illegal.
Back in the 40s/50s the amount was pretty restrictive. Unless they had an offshore source of funds, most British people couldn’t take lengthy personal trips abroad. That said, they couldn’t have afforded it anyway in the days before cheap air travel etc. By the 60s/70s the limits were eased.