No one will travel to the UK if quarantine remains, warns UKinbound
No one will travel to the UK if the government continues to impose quarantine restrictions on international travellers in addition to presenting a negative Covid test, the boss of UKinbound has warned.
Josh Croft welcomed the move to introduce pre-arrival testing, but said a test after arriving in the UK was also necessary.
That would avoid the need for a five-day quarantine period that effectively makes the UK a non-starter for international travellers, he said.
"No one is going to come here for a seven day holiday if they think they have to stay in a hotel for six days before they can spend a day going back home," he said. "It’s just not going to happen.
"Testing pre-arrival is a very positive step forward and something that the industry have been asking for since the summer. However this mechanic alone will fall woefully short when it’s safe to travel again as no one will want to come to the UK if they have to isolate for a minimum of five days.
"Under this new policy, arrivals from non-travel corridor countries still have to quarantine or isolate, an issue that could be eradicated by implementing a second test on arrival."
For travel to recover there also needs to be a common international standard of testing, Croft said.
He added that inbound tourism continues to be ignored by the government.
"Inbound tourism will be vital to the UK’s economic recovery, but today businesses in this industry are struggling to survive as they continue to be excluded from key support measures," Croft said. "The Government needs to stop turning a blind eye, act now and actually listen to the inbound tourism industry."
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