Companies urge Patel to scrap 14-day UK quarantine
DOZENS OF travel companies have called on the Home Secretary to scrap plans to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine on people arriving in the UK due to the coronavirus.
Accusing the Government of being “woefully slow” in its support for the travel industry, more than 70 company heads have cosigned a letter to Priti Patel over the Government’s announcement last week of the new measure for arrivals, which starts on June 8.
Signatories have urged the Government to switch from protection mode in the face of the Covid-19 crisis to economic recovery.
“The very last thing the travel industry needs,” the letter says, “is a mandatory quarantine imposed on all arriving passengers which will deter foreign visitors from coming here, deter UK visitors from travelling abroad and, most likely, cause other countries to impose reciprocal quarantine requirements on British visitors, as France has already announced.
“Many people urged the Government to impose quarantine regulations during the early phases of Covid-19. Instead, no action was taken and flights from infected countries were allowed to land, disgorging thousands of potentially affected passengers into the wider community.”
The letter continues: “Covid-19 is now under control and we commend the Government for its handling of what was an extraordinary and unprecedented situation.
“However, the economic cost of the Government’s action is yet to be seen, apart from the early indicators which paint a grim picture.”
Meanwhile, a luxury travel brand has started selling holidays to destinations within the UK and Ireland to capitalise on the anticipated growth in staycations.
Kuoni, which is known for offering long-haul breaks to locations such as the Maldives, Mauritius and Thailand, entered the domestic travel market for the first time.
There is expected to be huge demand for staycations once the coronavirus lockdown is eased, with some people concerned about movement restrictions and the risk of being infected by the virus if they travel abroad.