Travel bosses urge Government to rethink quarantine plans
The bosses of more than 70 travel firms and hotels have written to Home Secretary Priti Patel urging her to scrap the quarantine plans.
They say the last thing the travel industry needs is the mandatory quarantine, which will not only deter foreign visitors from coming to the UK but will make it difficult for UK travellers to take their overseas holidays.
The letter said the plans will also likely cause other countries to impose reciprocal quarantine requirements on British visitors.
"Many people urged the government to impose quarantine regulations during the early phases of Covid-19," the letter reads.
"Instead, no action was taken and flights from many infected countries were allowed to land, making it easy for thousands of potentially affected passengers to spread the virus into the wider UK community."
From June 8, anyone entering the UK from abroad will be told to isolate for 14 days or face a £1,000 fine.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "As the world begins to emerge from what we hope is the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, we must look to the future and protect the British public by reducing the risk of cases crossing our border.
"We continue to support businesses in the tourism sector through one of the most generous economic packages provided anywhere in the world. However, it is right that we introduce these new measures now to keep the transmission rate down and prevent a devastating second wave."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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