The Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA) is calling for urgent support and credible testing to help the industry, in the wake of the latest change to quarantine rules.
On Thursday night, the government announced travellers returning from France, the Netherlands and Malta will have to self-isolate for 14 days.
Joanne Dooey, SPAA president, said: “As an association, we back all moves to keep individuals, and the wider country, safe. However, we are hugely concerned about the lack of support for the travel sector throughout this pandemic.
“Travellers who are abroad in one of the newly removed ‘safe list’ countries or who have a forthcoming booking, are relying on their travel agents to aid their return home or to process the cancellation of their holiday.
“France is not a major package holiday destination for Scotland generally, but as city break destinations Paris and Amsterdam will cause immediate issues for travellers.
“Malta is a very popular destination for Scottish package holidays.”
She added: “Customer confidence in any form of travel is negligible at the moment.
“We’ve effectively seen an entire year of travel wiped out. Few if any are willing to travel with such uncertainty about which countries are on the ‘safe list’ at any given hour.
“Without some form of urgent support for the travel sector, the whole industry is at threat.”
Dooey also called for a “credible system of regulated testing” for those arriving in the country, to help rebuild customer confidence.
“A robust testing process will reduce the length of time required for quarantine for those arriving at all UK airports,” she added.
“These quarantine decisions are having a significant impact on the economy.
“Because of the unique business model on which travel is based, where the initial point of the contact for the customer is the last link in the chain to be paid, we’re urging the Scottish government to consider sector specific support urgently.”