UK Travel Trade Welcomes Test & Trace But Still Pushes For End To Quarantine
The British Government's plans to introduce a test and release system for travellers arriving in England are widely welcomed by the travel trade but many industry leaders insist they don't go far enough.
November 24th, 2020 - The Government's new system announced today by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps comes into effect from December 15th and passengers who test negative for Covid-19 after five days of self-isolation will not have to complete the remainder of the mandatory 14 day quarantine.
ABTA chief executive, Mark Tanzer, said: “The test to release scheme in England should help to make overseas travel more attractive and manageable for both holidaymakers and business travellers.
“We know that Foreign Office advice and quarantine requirements are major impediments to travel, and there is an urgent need to remove these barriers as fast as is compatible with the domestic health strategy.
“The outbound travel industry has been hit early and hard by the pandemic and we hope that test to release will help get people travelling once again.”
He added: “There is still more work to be done to get more people travelling and to support the recovery of the sector, including having a testing scheme in place for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as the government moving to a regional approach to quarantine and travel advice.
“It is important that the test to release scheme is kept under review, to make sure that advancements in testing are used to further reduce quarantine to as short a period as possible.”
Joss Croft, chief executive of UKinbound concurred, but argued the new system represented a first step saying: “Implementing testing after five days and reducing quarantine is a step in the right direction but the prospect of visitors having to self-isolate for any length of time will continue to significantly impede demand and therefore risk jobs in the valuable inbound tourism industry.
“Tourism is a competitive business, and when we can travel again, we need a best-in-class testing regime, negating the need for a lengthy self-isolation, otherwise competitors who do have these systems will reap the benefit.
“Tourism will be able to significantly aid the economic recovery but right now businesses are struggling to survive and until a more rigorous system is in place, international visitors will not return in numbers.
“The government needs to provide a targeted resilience fund for inbound tourism businesses and access to grants from which they have previously been excluded, to ensure they can survive the winter.”
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, the industry association representing UK-registered carriers, also welcomed the move and added: “This is a hugely welcome step that will begin the process of opening up international travel and restarting UK aviation.
“It is a good start and by more than halving the quarantine period we should see demand tentatively return and more routes and destinations become viable once again.
“That said, a test at day five does not get rid of quarantine and that is why we look forward to working with government to move towards a pre-departure or domestic testing regime that can remove safely the need for self-isolation altogether, as quickly as possible.”
Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, argued the decision was positive in the run up to Christmas. He explained: “The introduction of air passenger testing on day five is a vital first step to reopening the skies in the run up to Christmas.
“However a five-day quarantine is likely to prove a significant deterrent for travellers, especially those on business.
“The only way to fully reopen vital trading and travel links, support the economic recovery and protect more than 500,000 jobs supported by aviation, is to move to a robust pre-departure testing regime to safely replace quarantine as soon as possible.”
He added: “Moving to a pre-departure regime, supported by latest independent evidence, would be twice as effective as quarantine.
“Passengers should be able to take a test from up to 72 hours before departure, including a rapid test at the airport on the day of departure.”
Finally, low-cost carrier Ryanair joined calls for the government to align with Europe and eliminate any quarantine for travellers with a negative Covid-19 test 72 hrs prior to arrival.
A spokesperson said: “The ‘test and release’ system in the UK is a further step towards opening Britain for Christmas but falls short for the hundreds of thousands of British citizens flying home for the festive season.
“With Covid-19 tests now widely available, the government should remove quarantine restrictions and allow citizens to move freely, once they have a negative Covid-19 test.”
Other travel trade insiders believe that while the 5 day minimum requirement will still put off business travellers, the current cost of the test will be a big barrier to holiday travel, particularly for families. Tests cannot be done through the NHS testing services and must be administered by private clinics. Current tests cost between £80 and £120 each, however, it is hoped that prices will start to drop as more people use private services.
There is speculation that travel providers themselves will source lower cost test services for their customers. Hungarian airline Wizz Air, for example, have announced a COVID-19 testing partnership that offers its passengers tests for a discounted fee of £85.
More information about the new 'Test to Release' strategy can be found on the UK Government website here.
About The Author
Karl Sigurdsson - Senior Contributor
Karl is a senior contributor at TravelIndustryReporter.com and knows the European travel industry inside out. Karl is a freelance travel writer specialising in the European market. Karl studied at both Stockholm University and Reading University.
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