UP UP AND GETAWAY!
Foreign holiday hopes of Scots families finally given a boost
hopes for summer holidays have been boosted as scotland is likely to follow the rest of the UK and allow foreign travel later this month, the Mail can reveal today.
An update is expected next week after Boris Johnson indicated there would be some ‘opening up’ of international routes from england on May 17.
The UK’s ‘green list’ of countries that will not require quarantine upon return is due to be announced today, and is tipped to include Malta, Iceland, Israel, Gibraltar and possibly portugal. however, holidaymakers to these countries will still have to take two tests, one within three days of flying back to the UK and another within 48 hours of arrival. This will apply to vaccinated as well as unvaccinated passengers.
Most of europe – including France, spain, Greece and Italy – will be ‘amber’. Travellers will have to take a second post-arrival test on day eight as well as selfisolate at home for ten days.
First Minister Nicola sturgeon said during a televised leadership debate on Tuesday that the scottish Government had not yet taken a decision on non-essential foreign travel, but a four nations approach is her ‘preference’.
Airport bosses are now calling for the scottish Government to follow the rest of the UK.
A spokesman for AGs Airports, which owns Aberdeen and Glasgow airports, said: ‘It remains our expectation that there will be a four nations approach and we await further clarity from the scottish Government next week.’
A spokesman for edinburgh Airport said: ‘We understand options have been put forward to ministers for sign-off after the election.
‘We reiterate the need for a unified four-nation approach. proactive action rather than further delay is required, or scotland will lag behind the rest of the UK and europe and suffer significant job losses as a result.’
Next week’s announcement by scottish ministers on foreign travel will end an agonising wait for those in the tourism sector. stuart French, chairman of the scottish Golf Tourism Development Group and golf tour operator at platinum Golf scotland, said: ‘We need a green list to include countries where a successful vaccination rollout is in place. We’ve asked the scottish Government on a number of occasions what they have in place to allow us to accept international visitors who have been vaccinated.
‘There has been no definitive answer and that does not help golf tourism. Quarantine for vaccinated clients isn’t an option. They are here for a week to ten days.’
scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie insisted that ‘testing and quarantining at borders should continue to be our main response’ to curb the spread of the virus rather than vaccine passports, adding that ‘Covid ID cards... would be unworkable, expensive and divisive’.
scottish Labour tourism spokesman Rhoda Grant said: ‘We cannot afford a continuation of the sNp’s ineffective policies.’ n BRITAIN’s economy will grow at its fastest peacetime rate in nearly a century this year as the vaccine rollout turbocharges the recovery, the Bank of england predicted yesterday. It expects GDp to soar by 7.25 per cent, after predicting 5 per cent in February.