Trade association UKinbound applauded the removal of France from its amber-plus designation, allowing quarantine free travel to the UK.
Although very welcome, it is unlikely to turn around the fortunes of many UKinbound members, coming so late in the summer.
"The French inbound tourism market is incredibly valuable to the UK’s economy, worth £1.39bn in exports for our country annually, and we are none the less looking forward to welcoming back vaccinated French visitors in the coming months<" said Joss Croft, CEO, UKinbound.
It also opens up the self-drive market and coach travel from neighbouring countries such as Germany and the Netherlands as vaccinated travellers can now travel through France en route to the UK without quarantine.
While the expansion of the green list and key markets being downgraded from the red list are very welcome, the continued high cost of testing will impact bookings.
"While encouraging to see more countries such as Germany and the UAE added to the green and amber lists,’ it remains ‘an unnecessary and significant barrier to travel,’ Croft said.
"We also need to see Government urgently step up its international diplomacy and work with countries such as Canada to implement further vaccine certification reciprocity, and provide sector specific support as the industry faces a crippling winter."
